The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Also...we need to keep this in perspective....look how long it took to put an in-house in a Navi....I highly doubt we'll see an in-house world (gmt) anytime soon. And there will still be plenty of models that won't get an in-house....superocean, steelfish, avenger. etc...

I sold all but my two favorite lings to get ready to add an in-house or two...navi & blackbird...unless they F with the bird.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

I really hope Breitling do go down the in-house route more, but I also don't think it'll devalue non-in-house Breitlings at all. Ultimately the in-house and non-in-house models are priced at very different price points and as a result there'll always be a market for less expensive models. Additionally if non-house pieces become scarcer it may even help raise used prices of those a little.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Sheesh, this one seems easy if you compare it to the current secondary market which SUCKS. Resale values of the models we have or may purchase in the future aren't going anywhere. Presumably every in house packed model will have a price point that will drive a certain % of prospective buyers away. Their only viable option becomes the used market or other brands.

And as said above, this change occurs over time. Honestly, the thought of a Steelfish with an in house does nothing for me - a watch you can currently get new with a chronometer movement and now it will have - what? - the B02?? What will that cost after discount- $3000?

I still wouldn't be surprised to see entry models - perhaps new models - with calibers made from substitute ebauches.

I think most Breitling fans wanted in house options - similar to the IWC lineup with models housing reworked ETAs and more expensive in house models - but it took the gathering storm of a business decision by the Swatch Group for anything to really start happening with Breitling.

I'd rather pay $2000 for a great watch (current Steelfish case, dial, bracelet) with a "Top Grade" (chronometer certified) ETA movement than get the same watch for $3,000 with an in house.

That said, I'm all about in house movements - have several. I'm just not moved by them in less expensive pieces which lose some appeal due to increased cost.

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SHARKMAN

I just typed something similar in the Steelfish thread, but Breitling is going away from ETA produced movements. That's not their choice, that's Swatch Group's decision to stop supplying movement kits (ebauches) to 3rd party companies. After this year if you want to use an ETA produced movement then you have to use it as is or pay ETA to modify it for you.

However, the designs are a long time out of copyright protection so you can use ETA / Valjoux designs without having ETA produce them for you. Breitling has been doing that for a while using both external suppliers and their own equipment to produce the designs - they're still referred to as ETA bases because that's the design, but you have to wonder what's driving the decision to tool up to produce them in house.

Part of it is clearly because they have invested in the equipment for in house production and want to have that equipment start paying for itself at a time when in house movement production can't keep the equipment at capacity. However, I have to think that the logical next step is to produce more in house designs and fewer 'generic' ones. That's going to take time, and the R&D costs will be high, although a lot less than for the B01 (leverage the solutions that you already have rather than reinventing the wheel). It doesn't have to drive prices through the roof either - it depends how many units you are prepared to write the R&D costs across, although you have to assume some premium.

I could go on for hours on my opinions on this, and I think that it will be interesting to see the evolution, but in terms of the original question, I don't see any impact on resale values immediately - the in house pieces will demand a premium on resale, but then they are more expensive new so percentage wise there will be some similarity. Over time, as more in house movements hit the market then the non in house pieces may become less desirable, especially in ranges where the designs are similar (as we are seeing with Navitimer), but I think that is still several years away, and I don't think that it will be dramatic.

hahahah you like that eh buddy? where abouts in port moody are you? i am in coquitlam

Love it boogiebot. I'm out on Ioco. Any snow up on the hill?

hahaha no yet. but they shut down the golf course up here. now im stuck playing the 9 hole.

I'm sure that you know more about this than me, but I thought that I had read that the president of Swatch Group, I forgot his name, said that he would only stop selling the ETA movements to companies that don't do anything but put the movements in their cases. It sounded to me like companies like Breitling and Panerai, who have taken steps to design and produce their own movements and are becoming "real" watchmakers will still be able to use the ETA movements. From what I got out of the interview he seemed more concerned with the amount of "fly by night" companies taking a case, sticking an ETA movement in it and calling themselves watchmakers, when they really didn't make anything. Does any of that make sense?

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"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

That's exactly what ETA will sell to going forward - people who use the movements without modification. This has been going on for close to a decade now because of all of the lawsuits flying around, but bottom line is that ETA will supply movements to in family companies and customers for casing.

Wow, didn't think this would be such a popular topic. I come into work and click on the link and....

I see a bunch great views here but it still has me thinking. I am sorry to say that I am one of those people who like "the best". Therefore, if I were to buy a new Navi World next month and then I here that they will be coming out with an in-house movement 6 months later; will I be upset....a little. Because I for one like that "new thing". Kinda like a buying a new car(Benz)... Say you buy a new S430 then a week later they came out with the S500. Knowing you could have afforded the S500 from the start....you would be kicking yourself. Not for the looks, but for what under the hood! Get my point....? (Now I know they all ready made the S500 to start but you get the point)

I guess your dammed you do or your dammed ya don't. Would it stop me from buying one though probably not. I hope they don't make it then at least for a few more years so I can enjoy it KNOWING there is no in-house movement yet.

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Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

There's an old adage that the best time to buy a computer is next week - always next week because there will be something newer / faster / better coming out. Same thing could be said for digital cameras today.

Watch evolution may be a little slower, but it amounts to the same thing - you can always wait for something better to come out, and sooner or later it will, but then there will be something better after that too and in the meantime you aren't enjoying the acquisition.

To me, if I like it and the price seems reasonable to me, then I buy it and don't worry too much about what might happen in the future. Certainly I may hold of buying in February knowing that Basel is just around the corner, but I don't worry too much about it otherwise.

To use your car analogy - as soon as you buy the S500 the next year's model is announced with more toys and a few more horsepower.

Dude, the World is a great watch with a lovely movement. If you can't fully embrace that for fear an in house model will make you think less of a great watch , don't buy it. Otherwise get the dang watch now. You know you want it. You've written about it all over BS. WE know you want it. Get it!

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SHARKMAN

Oh I'M GETTING IT! But, if there was an in-house movement coming out in the next 6 months then I would wait.

You can expect wrist shots sometime in the next few months my friend! Once again, I gotta pay for the honeymoon first

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Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

See my recent post on the Addicted.... thread.

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SHARKMAN