The Breitling Watch Source Forums

what's this business of '30 somethings' being crusty??????

Enter the most opinionated regular:
I seriously dislike the B01 bezel. By that I mean you could not pay me to wear one. No threat of torture short of forcing me to view nude pictures of Nancy Pelosi could change my mind.
DO NOT interpret that as even the slightest disparaging remark to those of you who adore it. That is only one man's opinion and opinions are like assholes; everyone has one and they all stink.
I think Mofongo hit on it best; it is a significant departure from what those of us more classically inclined Breitling wearers consider the focus of the brand. We (the ling-o-philes) placed SO much hope and stock in the B01 as the springboard for Breitling into the manufacture arena; "F-off Rolex boy! We have our in house movement, our bracelets are not made from recycled Coors cans and you can't lose our watch between the seats of your car! So sit down Grandpa!" But the vast majority of us (I perceive) were terribly disappointed in the direction of the styling.
That styling has brought in a new clientelle. I do not think any of us would think that a bad thing. Where I think many of us, well certainly me at least, really begin to worry is that this new styling may be the ONLY styling for Breitling in the future. That is disturbing for 2 personal reasons: 1. I do not have the disposable income for 5-6 IWCs, APs, or UNs. and 2. It took a long time to establish my presence as the useless wise-ass on this forum, I do not know if I have the energy to do it on another brand forum.

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Chronomat, Steel/Gold, MOP Dial, 2-tone band (2008)
Super Avenger Black Baton Dial (2009)
Bentley B04 GMT Silver Dial (2013)
Avenger Blacksteel Baton Dial (2014)

I swear I found this forum because of Breitlings, but I stayed for BoneDoc's posts!!

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Men are from Mars, women are from Hell.

I just threw up in my mouth.

I'm not against the B01, but like others have said, it just seems like a departure from the tradional breitling style. I do like some of the dial combinations the B01 is offered in, but the bezel kills it for me. I was never a fan from day 1 and when I finally saw them in person, while not as bad as I thought, it still wasn't for me. If people like them and chose to buy them, more power to them and I'm glad they've found a watch that makes them happy. A lot of people don't get the appeal of Panerai, but I love wearing mine.

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Justin
Please contact me via PM for the contact details for Govberg Jewelers
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Look at the bright side. We are all fortunate enough to be debating Breitling watches. And not sitting in the Invicta forum talking about a $250 dollar watch with a MSRP of 2 grand wondering how they put 5 carats of diamonds on it for that price. Or does this Lupa make my hips looks big? I love my crosswind, Not a big fan of the B01 bezel but if you like it and have the money it is your wrist. I have always enjoyed the old school look, At some point this B01 will be considered old school.

First of all: A forum where everyone agrees is boring. A forum where people disagree in such a way as to keep you coming back is great

One of the often mentioned sentiments in the B01 debates on this forum is that it is percieved as straying from Breitling's heritage to some degree. This is where I disagree.

I have bought and read the breitling book (which was a great read) and learned a bit about the brand's history. I really can't see how the B01 departs from their heritage. The main point of contention is the bezel. Not how it works or what it can do, but how it looks. The brand's heritage is not about looks, but about functionallity and innovation. Now, one could argue that the B01 is a cosmetic departure from their history and heritage, but I think this is kind of a moot point.

The B01 is a chronograph. It's well built, accurate and very functional. It's not as innovative as one could hope for, but has some nice new features. Fit and finish is superb and the ergonomics are great. Lots of members here don't like the bezel or some other style-related aspect of this model, but a departure from brand heritage? I must respectfully disagree.

My personal view on the bezel is that i like it. I don't loooove it, but like it. Fine operation, easy to read and nice looking.

As for the B01 as a whole: I looooove it

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"Either this man is dead or my watch has stopped!"
- Groucho Marx

First let me say that the whole debate about b01 is over my head, but as a new breitling owner and as a new poster and in truth only recently new to realising the breitling brand in general I would like to have my say and word of encouragement. I wish to thank the posters and repliers the in this forum that replied to my posts and questions and yes I asked the questions that were probably asked a 1000 times. I have learnt more in the last two weeks here than the previous two months researching on my own, through Internet magazines books etc. which again I want to thank the posters for. As with most of my hobbies I am brand loyal and I think that will be the case here with breitling. As stated I am new to breitling but I always remember noticing the breitling stand in a jewelry store and noting it over any other high end maker. That makes me think that it is a very special brand indeed. I will now always own a breitling and have no real urge to own any other brand and I think that has a lot to do with this forum and the passion I feel in it. Nothing to do All the celebrities that you see wareing them, in fact that would kind be off putting I have ono doubt that I will own a another Breitling some time in the future whether or not I will be posting in a year I really don't know but if 1 out of 100 stays and helps others I would says that that is a good result. One think is for for sure that I will be breitling for life and that is down to this site and this forum. Again as new comer thanks...
Breanach78

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Breanach78

A Few Breitlings.

Has anyone seen the b01 with the new brushed bezel? That was a basel announcement. I think that will win over some people.

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Current collection: Breitling Superocean Heritage I 46, Rolex Submariner, Swatch X ****** Sistem51

Holy crap the replies are long in this thread. I had to tap out on the first page.

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-RJ

I have been reading "The Book", too. I have to say that I agree that I don't think that the B01 necessarily departs from the heritage of the company. They were focused on innovation for functionality and maintainability, and often did push the envelope in terms of styling in order to achieve functionality. They developed some fairly complex dials for the different chronograph models they made. But no matter how complex they were, they were also balanced out by ergonomics and readability. I think these are still present in the B01. Sure, the bezel is an annoying style decision on their part, but I think the dial design, the movement, and the overall package are still in keeping with Breitling's heritage.

Clearly, the design does depart from Breitling's stylistic theme of the last 1 or 2 decades, but Breitling has often pushed into new styles of presentation on that time scale. Granted, I may not like the new style, and I may feel very disappointed because I had such high expectations, but that's life. If this were 90 years ago, we would be arguing over Breitling's decision to move from pocket watches to wristwatches. I mean...timepieces on your wrist?? Get real! That's just a silly fashion craze popularized by youngsters in their newfangled flying machines! They're small, they're ugly, and they catch on your cufflinks...who would want to wear something like that, anyway? And you can't open them to see the movement. What kind of timepiece aficionado would go for that?

That said, I actually don't understand the logic for offering the new B01 movement in a stylistically new package. The people who care most about the new movement are mostly WISs like us, and we are (as evidenced here ) mostly stick-in-the-mud in our tastes. Most of the customers who will be attracted by the new style probably don't care about the movement.

///M

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness." --Dave Barry

Sums it up in a nutshell!

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Well, you started something here Roff

I have loved the Breitling brand since forever. However, it's only recently that I could afford one. So, when I did decide to finally make the move, I was between the Chronomat, the B01 and the Navi. I visited many AD, not only to compare prices (and discounts ) but also to hear what they had to say. Some were completely ignorant ( ), others were informed and some were well informed and were living for the product, wishing to discuss the brand, give details etc. That is how I learned a great deal of the history behind the B01 development: yes, quite a bit more expensive than a Chronomat, but with the first in-house movement (and independent from Mr. Hayek's desires and decisions) and a new design. So, I made my mind for the B01. Why? Because IMO the design makes the B01 come out of the pack and as a (big) bonus there is the first in-house movement by Breitling.

After I had bought my B01, through internet research, I found out about BreitlingSource. So, I was not influenced by the opinions expressed on this forum. And I was surprised of the, mostly, negative opinions about the B01 I found on the forum. Reactions were as if the B01 is the black sheep of the Breitling family: OK we accept it (barely) but only because it's a Breitling. Positive opinions came almost solely by B01 owners. The majority of those negative opinions were against the bezel. But, for me, maybe it was the B01 bezel that leaned the scales for it and against the "legacy" Chronomat.

However, I think that the B01 is a new and quite innovative design compared to what we were used to so far from Breitling:

new case, new dials with the distinctive "square" in middle, new design roman numerals, new colors. And above all, a new exceptional in-house movement, not to mention perfect functionality and better than average readability in most light conditions.

The bottom line is that the B01 is, technically, a better than average Breitling watch. That is why I just love it. That not everyone agrees on that, well, that is the interesting part. If everybody did, the mere existence of this forum would be in danger.

That is one of the reasons I joined this forum : everybody can express its opinion and is free to do so without expecting the others members to necessarily agree. But at the end of the day, we all go home friends as it should be.

The other reason, of course, being that this forum must be one of the best around and packed with concentrated info about watches, not only about Breitling, and with no strings attached.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

btw, for my modest opinion, this distintive "square" in middle is the worst thing Breitling did, with the new B01 bezel, of course....
i hate both "square" in the dial and the bezel... what can i say more?

d

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Breitling Antares B10047
Breitling Chronomat B13050
Breitling Chronomat A13050.1 - pilot bracelet
Breitling Chronomat Blackbird A13050.1 - serie spéciale
Breitling Avenger Seawolf E17370
Breitling Chronomat EVO A13356 - pilot bracelet

And here all a long I thought this was a dictatorship. All hail the king!!!

Wasn´t Roff contemplating about the edginess of opinnions regarding the B01 and he had very valid points.

...So my point? Well to underline it: One reason for it is, when people buy something they are very excited about and everyone pisses all over it. It usually annoys the owner, hence the edgines.

I have the AS not the B01, but at some point would love to get one. I believe that in a short period of time the B01 owners will probably be the majority on the site. Wouldn´t that be weird?

There are some pieces I don´t like and will be new ones in the future too, so what, I don´t get worked up about it. That I have hard time understanding, but that´s just me.

When the B01 was itroduced it seemed to stop the world. Reading this thread it´s nice to see generally a more civil level of discussion of the piece. Some of the edges softened in time probably. I think we need some Archie to make this interesting again?

This thread has definitely sparked some good debate, but I'll try to keep my response concise. Roff made a point in his original post that I feel compelled to respond to. He said:

" . . . the B01 is attracting people to the brand who wouldn't have considered Breitling before because they didn't grow up liking the models that I consider iconic . . . "

I was a very early adopter of the B01 and it was in fact my first Breitling. However, the B01 did not bring me to the brand. I'd been lusting over Navitimers for many years, but just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on one. I received the B01 as a gift. Fortunately, my girlfriend told me I could take it back and exchange it for something else if I wanted. I went to my jeweler the next week and looked at those Navitimers I'd always wanted; I walked out of the store with the B01 on my wrist.

I do agree with Roff that the B01 is attracting a different group of buyers to the brand. However, I do want to emphasize that not all B01 owners are new to Breitling. Or maybe I'm just the exception that proves the rule . . .

-Craig

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Chronomat 01- Sierra Silver/Steel
Navitimer 01- Limited Edition #1337/2000