The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I'm new to this forum (and watch wearing in general) but this watch caught my eye and heart on Ebay as a nice birthday present to myself. Any thoughts? I need someone with a Breitling brain to tell me if this is a good choice.

Thanks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230307539425&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

Well, it is a 778, and it is powered by the correct movement - a Venus 152.

However, it's not perfect. The hands are not correct - you can see the difference where the seller has shown the catalogue photo (which is actually copied from the Richter book). The catalogue is later than the watch, but I'm sure that the hands are wrong.

I also don't like the Breitling on the caseback. I think that the caseback is correct, but it would not have originally had Breitling on the back - that has been added later by some idiot who thought that it would add to the value.

Although the seller is one of the better ones, I think I would pass on this one.

I thought those gold dots were odd too--almost like rivets.

Thanks for the lightening fast feedback Roff. Great site.

[/quote]

I was having a dumb moment there, I edited the post to remove - they are just the time markers, but they do look odd.

I've sold a couple of 806 Navitimers to Bill in the last 12 months. Usually no problems with what he sells. I do agree on this one that the dial has been redone, maybe just the sub registers, and the hands are probably not correct and the 'Breitling' script certainly has been added to the back. The dial would most likely not be two-tone in any case. Other than that it probably is pretty close to being original. Probably worth what it's currently going for but worth $1800-$2400 if it was totally original.

Paul

Absolutley agree about Bill - definitely one of the better sellers.

Roff & Paul:

With regard to the hands, I did some research on an Isreli Breitling site that I'm certain you are familiar with, and reveiwed photos of other watches from this period (1940-1949). The hands on these watches appear to be identical to the watch above:

[/url]http://www.clubbreitlingisrael.co.il/image/users/24739/departAlbum/24739/normal/195519.JPG[/url]



[url]http://www.breitling.org.il/image/users/24739/departAlbum/24739/normal/289804.jpg[\url].

You should also note that these are examples of watches with two-tone dials. The watches appear under the "museum" photo gallery, so I'm assuming they are accurate and correct representations from this period. While I'm not dismissing your opinions of the watch above (I, in fact, bought it because of your confidence in the seller) perhaps these photos will confirm the originality of the hands. Thoughts?

I know I spent more than I should have on this watch. Know that I am not trying to justify the expense. As Woody Allen said, "somethimes the heart wants what the heart wants". I just thought these would provide more insight into this discussion.

Thanks for starting me on another expensive hobby...

Bart
[/url]

Here is the same watch with the same serial number being sold originally by a South American seller not that long ago. By now we all know the stuff that's 'created' down there. The original seller does describe the dial as being refinished. Sorry but you have to do the research. It only took me a couple of minutes to find this. If you look at the feedback number of the buyer in this auction you'll see it matches the seller of your auction. It's still a nice watch but not 100% authentic and I think I would bring it to the sellers attention if it bothers you. Both of the watches in your reference above appear to have altered Breitling script and redone dials.

Paul
http://cgi.ebay.com/BREITLING-%22Chronometre-Movement%22-Chronograph-Circa-1940_W0QQitemZ280277300258QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20081016?IMSfp=TL081016227001r3170

Well done vintage

_________________

As an avid Ebayer, I should have done the simple research of past sales. Had I know the watch was purchased from a seller in Uruguay, I would have never bought it. It just goes to show you that even "reputable" sellers must be checked thoroughly. Because the watch was not properly represented, I will be requesting a refund.

Thanks again for your research.

Bart