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| Is This 806 Bezel Correct? https://www.breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=65873 |
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| Author: | arcadelt [ Mon Jun 17, 2019 3:18 am ] |
| Post subject: | Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
This is a 1977 806 that is for sale on eBay. The watch is very clean, so I suspect has been restored. What interests me is the bezel, which somehow looks different - almost like those you see on the Sinn Navitimer. Am I right, or is the bezel actually correct for this late time period in the 806's life cycle?  
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| Author: | buddman [ Mon Jun 17, 2019 5:51 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
I think its OK, but the watch has a replacement service dial and slide rule (and probably hands) which is why it looks so clean. Id never though if it before , but your getting close in date to the wind down time of Breitling and the sale of stock to Sinn and O&W, so I guess this final bezel shape is what Sinn would have inherited? |
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| Author: | WatchFred [ Mon Jun 17, 2019 6:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
are you sure re the 1977 production date? would be unexpected |
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| Author: | arcadelt [ Mon Jun 17, 2019 12:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
WatchFred wrote: are you sure re the 1977 production date? would be unexpected Serial Number is quoted as "1448XXX", which according to the accepted serial number table puts it at late-1977 or 1978 
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| Author: | WatchFred [ Mon Jun 17, 2019 11:51 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
the serial table is - in general - quite correct, but it has been almost 8 years since I posted it here, shocking how time flies. recent research shows some discrepancies, especially in the last production years. no Navitimer were manufactured in 1977 according to the production records, 1.448xxx was produced in October 1990. |
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| Author: | arcadelt [ Mon Jun 17, 2019 11:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
WatchFred wrote: the serial table is - in general - quite correct, but it has been almost 8 years since I posted it here, shocking how time flies. recent research shows some discrepancies, especially in the last production years. no Navitimer were manufactured in 1977 according to the production records, 1.448xxx was produced in October 1990. I have asked the seller for clarification, but 1990 for an 806 would be quite odd. Perhaps an error was made in the sale listing. |
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| Author: | WatchFred [ Tue Jun 18, 2019 1:12 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
no, a batch of 200 Navitimer 806 was manufactured in 1990. not a seller claim, but a production ledger entry; yes, it is odd, but a fact. |
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| Author: | arcadelt [ Tue Jun 18, 2019 1:36 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
WatchFred wrote: no, a batch of 200 Navitimer 806 was manufactured in 1990. not a seller claim, but a production ledger entry; yes, it is odd, but a fact. Wow, I did not know that. Were they for a particular occasion or marketplace? This one is from Japan, where they seem to get all sorts of special projects. |
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| Author: | arcadelt [ Tue Jun 18, 2019 1:52 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
WatchFred wrote: ...a batch of 200 Navitimer 806 was manufactured in 1990. Could then be one of that batch based on this picture. I wonder then if they were built with service dials and hands, so these are actually original to that watch? 
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| Author: | WatchFred [ Tue Jun 18, 2019 1:54 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
yes, that's my assumption that these dials and hands are original to that batch of watches. there is no other information we have found about that production batch, the current Breitling Japan was founded some years after these were produced and also have no records about them there, just as there are no catalogs or advertisements. odd, as said 
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| Author: | arcadelt [ Tue Jun 18, 2019 2:00 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
WatchFred wrote: yes, that's my assumption that these dials and hands are original to that batch of watches. there is no other information we have found about that production batch, the current Breitling Japan was founded some years after these were produced and also have no records about them there, just as there are no catalogs or advertisements. odd, as said Fascinating. Thank you very much for that information. |
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| Author: | arcadelt [ Thu Jun 20, 2019 1:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
Given the late serial number of this watch and the Reference 806E designation, I would have thought it contained a Valjoux 7736? This one, however, contains a Venus 178. Have I misunderstood what the 806E designation means with respect to the movement, or is it possible that this "last" batch of Navitimer 806s built in 1990 also had "leftover" 178 movements installed? These are photos recently added by the seller to the listing:   Interestingly, in an article on watchuseek back in 2006, there was a questions asked about 806s with serial numbers after 1448473, which reportedly [at the time] was "the last serial number used before all manufacturing ended in 1978". 
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| Author: | WatchFred [ Fri Jun 21, 2019 3:57 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
well, there is little I can add besides the bare facts; all my efforts to trace those watches to a specific project or market have failed up to now; the fact that Japan issued several documented "Japan Only" Navitimer editions in the later 1990s and 2000s makes that theory logical, but not one iota of proof to be found (yet, we keep searching). on October 10, 1990, a batch of 200 Navitimer 806 in steel was noted in the production ledgers, "caliber" was entered as Venus 178 as these are physical ledgers with manually numbered pages, there seems to be no possibility of an error here w/ the production date. also noteworthy that this batch was produced by a different case manufacturer, one that had never worked on Navitimer cases before, may explain the differences that started this thread
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| Author: | Venus [ Fri Apr 24, 2020 8:18 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
Hi, here is another Navitimer 806 E:  It's serial is 14485XX, so must be one of the last assembled Navitimer 806 (E) models. It's post serial 1448473, which is the last documented serial before Breitling closed their doors in late 70's. It has Twin Jets logo, "T SWISS MADE T"-dial, "Big eyes"-dial and like the last 806 E models a slightly smaller, Breitling signed, crown. See other 806 E-pics on the web with 1448XXX serial. Today i brought this 806 E to an official Breitling AD for service. He told me to return in 2 months, because there is a long waiting list due to corona pandemy. But they opened the Navitimer case for me and it's equipped with a Venus 178 movement, which ist Breitling signed too. The AD told me it's an original watch for sure, but couldn't tell me more about the watch. So it seems the final remaining Navitimer 806 (E) units were made of remaining parts (no Valjeux 7736) until / after (?) facility closure in August 1979. Ernest Schneider acquired the Breitling trademark rights already in April 1979, so no further production of watches with signed Breitling trademark was possible. I've never seen a 14487XX-serial or higher on Navitimer 806 watches, so there must be only a few "post serial"-models (200, 300 pcs?). Hope to get more information. BR |
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| Author: | WatchFred [ Fri Apr 24, 2020 9:14 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Is This 806 Bezel Correct? |
as said above, 200 |
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