The Breitling Watch Source Forums

YUK. anyone like the Avenger Seawolf Chrono Blacksteel Code Yellow and Orange Limited...?

Probably my least favorite.

Talk about pushing the boat out Breitling... Blacksteel Yellow/Orange Limited

What next

_________________
Breanach78

A Few Breitlings.

I’ve been hearing about these all day and finally being able to sit down and take a look at them here are my thoughts on some of the models. Starting at the top of Breitling’s crappy website:

Navitimer 01 – Love that the date window is now black but HATE the gold Breitling emblem.

Breitling 1461 “Olympus” – Like the dial color, like that they brought back the Navitimer style bezel insead of the rice bead bezel on the
Montbrillant Olympus, hate that they continue to use the French months/days on the dial. Also, I don’t like that they increased it to 46mm, 44mm would have been PERFECT for that watch…leave the 46mm for the world.

Chronomat 41 – ehhhh nothing special…just a smaller version of the original B01 IMO. But at least Breitling is willing to produce different sizes which is a good sign.

Chronomat GMT – Like the GMT function but its way too big and still has the ugly font. I think Breitling missed the boat big time on this one. This could have been a HUGE splash for them if they kept it 44mm and change the bezel…or even brushed it.

Chrono Flying Fish – LOVE IT. I love the finish on the case and bezel, I like the dial (you can’t notice the square in the middle as with other B01s) I would absolutely buy this watch!

Chronomat 44 “Special Series” Not so special in my opinion. YUCK!

Superocean 44 – Another big miss by Breitling! I like that they increased the size to 44mm however, where are the rest of the numbers???? It looks like the other numbers fell off, just a 9 & 6?? Come on! I don’t mind the rubber bezel, I actually like it! I think this dial would have looked very nice if they kept all the numerals on the dial or made it with all batons….as it stands now it just looks silly.

Superocean Chrono – What a pile of $hiT I can’t say anything more than that.

Superocean GMT – Not bad, kinda reminds me of a Glashutte sport GMT. I would have preferred to see the dial slightly larger. What is the purpose of the 24 hour numbers on the bezel and dial? 3 time zones? It looks like this watch was designed for a strap only; the end-link is unusual.

Chrono Seawolf – Horrible!!!! Next.

Transoceans – Ugggg....Next

Montbrillant Legend – Nice, I have always like the Legend model; slightly too big for my taste but overall a nice look.


In summary, it was a pretty ho-hum Basel for Breitling. I think they could have hit a few home runs with some of these watches but they fell short in my opinion. The only watch I would consider is the Flying Fish which I happen to really REALLY like!

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

I think they have a few hits with the new models, but some serious duds as well. I can only imagine that the size issues are based on their research and sales, so ill reserve judgment on that. Nobody like every model from any of the major watch brands, so as long as there are a couple of nice ones there for everybody, id say its a pretty solid lineup.

_________________
-RJ

I wouldn't go that far and say it is a solid lineup. There are some major major duds in there. Panerai released some grand slams at SIHH...and just about every watch looked great. Same can be said for JLC. I think Breitling released too many models and some of which are absolutely train wrecks.

Why not just come out with 6 watches and blow our mind away rather than 20+ watches, most of which are horrible looking, some are OK, and 2 nice ones. Doesn't make sense to me.

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

A new Avenger Seawolf? Have I missed something??

_________________
Breitling navitimer super constellation LE
Omega Ploprof 1200m
Bremont supermarine
Rolex milgauss GV
Olivant and Botsford 40mm Gold edition

Meant to say Seawolf Chrono. Sorry

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

I can't say I'm disappointed by the new models, but it's only because I didn't expect anything for me from Breitling I still believe my Colt II Quartz was a fantastic choice 2 years ago, and ever since then, I cannot find a really great new Breitling model.

Let's see, as others did it:

Navitimer 01: Looks great, B01 is great, size is okay. I'm a bracelet guy, but I've already burnt my hands with the Navi bracelet (which is not suitable for skinny wrists), so I cannot buy any Navi series watch. Maybe on a mesh...

Navitimer 1461, Chronomat GMT: Both too big for me, and most likely too expensive as well.

Chronomat 41: Finally an in-house chrono sports model with a moderate size! But the bezel kills it for me

Flying Fish: To me this looks like the new Blackbird -- without the big date, of course. If this was 41mm, I would seriously think about it, but at 44mm on a bracelet it would be too big and too heavy for me.

Chronomat 44 Special Series: I bet Breitling won't sell many of these. A gold Breitling is simply not something people buy, which is a pity.

SO 44: I guess this is the new Steelfish. What a shame Rubber bezel with no lume pip, carrying on with the SO II disaster from last year. Another fashion diver at a very high price tag, despite the ubiquitous ETA movement.

SO Chrono II: Same as the SO 44. I can't believe that's all what Breitling can throw at us as a diver's watch, in the same year when Omega rolls out a Planet Ocean Chrono with a bold design, ceramic bezel and in-house movement.

SO GMT: Perfect size (for me), looks quite good actually, but the rubber bezel and the stupid lug design kills it for me. And what is the purpose of the 24-hour bezel + 24-hour rehaut ring? This thing with a normal lug design, brushed case + brushed Pro II bracelet _would_ be on my list.

BlackSteel and bright red/orange models: Yawn Next!

Transocean Chrono: I like this, but it somehow doesn't look like a Breitling to me. Cross out Breitling on the dial, and write IWC or any other pilot's watch brand there. Not authentic, not unique. But I'm glad it has the B01 movement.

Transocean: Once again, this thing looks nothing like a Breitling to me. It looks like any other oversimplified dress watch with 3 hands.

Galactic Chrono II: I think this one actually looks perfect. Is this the new Blackbird or the Flying Fish? I'm confused, but maybe this is only because Breitling rolled out simply too many new models. The movement and the size kills it for me though.

SO Heritage 42: I'm very glad Breitling listened to us, and made an intermediate model between the SOH 38 and SOH 46. I'm not happy about the ETA movement, and the fact that it looks identical to the SOH 46. Just like the SOH 38 <--> SOH 46, I think this model should also look unique in the "SOH range". I'm not sure about the crown size too, and not entirely happy about the lack of bezel functions, but despite all that, this may be on my list. Unless it'll turn out to be too expensive.

---

I'm glad Breitling didn't touch the Colt range this year. They're still my favourites with their "old" design

_________________
Ingenieur - Speedmaster - Submariner

I agree, but with Panerai, its kind of hard to create a dud when every model looks essentially the same, and JLC is about as forward thinking as anybody out there, so no surprise there.

(just deleted a giant ranting paragraph about new Breitling designs)

I can only surmise that they know something about their customer base and demographic that we dont, and that these new models will appeal to them. Otherwise, they just seem like a lot of mistakes. Maybe this will go down as a Chris Bangle BMW period and theyll get themselves back on the right track soon.

_________________
-RJ

Don't get too excited, they blacksteeled one and put some different colored accents on it.

_________________
"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

Having had more time to look at the new models I'll agree with mfserge. I love the Montbrillant and the new style subdials they look totally different to anything else. The Flying Fish is the only other that really floats my boat especially on the strap!

Still like the Transocean but too small for my liking.

The rest, well they all look a bit samey obviously not the Navi but you know what I mean!

Cheers

ps Any ideas on price for the Fish/Montbrillant??

_________________

Currently:
Avenger Skyland(Black)
Super Avenger(White)

Moved on:
Montbrillant Legende(Silver)
Panerai 312
SOHC 125th Ann. LE(Silver)
Navitimer World(Pearl)
Panerai 441

I agree and disagree with what you're saying about Panerai. Remember, they came out with the bronzo, a plexiglass crystal, and a brand new manual wind movement....along with composite cases and ceramic cases. Their dials may 'look' similar but they showed some innovation and caused huge excitement. Breitling shows no innovation aside from adding a GMT complication to their movement. No ceramic bezels, no additional calibres, and no real ingenuity. The most innovated thing they did was a wheel-like rotor on the new Bentley.

I hope you're right about Breitling getting back on track because I dont like this direction.

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

Its ironic too, because if Breitling would have stuck to some legitimate, small, innovative changes instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, they would be seriously nice. More in-house integration, refresh some of the dated fonts and hands, slowly replacing the bezels with the new rider tab versions and ceramic or sapphire versions on the non rider models like SOH and SOII, some size adjustments etc. Even throw in a brand new model or two. But replacing popular models with completely unrecognizable models? Seems crazy.

_________________
-RJ

Totally agree on this about the entire SO series now. I've said it before but I just cannot understand how they can make a range of allegedly "professional" divers watches that have completely useless bezels from a dive watch perspective. No minute markings, and more crucially no lume of any kind on the bezel and especially no pearl. The daftest thing is, the Chronomat B01 is actually more of a dive watch that the new SO Chronograph, on account of having the same WR rating (500m) AND a bezel pearl!

On another note, I'm not sure why so many people are thinking the Galactic Chronograph II is the new Blackbird. It's just a bog-standard previous model Chronomat with a pseudo-B01 bezel with degree markings stuck on top. In other words, it's probably Breitling's laziest ...ahem... "new" model this year. Basically I reckon it's a way to use up a few old model Chronomat cases and dials. There's no way on Earth IMO that this is a Blackbird replacement. As I said above, I'm convinced the new Blackbird (if there is one) will be based entirely on the new Chronomat case, and will house the B01 or a variant of it. Oh and given the success of it, I'm pretty darn sure it'll be called the Blackbird too!

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

I have intentinally not read anyone's posts so as not to taint my initial reaction, which is "there are a couple interesting pieces, but essentially OMFG Breitling WTF are you doing?????"

The Steelfish is now an oversized SOII. The new CSO is - as my minority opinon stated earlier on another thread - is disgusting. And I'm seeing more red rubber sh&t!!

Just withdrew my Steelfish from my FS thread.


Breitling, you have nothing I want. Hellooooooo ROLEX!!!

_________________
SHARKMAN

the unexpected news is that they didn't discontinue the Chronomat

_________________
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