The Breitling Watch Source Forums

was watching this Aussie auction, as I'm always looking fo V178 & Navitimer 806 donor watches; probably not the only one here ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370958090252?ss ... 1438.l2649


massive pitting make that case unsalvageable at reasonable cost, dial is VERY strangely refinished ??? or a "prototype" , minute hand wrong, sliderule an incorrect replacement and I shudder to think about the "great running" movement when a seller describes this case as "good condition".

sold for $1.7k

what's wrong with us Breitling collectors ? That's like asking "What's the meaning of life".............

Yes, I wonder if that watch would have doubled in price if it had not so many issues. Was it a fair price given its condition? 33 bids is respectable, so enough thought it worth a bid. Case is very sad.

But you are correct, its had a very hard life, if indeed its all the one watch! Bezel is misaligned to the dial as well. That spells potential trouble.

_________________
Jim

"You have Control".

I assume ignorance on the part of the bidders after a point (as we know you don't have to look far to find that), no one who understood what the watch was would have paid that much for what is essentially just a movement, pushers and crown. Would they....???

bezel
but at least double the "reasonable" value ...

I wonder , how many 806's are out there that can be used for parts ?

I didnt buy it but if you throw out all the wrong parts it would only take a dial , some hands & sliderule ring to make it a wearable watch and it would still be cheaper , if you have the parts, than buying an original.

The cheapest one currently out there is $2779 for a GP in France (which is actually a very nice watch !)

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

The reality is the watch sold for about what it's worth imho. A parts watch for sure. I saw one a few months back that had obvious water damage, the movement was a rusty pile of unusable parts, and the dial was water damaged and it still went for $1400. A working Venus 178 movement will sell for anywhere from $600-$800 by itself. I'm starting to think any 806/809 below $2k is going to have issues so it's just how many issues and if they're fixable (do I have the parts or can I get them).

I could just about live with the wrong hands, but the lume is just awful. I have had my 67 navi for around 2yrs now and I have to say the 178 keeps by far the best time out of all my mechanical watches. I time against my Tissot Touch quartz movement and it keeps within 10 secs/day which I think is brilliant.

Yes, prices are clearly rising. but in this particular case, Paul, you get a $600 movement, a bezel (200 max), a sliderule (120), pushers & crown (50), partial set of hands - so alltogether 1k max; case is worthless with that pitting ?

I think Paul is on the money. I am not surprised by the final bid in some ways either. It's not for me but someone out there figures they can possibly repair low & sell high, instead of stripping for parts. Or, this is a cheap way to buy into a grail for bragging rights. It might be ignorance, but it might be someone in the right place at the right time in their world. We don't know.

You can't always believe that bidders are collectors & in the end, everyone has a story. Did the bidding go too high or did it get out if hand? Are they Speculative or on a guaranteed earner, or is it they just don't care?

_________________
Jim

"You have Control".