The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Here's one you don't see often from 1952. I bit overpriced perhaps but i don't ever remember seeing another for sale.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Breitling-Automatic-Ref-2508-25-Felsa-Bidynator-690-PERFECT-/181093239439?pt=ES_Relojes_de_pulsera&hash=item2a29ff8a8f

Very rare, very good condition, wouldn't be surprised if someone paid close to the asking price.

Never seen this version before

not too impressed, frankly; dial is refinished annd quite different from the original design, i think,
very, very good work, but a perfect "time warp" specimen went for around $1,600 last autumn iirc.

That's a redial, wow - whoever did that work should work on legitimate restorations.

There are some first rate restorers around. Some of their work is getting almost impossible to tell ne for original. Think it’s the fresh look that gives it away sometimes. Find a restorer who knows how to get a patina into a dial and it would be highly unlikely you would spot the difference.

Scary really.

_________________
Jim

"You have Control".

I think there are some dial variations. It's interesting that I've always thought the number 217012 was the patent number for the twin-subdial chronograph design. Obviously this isn't a chronograph so that doesn't make sense any longer. Maybe something to do with the rotating bezel? Couple of additional pics of the 2508 25:

there might have been variations, Paul, I only saw these bicolor dials. the patent covered the movable "logarithmically graduated scales for performing telemetric any tachymetric calculations". Interesting to see that the patent application is from August 1940, granted in September 1941.

Yes, and I think that’s where it gets really interesting on the early Chronomats. I am always happy to be corrected, but I believe it was Graf with the Mimo Loga that was the world’s first slide rule watch, but Breitling were the first with a Chronograph version a little time later. The Mimo is a centre second. This is a bit off topic, but the patent is interesting, as I am not sure how the Mimo watch was licensed, etc. but only a small quantity were made before Graf gave up the idea. Where Juvenia fits in is also intresting, as the Arithmo appeared at a similar time is a mystery to me.

Be interesting if anyone has more. I have not checked the source yet for other threads on this, so don’t hang me if they exist elsewhere.

_________________
Jim

"You have Control".

a Chronomat ref. 2508 is up for sale again, this one seems all original:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130901528331?ss ... 1438.l2649

btw. all I have seen are in the 6301xx to 6304xx range, apparently one single production run in 1952 ?

Yeah, I probably should have bought that one. Seller offered it for $2500. Funny, I mentioned that fact to someone else and it quickly vanished. Oh well, guess I had my chance.

wasn't me, Paul. Though this is what the DHL guy brought yesterday, a collector friend from Germany had found it for me in a small store in Nürnberg
afaik the largest nono-chrono Breitling of the early 50s. diameter is 37.5mm

Lovely Fred, congrats - love those (dauphine?) hands - and looks like it wears a little larger than 37.5mm.

thanks, Tom ! it does wear large, though, for a vintage watch it really is quite huge, most of the 3-hands of this period are 33 to 35mm.

Uh, now I feel twice as bad for not picking up the other. I liked the fact it's a little larger than most non-chrono's. I wonder if they did a 18k version too.