Hi all Breitling Fans,
I bought my very first luxury watch in my lifetime 2 months back- The Chronomat 01 Limited Edition. I don't have very deep profound knowledge about watches so I did many months of research before I finally decided on this. I am sure that this decision would raise many eyebrows among watch enthusiasts.
I wanted a very quality automatic timepiece that is timeless that I will never get tired looking at, durable, functional, etc, that I can wear it for the rest of my life and pass it down to my children and future generation like a family heirloom. In short I wanted a watch that is an "all rounder". Watch experts that I see in most reviews recommend Brands like the Patek Philippe. However besides the cost issue I wanted something that is more functional and practical, as in that I wouldn't have to worry about bringing the watch for swimming, showering or even get drenched in the rain. Most likely I wouldn't do that but I feel that these basic practical essentials shouldn't be compromised in a watch, especially when I am paying a premium for it. So a stainless steel watch seems to be the one I wanted. I am not at the level to understand and really appreciate the very high ended brands like PP yet cos those are more like pieces of art and collectibles to me that only people in the know will really know about. So brands like Rolex and Breitling fits into what I wanted since they are 2 of the most popular brands producing high quality stainless steel watches. Brands like Omega wasn't in my consideration. Sorry if u are an Omega Fan becos as much as I respect the brand, I don't really like their designs as they give me a "Rolex wanna be" kind of feeling. Omega definitely is a prestigious brand that produces high quality watches but just that their design and style was not really for me(well it's a personal thing so no offence). I was eyeing on the Rolex Sub and a few Breitling models. As a newbie to luxury watches, I was also influenced by the Rolex Bug like most. I have seen a lot of good reviews about the Rolex Sub and agree that it is one of the very few that is an all rounder and suitable for any condition and outfit. However becos it is such a good watch to own that I find many people on the streets owning it. I wanted something that not many has and since I had to pay so much for a watch and I also wanted something that could do more than just telling the time, preferably with more complications. Good automatic watches are extremely hard to make, let alone those with more complications. Well guys tend to like things that can do more than their size, even though we might not need to use those additional functions. Therefore I was hoping for a Chronograph watch instead. I have always liked Chronograph watches and The Chronomat series just caught my eye and ranked one of the top in my list. I decided to keep my options opened still. The Navitimer is Breitling's trademark and one of the all time favorites among watch frantics but I gave it a miss as it looked too professional and niche to me that I feel it looks best with a pilot suit.
I went to all the luxury watches dealers that I could find to physically try on the watches cos that's normally the best way to decide and go with the guts feeling. I tried on the sub for about 6 to 7 times on different occasions but unfortunately it didn't work out for me and just couldn't convince me despite the excellent reviews in the forums. I had no doubts with the quality of the Sub but it just looked weird on my wrist. I didn't wanna buy it becos experts say it's good or just simply becos it's Rolex. The only Rolex that looked "ok" on my wrist was the GMT Master. I tried on a few Breitling models including the Navitimer on a few occasions and as expected I was most impressed with the Chronomat series. The longer power reserve in the in-house movement matters to me as the watch could still keep going without the need to do a manual wind if I do not use the watch for about a day or 2. I tried on different Chronomat models like the Flying Fish and also different versions/colors for the rest on different occasions and the Limited Edition series and Flying Fish impressed me most. However I took a few months before I finally decided on which to get becos I was worried of making a rush decision. I read many reviews and negative comments about the Chronomat series, especially the limited editions.
The most common review that I read about the Chronomat series is the huge numbers engraved on the bezel that looks cheezy and dated. Also the overall design looks too complicated and busy, that it will eventually go out of style. I have also read reviews on the limited edition series that the black dials look boring and ugly, that its better to choose the normal range where there is a larger choice of colors. I thought over the comments but everytime I went to a Breitling outlet to try on the different colors/versions, I just felt that they don't look perfect and tend to "distract" my attention as the colors of the sub-dials and the main dial are different. Looks like having 3 timepieces in a timepiece. The limited edition, although black for both dial and sub-dial looks more classic. They contrast perfectly with the highly polished hour and min hand that anyone sitting across the table could see the time clearly. The red hands on the sub-dials matches perfectly with black that it enhances visibility when using the functions without distracting the main focus and design of the watch as a whole. I extremely like the seconds hand on the main dial because the Breitling logo at the bottom enhances it's authenticity look and the red tip enhances visibility when it's being used. In fact I was considering the other chronomat limited editions too as they look almost the same(Chronomat GMT LE, Chronomat 41 LE, etc). The other LEs has the entire Sec Hand on the main dial, red(except the bottom with the Breitling logo)and only the Chronomat 01 LE has the polished Sec hand with red only at the tip. I prefer the sec hand to be polished as I like the shiny look but I love the red tip. So the Chronomat 01 LE was perfect for me as it's the best of both worlds although it was the oldest model among the Chronomat LEs. I don't agree completely with some comments saying that the Chronomat series including B01 looks complicated and will go out of style. Timeless to me is something that if yr son wears the same watch 50 to 60 years down the road it will still look like a newly launched model. Maybe some of the chronomat versions will eventually look outdated due to the colour choice. However I feel that the limited edition series won't given the classic color. The Chronomat design is very classic and doesn't have any additional designs in the watch that are not necessary cos that might make it look outdated after sometime. I think it appears "busy" to some simply because it is a Chronograph watch with additional reading functions like the Tachymeter. Breitling is a pioneer in Chronograph watches and Chronograph watches have been around for decades that it will never go out of style. If u observe the timepiece carefully, every single detail in the watch are designed for a reason and not just meant for "beautifying" purposes. The only debate I think is the font of the numbers on the Bezel. They are engraved big to enhance visibility. I personally feel that the numbers on the bezel looks very original and sturdy that I don't feel that they look dated at all.
The size of Chronomat 01 LE was perfect for me becos it is not neither too small to notice a presence or too big to look too dated. I nearly wanted to go with the Chronomat 41 LE but I felt that the face is a little too small to contain the details of the watch. Therefore Chronomat 01 LE works best for me. There are other Chronomat LEs with the same size but due to several reasons with some mentioned above, I decided to go with the former. At first I wasn't too comfortable with the Satin finish on most areas of the watch but I appreciated it later on becos it doesn't get finger stains and scratch marks that easily as polished finishing. Anyway the sides are polished so it still gives the classy look especially when I move my hands as the polished sides reflect the lights.
The size, design, movement, features and specs of the Chronomat 01 LE was perfect in everyway for me that there was nothing that I wasn't happy with. It was the dream watch that I wanted. The only thing left was to pay for it and hope for the best. It has been 2 mths and I use the watch almost everyday. I wasn't expecting much on the precision part at first since it is an automatic timepiece. However the precision of the in house movement was so amazingly accurate that it blew me away. The crown gets a little slippery whenever I wind the watch and tries to screw it back, but I am ok with it because I love the look of the crown. Some of the reviews about the hands jumping at times didn't exist for me as I tried to observe the movement on several occasions. The crystal caseback was such an entertainment for me that I would remove my watch to admire the in-house movement whenever I had nothing to do. The entire design of the watch expectedly didn't bore me, instead I just grew to love it day after day that I couldn't stop admiring my watch until my wife was angry with me for ignoring her. I was glad that I took a few months to review my choices before finally deciding on the timepiece.
Many feel that it's not worth paying that additional few thousand dollars for the LE as the quantity(2,000) isn't really limited. However the color choice and the Sapphire Crystal caseback was the main reason why I chose the LE. I didn't mind paying a little more since the watch will follow me for the rest of my life and will be passed down to my descendants. I certainly hope that Breitling will not change the outlook for the future Chronomat models and even other models because consistently changing the outlook will likely shun Watch Enthusiasts away and make the brand more like producing fashion watches than timeless quality pieces. For now I don't think they would especially for Chronomat series because it has been their best selling model. So I don't see why they would want to change the outlook when they are so popular. Even if so one day, the timepiece will not look outdated given it's classic design. Chronomat 01 is the very first model to house Breitling's very first In-House movement. So this timepiece will be a true vintage with symbolic value many years down the road as it marks Breitling's very first step towards a true luxury brand. Breitling watches might not hold as strong resale value as brands like Rolex now but who knows it will be on par or even better many years down the road. I have no intentions of using the watch for investment or sell it anyway becos I can always invest the money in other areas if I had wanted to grow it. However out of curiosity can anyone tell me if Breitling watches appreciate in value over the years and whether one would even earn profits by selling his watch many years down the road?
I am extremely sorry for the very long review because I seem to be writing my own f#%€ing story instead of giving a real constructive review over here. Thank you so much if u manage to finish reading it. I look forward to learning more from you guys and no worries abut dropping negative remarks about my watch if u don't like it. I see it as a positive sign that the more people don't like it, the lesser chances of people wearing the same watch as me:p
Have fun with yr watch collections:)
_________________ Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm
Last edited by Chronomat01LE on Sun Dec 02, 2012 12:13 am, edited 3 times in total.
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