The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I'm a new collector and I recently bought this 1944 Breitling chronomat ref. 769 from an antique watch dealer in Baden-Baden, Germany. I was a little reluctant, because there are so many fakes out there, but he gave me a letter stating all parts were original and if it wasn't as described he would refund my money. All the watches I have up till now have been new from an AD here in Germany. I must say, I'm hooked.. LOL I love my Breitlings. My whole life I have been in aviation, first in the US Air Force and now as a contractor - I also own a Montbrilliant legend limited edition and Navitimer B01 Limited. This was my first vintage purchase and I would like some feedback.

What do you think? The only thing on the back is ACIER INOXYDABLE 769.

Would like to see inside caseback and movement shots, but it's a correct watch. The hands have been replaced with ones that are almost period correct, and the outer sliderule looks like a not quite correct replacement, but broadly speaking it looks like a sympathetic restoration. Congratulations, the 769 is a classic.

looks nice, but some pics of back inside and outside and movement would be good. am a little concerned that you say only has Acier Inoxydable and ref. 769 on the back, all the early pieces I have seen had the serial number outside above the ref. 769 ?

The dial has possibly been re-painted. It's a good job, but I think "B / Breitling" is wrong for this year, if it is truly a 1944 serial.

correct Bill, early pieces until the 50s had the script logo, so dial is either repainted or a later replacement.

I was wrong regarding the serial no. on the outside, doublechecked and my earliest 769 (no. 527xxx, 1942 ?) also only has the ref. and "acier inoxydable" on the outer caseback.

First thank you for all the feedback.
I have a few questions…
1. When I open up the back I should find reference/serial between 563659-568959 on the inside of the back case?
2. I have attached a photo of what is allegedly the movement of this watch, I haven’t opened the back yet to verify, as I need to find someone I trust enough to open it. Does this look like the movement it should be? You know what they say – trust but verify.

What attracted me to the watch was well at first it was a Breitling, and then the watch was from the WWII era and I found it in Germany, a lot going on during that time.
I’ve read that Breitling and several other watch manufacturers sourced their parts to many different sources because metal and machinery was being used towards the war effort and there are many inconsistencies to watches from the time period because of this. I have seen advertisements for 1942 and 1946 Breitlings that feature the block lettering, as well as the script - I understand that doesn't necessarily make it right, just thought it was interesting. Any thoughts on this?

Being fairly new to this addiction, I know I will make some mistakes, but I’m looking forward to learning more. Like I said before I appreciated the honest feedback. I will post photos of the actual movement and inside of the back case most riki-tic.

That serial number range is correct for 1944 chronographs.

That movement shot is consistent - the lack of bridge marking and the lack of any shock protection is correct for an early Chronomat. The movement is a Venus 175.

Thanks,

The watch was billed as a venus 170. So since it is a 175 what does that tell us about the year for this watch or the movement ?

Again Thank you for all the help..

Nothing, it tells us that the person selling it didn't know his movements

Okay, so let me ask this question another way. Is it possible for this model Breitling made in 1944 to have the Venus 175 movement as original ? If this watch is BS then I can most certainly go get my money back. I know I should have asked these question before I parted with my money. I did try to find some info on the web before I pulled the trigger but there is a lot of opinions out there. Hey, I never said I was a smart man. LOL

The Venus 175 was introduced in 1940, and all the 769s, early 40s to the end, were based on this. The Venus 170 has the chrono registers at 12 and 6 and was never used for the 769. So, more than possible, a must.

Wow,

Thank you very much. That info was very helpful. At the end of the day I love the watch. It is what it is and I think its cool. As long as I'm happy the rest just don't matter. I did not buy it as an investment I bought it to enjoy.. And I do.. A guy could lay awake all night wondering if he got a good deal, but non of that really matters. The question is do I like it and am I comfortable with the money I payed.. I do and I am.. I do know its not an Ebay suckerpunch. I'm not saying ebay is not a good place to buy a watch Im saying Im not educated on watches enough to feel comfortable with it at this point. I'm spending a lot of time reading as much as I can, sifting through what I think is important and hopefully someday I too will know what the heck I'm talking about.. until them, thank you all for the words of wisdom....

a nice article about the sliderule Chronomats:
http://forums.watchuseek.com/f39/breitl ... -9103.html

anyonr have any input on the base 30 pulsations written on the top of the dial on a breitling vintage watch, reminds me of the nurses stopwatch post however this is on a wristwatch that also has the two small dials at 3 and 9 oclock position and under the center hands the writing says antimagnetic, and then 17 jewels under that, then the breitling engraving looks suspicious on the movement and the inside of the back case with the acier inoxydable (staverite ?) stamped into the inside bottom of the case, with the swirl of the millstroke even in the background. juliuz in california mentioned he only works on breitlings 1987 and above, this is the 1 of 2 authorized watchmakers in the USA, Mark Hiest 610-357-7337 of boyertown philly is the only authorized watchmaker in the USA who works on the Vintage Breitlings, so says the conn. factory, is this sound like a doctors watch 769? The stamp is 394098 stamped into the bottom of the inside back case, any advise would be welcome to a new interested breitling collector, brad

Hi, I saw a 769 on ebay that you might be able to compare to. Sorry I don't know much about this reference so only the experts here can help but hope this helps a bit.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/REMARKABLE-S ... 2245wt_887