The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Perhaps we need a Forum Shrink.

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SHARKMAN

ok for the record i voted number 2. When I first started to get into watches Breitling was a brand that IMO was like no other. The designs were awesome and the brand seemed to embrace a culture that I just had to be a part of. Young, hip, trendy and just down right F******** SEXY! My obsession started with the B4B motors T and it just grew from there, like a virus it just consumed me. I could not help but to love everything breitling. Everytime I spotted one on the street or in the store I just seemed drawn to them.

As of late I just cant say that I feel the same way. All the goofy things that the company is doing is really making me second guess if i want to ever buy another one again. Now for the record these are just my opinions and whehter or not i buy another breitling will obviously have no bearing on whehter the company is successful or not. But I cant help to notice that i am not the only one on here that feels like this. Sure there may be one or two pieces that have a nice or appealing look but for the most part all their new offerings are PISSING ME OFF!!! To me it just seems like this company wants to be everything to everybody. Its like some one in upper management told the deisgners to find target demographs of potential buyers and try to cover all our bases with as many retarded designs as possible. I know i might catch some crap for saying this but F*** it this is how i feel.

I really dont understand what is going on with the brand that I once had to own and loved. when i strap on my Ling it use to feel amazing, but now with the way the company is going I find it hard for me to relate to most of the new models. Now i am not saying that if i were designing i could do much better, but i just didnt expect the guys over there to chop up and destroy some things that most would consider signature Breitling. Like the Chronomat for example going from this timeless elegant design to a weird bezel that is hit or miss (IMO more a miss than anything) just baffles me. Couldnt they have done subtle changes to the already successful piece instead of a harsh 180 degree change in direction????

I just dont get it guys. I am new to this whole watch thing and I know nothing when it comes to the engineering of movements, BUT i do know what i like. And right now....what i am seeing i am definitely not liking.

It's simple: anybody who didn't vote #2 is either lying, a bot, or knows he's wrong and is therefore too ashamed to admit it.

Or has confused this forum with another where if you post anything slightly against the brand you get edited/deleted/banned.

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Al

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

I was just reading through this thread and I started thinking about when I first got interested in luxury watches. Rolex was the first brand I thought of naturally, mainly because I didn't know of any others, but then I found this forum which really opened my eyes to not only Breitling but many other brands which I'd have never heard of before.

Breitling won me over though, I think peer pressure had something to do with it, but mostly because they had some watches that I thought were absolutely amazing. At that time I just could decide between a Chronomat (just a classy piece), a Steelfish (tough watch and one of the best bang for you buck watches out there), a CSO (about the perfect dual-purpose watch) and the Blackbird (one of the sexiest watches I'd ever seen) and the Avanger (another tough as nails watch). That wasn't very long ago and now they're all gone, except the Avenger which will probably get a rubber bezel at some point...or a Buck Rogers one, replaced by watches that I wouldn't look at twice. I don't know what Breitling has in mind, maybe there's some grand plan that is beyond my comprehension, but I do know that if I saw this line-up 2 years ago I'd probably own an Omega Speedy today instead of my Blackbird.

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"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

I voted #3. I'll let you all decide whether I am lying, a bot or too ashamed to admit my choice:

I haven't parttaken in the debate about the new models too much since I'm afraid some of you will suffer a heart attack. I mean, come on. We see some releases that are somewhat experimental and everyone in here throws a hissy fit because the new models aren't exactly like the old ones.

Remember when the B01 first came? One would have thought The End was Nigh by the fever-pitched moaning in here. But now? Some are a little peeved by how it looks, but in general it has as much cred as any other model. I was one of the few who greeted the B01 with a little open-minded curiosity, and the same thing goes for these new models. There are some I like already and I'll let the rest sink in a bit. But for now, I just don't have an opinion.

There, I said it.

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

So,

'You dont really have an opinion'....in which case I know the perfect watchseeing forum for you. (Happy to let you into the know via PM)

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Al

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

I voted # 3 because I was scared of being negative. I guess you can say I was acing like a wus.

The real reason I voted 3 was because I wasn't 100% set on the other choices.

1. I don't LIKE all the models.

2. I don't DISLIKE all the models.

4. I DO see a shift.

Some of the choices are pretty good. I like the 42mm SOH. I would have bought that one over the 38mm or 46mm when I was looking at it. I like the Navitimer 01, the Montbriliant 01. The transocean chrono in white on brown croc is beautiful.

At the same time I don't like the SO II or any of it variations. I think the color bezels are cheesy and can't imagine anyone buying them.

When I first got into watches though, I never liked all Breitling Models anyway. My first Breitling was the Motors T. I thought the watch was beautiful. I loved the angular lines of the case, the brushed/polished bracelet, etc etc. At that I thought most other Breitlings were too small. I hated the chronomat. I thought the curved case was dated looking, the curved crown was cheesy, etc etc.

It took about 2 years for my tastes to change. Now I think the Motors T is a bit to big for me and I really like the way the OLD chronomat looks.

Who knows how I'll feel in another 2 years. I don't think I'll ever like the rubber or red bezels but maybe I'll really be digging the flying fish (it's a terrible name btw).

I guess I'll vote #5. I have mixed feeling about the design shift.

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Regards,

Peter

BREITLING for Bentley Motors T & Mark VI, Aerospace
ROLEX Submariner Ceramic116610LN
OMEGA Plantet Ocean 8500 42mm Orange arabics
OCEAN7 LM-3

This is a very good point, I've always hated the B4B's, sorry to any owners out there but I just can't stand them, but I liked pretty much every other model is some way, even if I didn't want to own one. I think my problem is that there are so many more models that I dislike now than I like. Either way my next watch ain't gonna be a Breitling.

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"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

Quite clearly at the moment not easy to, But keep the faith Roman4405.

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Breanach78

A Few Breitlings.

I hope people understood I was joking. If not, I guess I should have used a little winky/smilie thing.


I think you've missed the point some of us are making, which is at the very root of our "hissy fits." It isn't because we dislike the new models. It is because we dislike the new models and the models we do like have either been discontinued or altered to the point where we no longer like them. The foundation of the brand's identity has been changed for the worse. To use the Rolex analogy invoked elsewhere, it would be as if Rolex did away with, or completely redesigned, it Submariners, GMTs and Explorers. As long as those models remain true to form, Rolex can introduce whatever other godawful models they want to, and the brand's core customers will probably remain unfazed. Mess with the core, and all bets are off.

Evidently the end was nigh, at least for those who never warmed up to that watch's styling. It is now obvious any Chronomat variant is to be patterned after the B01; it has gone from being an experimental model to the standard, and what was the standard is now gone. Additionally, thanks both to the Buck Rogers bezel and also the rubberized SO bezel, it is now clear the rider tab bezel is to be relegated to the dustbin of history. I can only imagine what they're going to do to the Blackbird if/when they reintroduce it. (The Galactic Chrono II might offer us a clue.) So again, it's not so much about disliking new or experimental models; it's that the new, experimental models have taken over, and what was once classic is now gone.

Well said.

The pressing question in my mind - WHERE IS THE USE OF CERAMICS? The Sub C went up in price by $1,000 when introduced. But I have to believe most of that price increase was the new bracelet and clasp assembly. So if you are using a black bezel insert, why not ceramics? Ceramics are the future and Breitling has shown no indication of acknowedging that trend or incorporating this amazing material into their watches.

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SHARKMAN

Just because so called "watch makers" like Blancpain, Rolex, JLC, and Omega are using it doesn't mean Breitling has to. I mean after all, Breitling has rubber ,and they can make it red so HA!

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"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

I like where Breitling is going...
I love variety and-why not-color!

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Breitling Skyracer Raven
Breitling B-1 A68362

You are of course entitled to your opinion.

Have a pink...sorry good day

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Al

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"