The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hello, I have 1965 809... it’s been great but the other night I was at dinner in a warm apartment and someone opened the door to cool the room off & the next thing I knew, the crystal was all fogged up. I’ve been told by other collectors that this happens because the watch wasn’t made to be fully sealed & ive also been told that that’s BS and it should be fully sealed... I wanted to reach out here to see if I can get to the bottom of this. Thanks.

Fogging is caused by moisture in the watch. If the temperature differential is enough, then simple water vapour in the air inside the watch is enough to make this happen. As far as I know (and I'm not a vintage expert by any stretch - unlike some of the guys here), the 809 was never designed to be water resistant at all, so that means the case isn't airtight, which would mean fogging up is far more likely than on a modern piece.

I'll move your thread into the vintage section as the guys there are likely more knowledgeable on this issue in vintage pieces.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

It’s not water resistant and never will be. If it rains, put you hand in your pocket.

Hi
If you have enough moisture in your watch to cause the glass to fog then it will also damage your dial and your movement. It ought to be dried out. Hopefully just taking the back of and leaving in a dry, dust free environment would be enough but if the movement looks wet it may need a proper clean and oil.