The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hi there,
There's a general watch-related question that I'm wondering about:

Are there different size-variants for the same type of movement to be used in different case sizes, or do watchmakers use some kind of spacer in larger watches

For example, the B17 movement is used in a variety of cases, ranging from the "old" Colt Auto (38mm case) to the Avenger Seawolf (~45mm) or the SO Heritage (46mm).

Do they use the exact same movement (apart from the fact that the early Colts are not COSC certified), or do bigger watches have bigger (but otherwise the same) movements

Perhaps someone could shed some light on this? It would be appreciated.

_________________
___________________________________________________
Breitling Headwind SS Blue Dial (Current)
Breitling Colt Ocean Automatic (Sold)
Breitling Colt Quartz (Sold)

No, a specific movement will come in one size only. In other words, all B13's are the same size : there's no B13 "small" or B13 "large", they are just a B13.

Watch manufacturers use spacers (metal on good watches, plastic sometimes on cheap watches..... and some fakes) between the movement and the case to take up any gap. Some movements are larger than others - the movement in my Big Pilot for example practically fills the 46mm case, but most other movements are a fair bit smaller. For example the the SA uses the same B13 movement as the original Chronomat and there's almost a cm difference in case size! The SA uses a pretty big spacer.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

Yes, that's the kind of thing that I was curious about. Quite interesting, IMO.
Thanks a lot for the quick answer!

_________________
___________________________________________________
Breitling Headwind SS Blue Dial (Current)
Breitling Colt Ocean Automatic (Sold)
Breitling Colt Quartz (Sold)