The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I just went to the boutique today and had a long chat with the manager. A very fruitful day for me. Very good service and friendly staff.. Impressed with their service and had their prices been the same as other ADs I would not hesitate buying from them.

According to the manager, yes there will be a larger Navi and yes there will be a new Chronomat(I believe Limited Edition) in celebration of the Chronomat's 30th anniversary, where the styling will be closer to the old one. Not sure if they will launch a regular version and name it Chronomat Heritage after that;p However, I think the size will be larger than 44mm(46mm if I am not wrong). As for the current Chronomat 44, they will definitely continue it but they will discontinue several variations so as to size down the number of variations to just a few. So it's good news for both old or new Chronomat lovers. I dislike too many variations of the current Chronomat too and will welcome the idea of sizing down to just a few variations. He also mentioned that there has been feedbacks on the Emergency that some do not like the antenna affecting the aesthetics of the piece. They are doing something about it. Not sure if I got the message wrongly on this part.

When asked about Breitling's sales and their direction, design, etc... The manager told me that Breitling's sales are definitely on the rise(maybe he is referring to Asia). And so far their most popular where sales is concerned are their Chronomats and Navis because most buyers prefer to buy iconic models. I then asked the reason for the change in styling for the Chronomat and is it because of the negative feedback or low sales due to the design(eg, fonts). I also asked about the DLCs and why they are launching so many of those and the rubber inserts. He said that the reason is because Breitling is reaching out to the mass market, especially Asians because of their increasing buying power. Asians in general are more receptive to designs that are unique and refreshing, whereas westerners in general prefer simplicity, traditional and designs that are close to the origin. Therefore when designing the Chronomat 01, company tried to balance classic and modern into the piece so as to appeal to the tastes of both modern and traditionalists. He told me that the Chronomat is very popular in Asia but Westerners in general do not like the "uniqueness" (fonts, centre square, etc) that they feel are drifting too much from the traditional style. That's why they are making use of the upcoming Chronomat's 30th anniversary to launch something to cater to these traditionalists. The current Chronomats will definitely remain given the amount of time and resources they spent on it. However because of the feedback that there are too many versions, until to the extent that they might be overdoing it, they will discontinue producing different versions and size down to just continue producing a few versions of the current Chronomat. I think it's a good move that will give a stronger identity to the model.

The DLCs and rubber inserts have also been noted by the company. According to the manager they do appeal to many consumers but because these are "in trend", they did feedback to the company to not overdo them. That's why Breitling is trying to control releasing these and we don't see them on regular models but more on LEs and Special Editions.

I spent quite sometime browsing in the boutique with the friendly manager. Somehow when I saw all the pieces together, whether new or old models, I did see an overall similarity in all the pieces, a common "identical look" that tells me that every inidividual piece is a Breitling. Maybe because the boutique has more pieces plus the environment that made me feel this way. I don't feel that they have lost their "heritage" and identity but it's more of they are in the process of evolving into something bigger than they used to be. I even spent sometime browsing at the Bentley pieces and I thought they look impressive with the amount of details they have especially on their dials. Personally they don't fall within my radar but that doesn't mean that they are "garbage". Certain design elements seem to project certain meanings that are not necessarily understood, but I kind of appreciate those details. The amount of time spent on designing and producing every piece should be respected IMHO. The kind of charisma that every single piece has casted on me is something that I have never seen in other brands. I guess that's the attractive part about Breitling.

Overall after my conversation with the manager I am starting to get excited with the direction that Breitling is heading towards. Their attempt to appeal to different consumer sectors seem to start earning it's place, especially when they are now going back to cater to the traditionalists. Of course we have to see what they have in the coming Basel....more excitement to come...

_________________
Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

Great post, Chronomat01LE -- thanks for sharing that info. Makes me look forward to this week even more. I'm heading to NYC later this spring and plan to devote a chunk of time to visiting the Breitling Boutique there -- should be very interesting, post-Baselworld!

_________________
Cheers,
Jim

This really could be the best Breitling Baselworld for years.

Oh, and it's now 4 days and counting.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

...til the real March Madness begins!

_________________
Cheers,
Jim

It is interesting to hear the manager said the style departures were to serve the Asian market. This idea was speculated by forum members years ago.

However I question his sincerity in claiming "rubber" is in trend. Maybe on straps, but not on bezels. Ceramic is "in trend." Sapphire covered bezel inserts are "in trend." I am most interested to see what will happen with the Superocean line.

Whether the newer styles are Asian driven is largely beside the point, sales are not keeping pace with the other top brands while prices are rising higher than the other popular brands. Of course, that is something a boutique Rep would be reticent to discuss. I imagine Rolex and Omega are doing better in Asia than Breitling. Rolex and Omega haven't gone style-crazy. What I do know is locally the Chronomats are not selling as well as the former versions and Superocean line has become an anchor.

_________________
SHARKMAN

That's the nub of it for me. The competitors who seem to be out-performing Breitling are the ones who pursue evolution rather than revolution.

Well each and every individual's tolerance on styling is different. To me certain styles might be unique but to some, might be crazy. Certain styling or detail might not make sense to some and some might appreciate those. I have learnt to appreciate every single luxury watch, every model and piece, regardless of brand, even though some of them do not appeal or doesn't even make sense to me. Well these are pieces of art where their designs are not necessarily understood, and instead of identifying them as garbage or "wrong" just because they don't appeal to me, I try to appreciate and understand the designs. As mentioned, the amount of manpower, time and effort taken to design and produce every single piece should be respected IMHO. Every brand has their own culture and IMO Breitling is in the process of growing, reaching out to larger market segments and transforming into a bigger brand, whereas brands like Omega and Rolex are pretty much "matured brands" that have enjoyed a certain level of success and just need to continue with their proven business models.

I personally don't think their styling departed from their predecessors and I feel it's also unfair to compare Breitling's sales with Rolex and Omega at this point of time, especially when Rolex and Omega are already well known to any average Joe on the street whereas Breitling is still unknown to many consumers out there.

About the trend part, I don't know about the DLCs or rubber inserts whether they are only in trend in Breitling or Breitling is trying to create the trend. But I do know they do make the watches more tactical for missions, the rubber inserts make them more legible, more functional for professionals. I appreciate those but will not buy currently because I don't need a tactical watch and the rubber inserts doesn't look nice on my wrist. Therefore they are not suitable for me but again just because they are not suitable for me doesn't mean that they don't appeal to anyone else or Breitling has made a "wrong move" to produce these. As much as I love the use of ceramics on watches, they do have their disadvantages. They are extremely hard, and although highly scratch resistant(not scratch proof), they can break or chip off on high impact, and if really scratched, chipped, or break, they are irreversible and will not be cheap to replace, unlike steel where they can be easily restored to new if scratched. Maybe this might be one of the reasons why Breitling has not used ceramic on their pieces, which are intended for military or heavy duties.


Just my 2 cents....

_________________
Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

>>>Maybe this might be one of the reasons why Breitling has not used ceramic on their pieces, which are intended for military or heavy duties.<<<

I promise you the SOs in "military or heavy use" duty are dwarfed by many orders of magnitude by desk diver duty.


Understand I am not comparing gross sales, but relative growth - percentage increase in sales. Breitling is down compared to Omega and Rolex, while their percentage price increases outmatch Rolex and Omega.

And I agree style is subjective. That's why we always used to disregard the East German judge's score!


Here is what we do know -

In 2009 Omega COSC numbers exceeded Breitling by 80,000
In 2010 Omega COSC numbers exceeded Breitling by 220,000
In 2011 Omega COSC numbers exceeded Breitling by 355,000
In 2012 Omega COSC numbers exceeded Breitling by 370,000


COSC numbers do not necessarily represent sales. But they are close enough to show change relative to Omega right around the time Breitling styling got more "creative." Sure there are other factors. But styling jumps out.

Now *if* the insider info over the last couple months is true - IF! - Breitling is planning to revamp the SO and Colt lines which they just revamped. And they are planning changes in the Chronomats and maybe even Galactics (my pure speculation). IIRC from 2007 to 2009 Breitling was nipping at Omega's heels. Then it changed. So while Breitling may be doing better in Asia compared to Europe and N.A., Omega is doing comparatively better than Breitling in Asia over the last 4 years.

Again, no one can pin it with certainty on style changes, but Breitling's relative numbers have slipped. I assume their planned changes are pocketbook driven rather than Breitlingsource driven (even Driver 8 can't carry that much weight). In the end Breitling's pocketbook is consumer driven.

_________________
SHARKMAN

Good observations and points...

But If the COSC numbers does reflect sales in a way, I personally would feel that the main factor is caused by the price hike more than "styling changes". Because Breitling still has other models that are more conservative and cater to traditionalists such as the Navis and TOs. I believe many consumers used to like Breitlings for their value for money where they have similar quality with their peers but with lower pricings. They are unconvinced that the introduction of in-houses should justify for the huge price increase and they would rather spend the same amount of money on more established and more "recognized" brands, and of course, more "proven" movements.

Whichever the reason, I believe they are still growing and it will be interesting to see what they roll out in the coming Basel....

_________________
Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

>>>>Asians in general are more receptive to designs that are unique and refreshing, whereas westerners in general prefer simplicity, traditional and designs that are close to the origin.<<<<

Now, that would explain why Rolex is such a flop in Asia.

>>>>He told me that the Chronomat is very popular in Asia<<<<

I am yet to find one on someone's wrist in the wild in this part of the world and I do travel around the region a bit.
I have seen the odd Breitling, mostly on tourist or expat's wrists, ignoring the few Asian wrists that turned up at the Breitling collectors evening in the local boutique a few months ago.
I am yet to spot the current Chronomat in the wild, so I am not convinced that the Chronomat is very popular in Asia.

_________________
"It is just a matter of time!"

Basel 2014 Breitling over hyped edition....

I'm hoping for good things too, I just wouldn't expect a refresh in all lines...

Here's to hoping I'm wrong....

_________________
--
sco
Breitling Chrono Superocean
Omega Aqua Terra 8500
Rolex Submariner Date Ceramic

Well that's what the manager told me. I also have not come across anyone wearing the Chronomat 44 before. Coming to think of it, I hardly come across anyone wearing a Breitling here! The only experience I had was that the only 3 Chronomat 44 available at an AD's recent pre-renovation sale got wiped out by the 2nd day of their sale. Not sure who bought them. Maybe tourists did. I chatted with many different ADs and many of them claimed their Chronomats were the most popular. Some told me it's their Superoceans and Avengers but said it's because of the lower pricing and many bought them as Corporate gifts.

Well Asians are more receptive to unique and refreshing designs doesn't mean that they don't like simple designs too. It definitely doesn't mean that they dislike Rolex and their symbol of success and wealth!

I do hope that the current Chronomat is not popular here and will remain that way;p I dislike seeing the same thing on other people's wrist. My batman is getting lesser wrist time these days because I am starting to see it quite often on people's wrist even less than one year of its launch! Not sure whether I should be happy or irritated by its popularity.

This year's Basel seems very different from before, more excitement than before, more speculations than before. It will be interesting to see what comes next and their future direction...how many more days by the way?

_________________
Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

I'm so happy that I do not care what other people wear. I couldn't imagine spending (a lot) of hard earned cash on a luxury item (not a necessity by any means) and then not enjoy it, because someone else has one too....

_________________
--
sco
Breitling Chrono Superocean
Omega Aqua Terra 8500
Rolex Submariner Date Ceramic

Not to the extend of not enjoying it. I would have flipped it if it had really bothered me too much. But I prefer not seeing the same thing on other people's wrist. Unlike you, I like to "poke my nose" and peep at what other people wear, especially luxury and high end watches, because my hobby draws my curiousity to do so, these are "buffet viewings" for me instead of having to keep going to ADs to browse and get blacklisted by the sales staff for often wasting their time to entertain me and not buying anything!

_________________
Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

I actually look at everyone's wrist too. I am obviously very interested in watches. It just doesn't bother me that someone has the same possession. Maybe, if my next door neighbor bought the exact same car and color as me, that may tick me off a little, but I would get past that too. Life is too short!

At first I thought I didn't want to purchase a Rolex because "everyone" has one. Well, that just isn't a fair statement. I live near Chicago, and people here have plenty of money but I don't see THAT many subs. I do spot some from time to time, but that can't hinder my appreciation. The fact that many people own something can show that it is a quality product and many people are enjoying it.

So Basel in two more days?? I'm ready...

_________________
--
sco
Breitling Chrono Superocean
Omega Aqua Terra 8500
Rolex Submariner Date Ceramic