The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Which one watch are you most thankful you purchased AND which one do you most regret purchasing?

(for the time being I'm disqualifying myself from this one. Could be too painful Though the initials of the regret watch are IWC YC)

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SHARKMAN

CHECK OUT MY MAN SHARKY! THINKING OF NEW THREAD IDEAS!

I think i regret my gold motors least, its my favorite for sure, i love all the ones i have, i know you didn't ask, but regret selling my blacksteel the most.

Most thankful is the GMT, for sentimental reasons posted elsewhere. Objectively, though, it would be quite a contest. The Navi might win, then. Not as much thankful as honored to own the Breguet. Dollar for dollar, though ,my new Headwind beats them all. With band and bracelet, it frankly would be the best "if you only had one" watch. But no, I'm not waffling, it's the GMT.

Regret is the tough one. I obviously liked every watch I bought. None of them have had functional problems. If I had to choose one, maybe my old two-tone Chronomat with the pearl dial. It was very pretty, but almost too much so. The gold, the pearl, gold rimmed subdials, was just a little too fancy for me. That's right--a Breguet-owner talking about being self-conscious. But that Chronomat had a lot of wattage.

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Scott

AP Royal Oak 15400, silver
Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Classic Cars
Vintage gold Corum
Rolex DJ 36 TT, oyster dial, oyster/smooth
Baume & Mercier Riviera 200m, silver dial/aquamarine bezel
Breitling Superocean 57, rose/stainless

I don't own/have owned enough "nice" watches to qualify for this one.

Having said that, I am most thankful for my Steelfish which was acquired just prior to its discontinuation. It has been a never ending love affair since the start.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

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Gareth

My answer will be a little odd as the same watch appears in both sections!

Even though I'm definitely going to sell it due to issues with timekeeping, I'm really pleased to have owned my 5004 IWC Big Pilot. For such a large watch, it has an air of class and sophistication that I really enjoy. The finish is superb and I just think it's a great looking and handsome watch. If I could find a 5002 Transitional for good money (that kept reasonable time!) I wouldn't hesitate to own another.

An honourable mention in the "thankful" camp goes to my Navi World :- best Breitling I currently own IMO, although I will sell it if a nice-looking in-house World ever appears.

In terms of regret, then it's a joint first place. Firstly, the 5004 IWC BP. The timekeeping issues that IWC have been unable to solve on 3 separate occasions, including going back to Switzerland, have taken the shine of an otherwise fantastic watch, and made me regret spending what isn't an insignificant amount of money in anyone's book, on something that is effectively a nice looking ornament. I'm pretty sure I could build a machine that doesn't remotely tell the time accurately : I just don't expect that in a £10.5K GBP watch from a company like IWC.

The other joint biggest regret is the Rolex Submariner LV. I waited an absolute AGE for one (almost 2 years if I recall), paid list price because they were allegedly soooooo hard to come by at the time (despite Rolex flooding the market with them a few months later when interest started to wane ), and then I was singularly unimpressed with bracelet and clasp when it finally did arrive. It felt cheap next to my Breitlings. It was history within a few months.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Limited to stuff I've bought myself means the list looks like this:

Best: DRAW between my old Seiko Flight Master Pilot Slide Rule Chronograph and my Omega Seamaster 300M. Both are gorgeous, and both suit my style very well.

Worst: My CK Bold. A gorgeous piece, but it has seen very little wristtime, due to being on a leather strap instead of a bracelet. I know, I know, I could have gotten a bracelet for it instead, but I never got around to it, and frankly, I'm not expecting to, either.

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Aleksander Razumny Nordgarden Rødner

Breitling Navitimer World, blue face with steel bracelet
Omega Seamaster 300M, blue face with steel bracelet

Carpe aleae!

Best would have to be my Twintech - a real punt on the brand but very happy with it, it's going to be a perennial favourite.

Biggest regrets unfortunately would have to be the Zenith. I reread the review I posted when I first got it the other day and I just can't feel as positive about it now after the various mechanical issues and particulary the customer service problems that I have had trying to get them resolved.

Best would have to be the PO as a complement to my Navi. It's such a versatile watch, has great water resistance and you can dress it up or down with on rubber, steel or leather strap options.

Worst would be an Oris Formula 1. I bought it off a catalogue without trying it on first. While there was nothing wrong with the watch itself, I despised both the leather band and the way the band was linked to the watch. I lost half when I sold that one but I'm glad I did.

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Happines is Good Health and a Bad Memory.
"Ingrid Bergman"

Most thankful - Sub C.

Most regret - IWC Yacht Club. I was never more excited about getting any watch than the YC. The pictures made me drool and in the AD's case it looked like something crafted by the Gods. Within a few days, the watch made no sense to me at all. It was made worse by the fact it listed for over $12K. Different straps, everything to no avail. So it had to go. On the pre-purchase anticipation versus ownership scale, not another watch comes close.

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SHARKMAN

Your disqualification from this thread didn't last long Tom

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

Well, it was self-imposed, so I guess that means that he decided to disqualify his disqualification...

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Aleksander Razumny Nordgarden Rødner

Breitling Navitimer World, blue face with steel bracelet
Omega Seamaster 300M, blue face with steel bracelet

Carpe aleae!

very tough question. i know for sure i love the subc the most. but out of the others im not sure if i really regret them. in retrospect i could have used the money towards a better piece and had a smaller collection.

Thankful for my 6.75, and the most regret which will be very self explanatory, was my first $1,000+ (closer to 2k) "real" watch... a 39mm Tag quartz with a diamond bezel. I lost $900 on it, but glad it was gone and let me go on the hunt for something that I knew would be better for me. That's when out of all brands I picked Breitling, only really had the budget for a Steelfish but couldn't get the BB out of mind mind so had to have it. (was love at first site - in person too) Unfortunately in the few years since more brands have grown on me, which I guess is a good thing, but Breitling's new offerings do nothing for me, and combine that with the price increases and I'm definitely out. I still got the one watch I wanted so to me all is well.

My Favorite has to be the Navi because it just fits me so well and ticks off so many boxes.

My worst had to be a black ceramic Wittnauer i bought several years ago. What a waste of $1000. I still have it, mostly because it would be impossible to sell and it reminds me to think before I buy