The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Can anyone tell me the correct way to measure the case diamater of my breitling Crosswind?

When I brought my Breitling Chronometre Crosswind they said it was 42.7mm but I know someone that has the same watch as me but on the face of there watch it is "written Breitling Chronometre Automatic" where as my watch it is written "Breitling Chronometre Crosswind" his watch looks quite larger in diamater (Case size) compared to mine .Does anyone know if there is a difference in case size betwwen the two Breitlings

The correct way to measure a case is across the centre of the dial, excluding the crown and pushpieces. If you are using a ruler, you can use the hour markers to ensure you are measuring across the centre - i.e. line the ruler up with the 2 and the 8, or the 5 and the 11, etc.

The reason you and your friends Crosswinds may have different writing on the dial is because the Crosswind went through a dial revision part way through it's production run. The patterning on the dial changed from a circular design to a diagonal line design, so I guess the wording may have changed too. I don't have my old catalogues to hand so I can't check the dial writing for you right now.

In terms of size, then as far as I can recall, all crosswinds were the same size irrespective of cosmetic and movement revisions. Dial colour can have an effect on how large a watch seems on the wrist - light dials tend to look a little bigger than darker ones for some reason.....

The only other reason (and I apologies if it seems patronising - it's not meant that way), is that they aren't actually both Crosswinds!

Hope this helps.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

i believe there is 3 types of crosswinds. the crosswind 42.7mm, crosswind special 43.7 , and the crosswind automatic 42.7... i measure my breitlings by taking a ruler with mm measurement and placing it on the bezel and measuring from the furthest side to the left starting at 0 and whatever the right side goes to is the length. (im sure you know how to use a ruler lol) you can find more info here...

http://www.breitlingsource.com/models/windrider.html

OK technically speaking there are 3 types - the standard Crosswind (they were all autos), the Crosswind Special (which is actually a different model altogether - looks different, different case, different pushpieces, different movement, etc) and the Crosswind Racing (which was identical in every way to the standard Crosswind except for having baton/stick markers instead of roman numerals).

I just assumed we were talking about the standard Crosswind which was (as far as I know) the same size throughout it's production run.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

We've already had this discussion earlier this week in another string. Driver 8 is exactly right with the theadditional difference between the Crosswind and the Racing that the wording on the dial is different.

Actually, there is one more difference.. the Crosswind Racing is completely Brushed instead of being polished.

_________________
BreitlingSource Admin
http://www.breitlingsource.com - http://blog.breitlingsource.com

Thanks Admin!

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

Not sure if this has anything to do with the case in question but interesting information on the topic of size anyway.

Copied from the Unofficial Breitling FAQ at Timezone to whom due credit is given...