The Breitling Watch Source Forums

1 / IMHO a correct Chronomat 769 - post 1952 with Genève on dial and curved 217012 . Bad subdial and sweep hands , but not overpriced and as good as many european or north american brothers
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/BREITLING-WATCH- ... 51b2afb4e7

2/ IMHO a good 814 . Not sure the paers are original but the watch looks nice
http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Vintage-Chronogr ... 2c73af4c1e

3/ I personnaly bought NOS vintage parts from notredameantiques in Argentina , a dozen of items in total all perfect and affordable , and I warmly recomand this seller !

4/ those examples are exceptions to the common rule of good sense and self protection : be very careful and mind 10 times before buying any kind of stuff from SA ebay sellers

notredamesantiques is the one exception: reliable, quick, friendly, an excellent source for genuine vintage parts, among the best.

the 769 is decent as you say, we have seen much worse from Europe and the US, but all hands except the chrono second seem wrong to me.

the 814 is overpolished and very optimistically priced, but not bad.

as Craig wrote, the problem is not only frankens and fakes, even outwardly correct watches or pieces with apparently minor problems become a nightmare because of incompetent repair jobs on the movements - and this can be very, very expensive.

Hi Fred
I'm a newbie looking to buy an 814 with black dial and orange hands. It has to be black with orange hands! Before I jump in, I'd like to find out more information on these lovely watches and this forum is a good place for that.
I've been looking at this particular example above and baulking at the price being asked - so I'm 'pleased' to see you think it's expensive too - and also the fact that I'm in the UK and Argentina is a long way away if there are any problems!
That aside though, I'm interested in your expert eye and comment that it's over polished. The seller describes it as 'mint' but the (I think, excellent) photos show quite a few dinks and some wear to the cushion case, so I'd be interested to know why you think that it is overpolished? This especially so, as your thread on your 1969 Top time Racing mentions that you had the case for that one refinished. Would that have involved polishing, too?
Could you explain please!
thanks and regards

Fred is addressing the fact that the back is over polished. The lettering and numbers are light which means it spent some time against a polishing wheel. These cases aren't polished initially and not polished in restoration either. As you can see from the auction pics it doesn't have a polished finish so the brushed finish would be correct for the case and for a restoration.

Thanks Vintage - that makes perfect sense now!

Can somebody please give me some feedback on this example (if that's OK to ask):

http://shop.classic-watch-forum.de/arti ... ?uhrid=803

And does anyone have any experience of this dealer?

My German is not so good and Google Translate gives some 'interesting' results!

thanks and regards

never ever go anywhere near that seller, please ?
the 814 looks decent, surprisingly, but quite a bit too expensive.
patience should allow you to find one for €1.5k max.

This, and if you never take any other advice given online, please take this advice.

Thank you both, Gentlemen, for the advice, which I will duly follow.

If anyone knows of a good 814 for sale - with black dial and orange hands - please let me know!

kind regards