The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Just got a look at a black-dial/white-subdial Transocean chrono at Tourneau. I liked the look of this watch in pictures...a whole lot. But, oh my! In person it exceeds expectations. I think it's the most beautiful watch I've seen. One element that appealed to me in person was the old-school style of the domed crystal that's radiused tightly around the perimeter. It fits the traditional vibe of the watch and it also dramatically slims the profile of the case. I feel that so many chronographs are so bulky looking, but not this one at all. The other element I really liked was the low-sheen-nearly-matte dark gray color of the dial. This also fit in perfectly with the old-school vibe. The whole thing fits together absolutely perfectly.

The only thing that broke the spell for me was the fact that it's a limited edition. This means that the serial number is engraved on the side of the case. For me, that completely undoes the staid charm. Of course it also increases the price of a watch I'd be tempted to pay about $5,000 for.

Does anyone have a clue about whether these beauties might be offered as a non-limited, regular issue down the road?

The Transocean is available as a standard model. The choices are black w/black subdials or mercury silver with anthracite subdials.

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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

Great! I wonder what they're priced at...

My preference goes to the Red gold one with Mercury silver face and (let's be daring for once) Green croco.





A bit pricy I know but.....

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

Nice...I like that. For me the idea of a mechanical watch that's traditional (without being overtly retro) makes a lot of sense, because let's face it...mechanical watches are anachronistic. It all fits together. Besides, the traditional designs are just so much more attractive (ok...subjective).

I think I'm heading for the all-black dial with the mesh (no doubt to be swapped out often for a strap).

When I first saw the TO Chrono, I was sure black was for me (all black). I ended up going to an AD in Atlanta who had both an all black and the all mercury silver in stock. This was great for me to compare! The first thing that I noticed was that the all black was not as easy to read due to the "silver baton". The facets on the baton naturally cast a dark shade which results on you having dark batons on dark background. Therefore, at a glance, the time didn't jump at you. Same issue with the hands, looked dark on dark.

The mercury silver dial was the opposite, dark batons on light background, it was instataneously readable. As well the mercury dial cannot be described as "white", it looks more cream/linen (shade changes with viewing angle), therefore it really adds to the "vintage" feel.

To sum up: Went in thinking black/black, came out knowing Mercury white/mercury white. Now I'm waiting for my order to come in!

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Cheers
Brez

Aerospace
Airwolf CF-18 Limited Edition
TrancOcean Chronograph LE (mercury silver dial, brown croc, folding clasp)

Here's an example of what I was talking about from pictures taken off of the net. Notice the darker batons and hands on both background.

Cheers

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Cheers
Brez

Aerospace
Airwolf CF-18 Limited Edition
TrancOcean Chronograph LE (mercury silver dial, brown croc, folding clasp)

I agree Brez, but I wonder if it may be more a distinction of the two-tone dial versus a mono-chromatic dial. I had a look at a dealer today and in person I found the all-black dial to be much more legible than the panda dial. I didn't pull the trigger...we'll see.

The TO Chono LE retails for $7500 for just the head and the non LE model retails for $7350 for just the head.

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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

Although they all look good, the Panda one is not my fav. I was comparing the all black to the all mercury silver. Here are more picture that compares all black to the mercury dial/anthracite sub dials in Basel:

http://eye-eye-isuzu.com/weblog/watch/2 ... 11-part-7/

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Cheers
Brez

Aerospace
Airwolf CF-18 Limited Edition
TrancOcean Chronograph LE (mercury silver dial, brown croc, folding clasp)

I love how the silver dial, either the all silver or panda dial, looks on either the black croc or the brown croc. Here's a thread with some real life pics:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=27950&hilit=transocean

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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

Although I agree with you Justin and those are some great pics for the steel version, the brown croc won't stand out as much with the red gold case IMO.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

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