The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hi All,

I recently turned 40 and was looking for an appropriate gift for myself to commemorate the occasion. i have a small amount of naive watch collecting under my belt, but mostly junk I wear for fun, not seriously collectible in any way. I started scouring ebay for just the right watch and fell in love with the 1960's cosmonautes, but was seriously intimidated by the wide ranging condition, the many variants of insignia, and just plain hacked together fakes of various models floating in the sea of the web. I knew that I didn't know enough to make an intelligent purchase so i began to look for resources that would educate I just discovered your forums and am excited about the potential to learn what I need to know to make a successful purchase.

That lengthy introduction said, is there a reference buyers guide for the older model B's? What should I be looking for in case, movement serial numbers, identification, Dial insignia, etc.. and what range of price should I be expecting. I saw a post in the FS/Buy/trade section of this forum recently selling a '67 that was asking $2K for what looked like a decent condition example and am wondering if that is typical of what I should expect.

Any advice for this N00b is greatly appreiceated.

Thanks in advance.

-Erik

Welcome to BreitlingSource.

I'm rather wary of commenting on pieces listed for sale here, so I'll pass on that part if you don't mind.

The vintage Breitling 'bible' is Benno Richter's book, now in it's 3rd edition - http://www.amazon.com/Breitling-History ... 513&sr=8-3

It's far from perfect, and even has a frankenwatch in it, but it's the best we have. Breitling also recently published a book called 'The Book' that has quite a lot of vintage coverage, but it's not cheap.

For the Navitimer faminly Jean-Michel's site is very helpful - www.navitimer.net and Alan Trott has a great Cosmonaute thread on WatchUSeek - http://forums.watchuseek.com/f39/breitl ... -4034.html. That also links to his Navitimer page.

At the risk of sounding slightly arrogant, this is one of the most active and accurate vintage Breitling communities so if you find anything specific feel free to post it here and we'll set you straight. None of us are perfect but we are all prepared to admit when we are wrong and there's enough activity that you won't have to wait a few days for an answer.

Good luck with the hunt for your first Breitling

Not arrogant Roff... we are all part of this community and I'd have to say myself this is the only place I'd ever ever go for advice on vintage B's... no wonder I'm still around...

As a message to the original poster, the 60's cosmos are an excellent choice for a birthday gift. You'll find that many vintage B's from that era was in my opinion a golden era for some superb, damn good looking chronographs hands down from Breitling. Good luck with your search and we all look forward to your purchase and it's mandatory here in the forums that you post pics once you get it...

Like I always say...

it always starts with one...

_________________
"I don't got the bright watch I got the right watch" -Jay Z

Also look at Kurt B's (a poster here) article on the Navitimer.

http://www.watchlife.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=144

and this french article on the chronomat.

http://www.invenitetfecit.com/modeles/p ... nomat.html

I've never owned a Cosmo, but from other people's comments they find it is an aquired taste because of the
potentially confusing 24 hour dial. A Navtimer from that period gives you the same look with
a standard 12 hour readout. (just something to think about).

I wear a mid-Sixties Navitimer as my day to day watch because it is beautiful and parts can be found
for it relatively easily. You wouldn't wear it swimming (or washing up) but you can wear it normally and not have
to baby it.

As has been said this forum is chock full of experience and knowledge and you you'll always get a reply on anything
you might have seen.

Depending on where you are it might be worth going to a bricks and mortar dealer and trying one on, to get
a feel for if it is something you might like. I would also say if it is a special purchase I wouldn't worry too much about
getting an absolute deal and rather pay a little more from a dealer and have some peace of mind and ability to
return it if there's a problem.

Thanks All,

This is a great start. I am not worried so much about finding a SUPER bargain. I'd like a nice reliable piece that can be worn every day. The Brick and mortar approach is something i am looking into now, even if just to get a feel for the range and variety of options. I am in Los Angeles so I should be able to find a reasonable selection of vintage dealers around here. (any recommendations ??)

I am actually attracted to the esoteric 24hr timekeeping of the Cosmo, many of my other watches have quirky displays of time, which I appreciate since it makes you think about the nature of time itself.

When I was 14, my father (who is not an impulsive man) took me straight from school one day to a watch shop where he promptly bought a Classic Movado. this being the age of LCD digital watches, I immediately asked him why he wanted a watch with no markings, it seemed so "inaccurate" to me. He replied " I've reached a point in my life where I don't need to know exactly what time it is." This statement has stuck with me for the past 25 yrs, and I am still trying to achieve his same goal. While the selection of a Breitling would seem counter intuitive to the notion inexact time, the function of wristwatches themselves have been supplanted by smartphones, so if I really cared about telling the time I'd look at my iPhone. For me, this watch represents the quest for the elusive mastery of ones own time, which is seemingly exponentially more difficult in the 21st century digital age we live in.

Wish me luck!

And thanks again for all your friendly advice.

-Erik

There are some vintage dealers in LA... but wayyyyyyy overpriced... I would avoid them unless you want to pay a hefty premium... best advice is to shop on ebay, look around the forums, post anything you're a bit iffy with here, and within time you can get a nice timepiece for fair market value.

_________________
"I don't got the bright watch I got the right watch" -Jay Z