The Breitling Watch Source Forums

With apologies in advance for a complete newbie question....

Just purchased a vintage 18k 789 which will soon be en route to chronodeco for an overhaul. Thus I will have a good bit of time to try to find the "right" strap and buckle. Can anyone advise on what the correct buckle for a 789 would be? What would have come with the watch when it was newly purchased in the mid 1940s? Is it going to be completely impossible to find one?

I've spent many hours looking through the forum archives and haven't seen anything discussed on this but perhaps I missed something.

To every, again, thanks very much.

David

As far as I know, Breitling did not have specific buckles at this period.
I guess that a 18K gold watch had a 18K gold buckle
1st solution, ask Craig .
2nd solution : use a standard Tropic buckle and get it goldplated .
3rd solution : get a custom strap and buckle from a strap specialist .

Def not a stupid question at all! I don't personally know but there are quite a few people on here with extensive knowledge and literature, so if there is anyone who can tell you, they are on this forum!!!

as Phil says, no Breitling-specific buckles in the 1940s, or even 1950s.

The 18k 769 looks wonderful on choc brown and honey/gold croc,
but brown and tan calf look great too - surprisingly even the current
OEM calf in brown are a nice fit; a lizard strap might be the
most period correct fit; any gold tone buckle will do.

One thing to bear in mind - these early 18k Premiers do
have male mounts for the springbars, Craig will have
the correct springbars for you, but a "normal" store might
not stock those - and changing a strap according to the
mood de jour, something I tend to do often with other
watches, is a bit tricky as these bars are not as easy
to install - a thick strap like the Breitling OEM makes
it even more tricky

So basicially - just decide which look you like.

Guys thanks a million. I'll make sure to ask for a set of springbars as well. All the best from sunny Suth Africa. David

I have just been going through the same problem myself. I have just bought one (strap not breitling buckle) from Timesofplenty they have a great selection just type it in google.