The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I found this watch in an old suitcase in our attic in 1971, and it had probably been there since the late 50's. The suitcase contained US military clothes from the late 40's, early 50's. It could not have belonged to my parents, as they were both Dutch... my dad was in the Dutch Underground and my mom was in a Japanese Concentration Camp in Indonesia. I've carried the watch around for decades, and found it the other day. This site came up on a Yahoo search for Vintage Breitling. Can you help me identify it. I am not a "watch guy" (it's probably been 10 years since I last wore a watch). I'd like to find out about the watch. If you guys are REALLY good, you can tell me who first bought it ...posting.php?mode=post&f=11#

well, I can not tell you who bought the watch or where it was bought, but the watch case was manufactured in 1945, so the watch was shipped to distribution somtime in the mid 1940s.

it is a ref. 178, seems to be in quite nice condition, though it has definitely been worn for quite a long time, usage marks on the case confirm this; movement is a Venus V170.

Thanks. I appreciate your help.
Any suggestions as to what I should do with it... I am not a collector, or even a wearer of watches. It runs, but has not been serviced. I would like to receive a fair price for it.

please do not wind and run it any more, if that watch has been lying around for about 40 years, the lubricants will be all gone; running it might damage the movement, the watch will definitely require a service.

u could put it up in the sales section here, but interest in vintage pieces is not too big, though you might receive some pm offers, hopefully none low ball.

listing it on ebay would be your best bet, I assume; maybe setting a reserve; an alternative would be to list it on chrono24.com.

I would consider $600 to $800 as a realistic range, probably closer to the low end considering the service requirements, though the dial is exceptionally well preserved

The dealer here told me that it works... hopefully they put lubricant in it. They were NOT impressive though. They had the watch for a week, but could not tell me what model or year it was, and told me they would need to send it out of town for a full service.
I have NO watch repair skills, so I am more than a little hesitant to get into this as a project. What would need to be done to the watch? Could that be "shipped out" to be done and still be cost effective? ... remember, I am not a collector, or even a wearer of watches... How could I find a local watch repair shop that does quality work?
Based on many posts on this site, I am astonished how how widespread fraud is among the sellers on the internet, and I'm not sure I want to take a "little swim" in those waters...
Thank you again for all your help with this. You have been much more helpful than the local dealer. I really appreciate all of your advice and suggestions.

They would not have lubricated it!

The recommendation here is always to use our tame watchmaker who is a member of the site, but if you are going to sell it anyway then there isn't much point - let the buyer handle it. WatchFred's assessment of value is about right so don't let anyone PM you with offers considerably lower.

You can check the auctions on ebay for values as the 178 varies quite a bit based upon condition.

Can you tell me more about "our tame watchmaker" please...

as Roff wrote, it makes very little sense financially to have the watch serviced before you sell it, you will not recoup that investment. if you decided to keep the watch, pm member cheonodeco. Craig is a great guy and an outstanding watchmaker.

Chronodeco

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Breitling Navitimer: Black Dial
OMEGA Speedmaster Professional
Steinhart Nav.B-Chrono II
Elgin-Hamilton 37500 (Aircraft Clock)

thanks