The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I've had my Navitimer 01 for about 2-3 months. Great watch. It consistenly runs about 5 seconds fast per day. Same either on my wrist or on a winder.

Breitling USA told me to wait about 6-8 months for the watch to break-in before getting it regulated. They said they usually run a few seconds fast new and slow down when broken in.

I've had a Rolex Milgauss for a bit longer than that and it runs about 1 second fast on the wrist and about 3 seconds fast on the winder. My question for Caliber 01 owners is:

How accurate are your B01 movements and does your experience match up to the info provided by Breitling about the break-in? I would also welcome thoughts from all Breitling owners. Thank you for responding to my first post here.

Welcome to BreitlingSource.

All watches need a break in period to adjust to regular wear and your specific routine. 6 - 8 months is a stretch, 6 - 8 weeks is far more realistic, but they are right in saying that in general they slow down as they settle. All that said, +5 seconds is within COSC specs, already.

My 01 is running about 1 second fast after 3 1/2 months. In general my Breitlings are 0 - 4 seconds, none are losing right now.

I have a Chronomat B01 Ltd which came back from Breitling Canada for servicing about 4 weeks ago and it is running about +6 sec. I'm ok wih that as long as it's not running in the minus.

Talked to my AD. He said they cannot open the case to regulate it or it will void the warranty. Is that true? I guess BUSA won't want to regulate it if it's within COSC (although barely).

If the AD doesn't have a watchmaker on staff then it's true, and they are a little more anal about the caliber 01.

I also would want to see whether it settled anyway - otherwise you may be taking it back to have it regulated again.

+5 seconds isnt too bad, IMO. I haven't measured my Nav 01 LE but (officially) but from glancing at the time and to the atomic wall clock in my kitchen, it cant be running more than +2. I will have to check it sometime.

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Breitling Steelfish(black)
Breitling Steelfish(silver)
Panerai PAM 312
Bell & Ross BR03-92 Phantom
Steinhart BreitlingSource LE #5/15

The AD does have watchmakers on staff, that's why I wonder about them not wanting to open it. The interesting thing is, Breitling brags that regulating the 01 is a simple process. The press release states, "an exclusive index-assembly system enabling swift personalized adjustment of the watch according to the wearer." According to BUSA, that means: what used to be a complicated, multi-tool process is now a simple, single-tool process.

I realize it's within COSC and maybe I'm being a bit picky--but other less expensive watches such as my Rolex and Oris (with ETA), are closer to zero than the acclaimed 01. That was part of the reason for passing on the ETA/Valjoux Navitimer and paying $2k more for the Navitimer 01. For that much more money, I do kind of expect better. I will say the 01 is more consistent than the other watches, rarely varying from it's +5 seconds per day. That indicates it is very accurate, just needs a small adjustment. That said, I would wait until I've had the watch longer than the current 2-3 months.

On a slightly different note, should the chronograph be "excercised" periodically? If so, how frequently and for how long each time, i.e., should all totalizers get moving a little or a lot. Thanks again for all your responses.

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Breitling Navitimer 01 LE
Rolex Milgauss Glace Verte
Rolex GMT-Master II Ceramic
Oris BC4 Pointer Day
Bell & Ross BR 123 Heritage
Citizen World Perpetual A-T

Ah yes, the instant regulation. Sounds wonderful in advertising.

Adjusting the rate of a watch has always been a remarkably easy process. I can do it in under a minute and that includes getting the caseback off and on, give me 75 seconds if the regulator is adjusted with screws.

But........

The hard part is getting the watch to be accurate to net zero, and that takes at least a day, more properly a few days, and probably a repeat visit for fine tuning. The rate of a watch is inherently inconsistent - it's affected by temperature, position, movement, amount of power reserve, use of the chronograph, etc, etc, etc, etc. The aim of regulation is to get all of these errors to net to zero, or as close to it as possible.

If a watchmaker whips off the caseback, retards the regulator a fraction because you report that it's running slightly fast and then puts the caseback on he or she is ignoring all of these variables. What should happen is observation over time in different positions, at different amounts of power reserve, and ideally at different temperatures to see what the error has been adjusted to, and only after that has been concluded satisfactorily should the watch be returned to the owner. Of course it never happens that way because you can't make money that way, and because it sounds so much better to promote quick adjustment

I'm guessing that BUSA currently isn't allowing their AD watchmakers to regulate them because they are new movements and they want to do that at BUSA, but that will mean a better regulation.

If 5 seconds on a new watch is that big a deal to you then if it rests on it's back overnight then lay it on its side crown up instead, that will likely reduce it.

In terms of the chrono, I would recommend running it for 24 hours a month to ensure that the oils don't migrate away from where they are needed.

I know the watchmaker at Govberg has said that all B01s should be sent to BUSA for any problems.

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Justin
Please contact me via PM for the contact details for Govberg Jewelers
Govberg is an AD for over 50 fine Swiss and German watch brands.
Visit them on the web at http://www.govbergwatches.com or call 800-528-8463

My 16-month old B01 runs at -1 sec, well within COSC specs.

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