The Breitling Watch Source Forums

not an expert on these and the notoriously unreliable Richter does not list ref. 280-20,
but quite a lot seems correct here, hands, dial, serial number, the Valjoux 90 movement ?

case seems to be chromed base metal in (potentially too) good condition, unsure about capitals logo on movement & script on dial, missing "Geneve" on dial in a 1956 case, but we have seen those.

watch belongs to a gentleman in his 60s who just inherited the watch from his father - who had that watch as long as the son can remember, watch was last serviced in 1995.

If the case is chromed base then the SS back concerns me, but I don't see any other issues with this. The dial looks right and that kind of stamping is right for the movement. I assume that the movement stamping looking a bit uneven is just the photo??

Only other thing that looks slightly unusual, and would have to dig into to see if it's a 'real' issue, is the fact that the movement is marked Swiss Made twice.

thanks, Roff. hope to get some better movement pics on Wenesday, will post.

I have it on good authority that Breitling never used the Valjoux 90 only the Valjoux 89 and Venus 203 & 206 for the triple calendar watches. Plus the serial number says 1956 which would be a bit late for the script logo.

Paul, we've all heard that Breitling did not use Valjoux cal. 90, loudest of all our dear Sage; but may I inquire who that good authority is, does he have records to prove that claim ?

got some higher resolution pics below, you are clearly correct regarding that script logo, but dial looks perfectly correct for a mid/late 40s Breitling, also the other pics look quite convincing ?

I'd be greatly surprised if that dial hasn't been touched up. There is considerable patina to the lighter potion of the dial but look how black the Breitling script is and the numbers are equally black. Then check the Swiss Made down at the bottom. It's not the same black at all and all black on the dial should age equally. In my opinion a touch up job but a very good touch up job. The problem with these calendar watches is that I've never seen an example of one that's 100% authentic with a known history. Many different manufacturers used the exact same watch with a different name so these are very easy to fake. Not a model I choose to take a chance on.

The 7 - 10 Arabics seem to have a shadow suggesting that the dial has been re-stamped?

Roff, here's another angle, received a ton of pics, think the arabics are ok.
Paul is right about the strange visible fading to the "Swiss Made", but the overall uneven fading seems fine for me.

Trying to get some more info about the watch history from the owner - it is not for sale, but belongs to a guy in the Netherlands who contacted a collector friend to ask about servicing suggestions.