The Breitling Watch Source Forums

HI Fred,
it doesnt suprice me because its a very nice watch , rarer than hen's teeth ! I'll make a new topic for the SuperOcean and post some pics
And I am glad that Transocean found a good home , I looked at it as well but thought is would be too small for me to wear

I dont have any info for you on UTI but I am sure someone will

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"I spent most of my money on Booze, Breitling and Boats. The rest I wasted" - mostly Elmore Leonard

UTI was (is?) a Paris retailer.

Thank you, Bill !

Hello and Happy Holidays to everyone!
1953 Breitling Geneve AVI 765

let me help here, fudda, happy holidays to you !

Getting quite giddy about these AVI's now lovely watch

Wow, just read a stinker off a thread about this watch, don't mess with you chaps lol. I think Dracha's white sub dials is the one for me (when I win the lottery)

posted it in the WWAYWT thread, but why not here too, though the pic is some weeks old.

for some collectors onky the 806s are the realy Navitimers, I happen to like the later pieces a lot, especially the mid 70s Navtimers based on the Valjoux 7740, the 7806 and the modified 7740-based 7806S. This one was lying unworn for 45 years, so it is in quite nice condition, even came on the facoty original but too brittle strap.

I don’t believe that the watch has been lying unworn for 45 years, simply because the layer on the markers are Lumuinova, 45 years ago it would have been Tritium. (And it says Swiss Made T on the dial)

I am also sure that there has been worked on the case, as it is not factory finish. The top of the lugs is shiny and that is a clear indication that they have been polished, the bezel also looks like it has been polished.

I would also say that the red arrow indicators would have faded a bit after 45 years.

I definitely smell a rat and look forward to hear other members comment.


/ Kurt B

thanks for the input, Kurt, it is the first 70s Navi I have bought and it looked like brand new, though the case sides are so sharp it is hard to imagine they were polished ?

contacted the seller regarding the doubts that Kurt has raised, have not received a reply yet.

as it is the first 7740-based Navi I own I have tried to look for good dial pictures of "mint" similar pieces, these are from Jean Michels http://www.lesmala.net/jean-michel/navitimer/index2.htm site, lume looks very, very similar, Kurt ?





EDIT: well, if Kurt B of all people "smells a rat" with one of my Navitimers it makes me rather nervous, so I looked at the 7740-based Navitimers on breitlingsource and most seem to have similar/same lume, all marked "Swiss made T" ?

http://www.breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/v ... 11&t=14055



http://www.breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/v ... =11&t=8165

I was hoping that others would chime in, maybe they will, maybe they won’t, maybe they can or maybe they can’t.

The side of the case are easily redone, I would go as far as to say that I would be able to do it myself.

Take a look at this post, and see how well a case can be redone, if the guy who does it, knows what he is doing viewtopic.php?f=11&t=22821

The best way to determine if a Navitimer has been polished on the lugs, is to move the nail of your thumb from the inside of the lug and upwards over the lug, an unpolished case should easily scrape in your nail. (See attached picture of your watch)

I would not use Jean Michels site as a reference for originality, as I can find several watches there that are not correct.

I worked closely with JM in creating Navitimer.net many years ago, and during that time there was one thing that we agreed on, and that Breitling confirmed, which is .:

Take a look at the attached picture that JM once sent me with 2 twin plane logo’s, on the one to the left you will see that there are less filling in the bottom of the wings, they are brand new Breitling replacement dials, some of the watches that you have pictured has the same logo, it is obvious that the Lume on the markers on these watches are Luminolva, as Tritium has been disallowed to use, and hardly are available anymore.

It is beyond doubt that Breitling did not use Luminova in 1966 (which is the year you claim your watch is from), and I’m as sure as I can possible be, that the Lume on your watch is Luminova, Tritium have a porous and uneven surface, Luminova have a kind of acrylic surface, and it is very even. Look at the attached picture of the tritium on the markers on a NOS 1965 AOPA Navitimer, then you will clearly see what I mean.

I am not saying that your watch is a fake; actually I’m quite certain that the dial itself is original, I'm, just saying that I smell a rat besause of what you state. My entire watch world has been build up on the 806 Navitimers and 809 Cosmonautes, and normally I would not post like I do here, it just seems so obvious to me that there's something wrong with respect to what you state.

Please see a picture of the Tritium on a 1970 NOS Navitimer that I just sold, and notice that the red arrow paint have faded.

These are all my observations, they are based on having bought 250 + Navitimers over the last 10 years, and having seen at least double that amount.

Kurt B

Going off track a bit (sorry Fred). The luminova on Freds watch looks the same (to me) as the picture of the numbers in fuddas AVI above and so therefore surely cannot be right on his 1953 Breitling Geneve AVI 765 ?.

I still think Freds watch is stunning.

I couldn’t agree more, the watch looks stunning, but that’s not what it’s about.

The Lume on Fuddas AVI is most likely Radium, as that was whet they used back then, it is very similar to Tritium, it was greenish when it was painted on, and I believe it to be correct.

Fred, can you shoot a macro close up picture of one of the markers from the front and from the size, and post them in full size ? I’ll be happy to admit if I’m wrong.

/ Kurt B

Kurt, the watch is from late 1974, snr 143xx if I remember correctly, so 66 was a typo if I wrote that, not a claim. if I remember correctly these were only launched in 72 ? happy to post additional pics tomorrow. And scrape between the lugs. Best, Fred