The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I see it as simply pandering to the obscenely affluent who
relish big, gawdy, outlandish things that they insist must
be noticed, & envied by others. Check today's {ablogtoread.com},
in which Ariel Adams reviews the Graham Iris Chrono. I contend
Graham is Hublot's new subsidiary. The price of the Iris loots the
accts. of ordinary citizens' financial portfolios.

I fear I find myself in the yuppie category. I must say, I really like Breitling's new line.

With that said, I think I can attest to the fact that you have to be able to preserve your older line yet evolve the new line to meet new markets. For instance, I have a Colt II Auto AND a Superocean 42.

As a fairly young person (28) I can cast my vote against the "racy" models in the B range. I don't mind frequent updates if they maintain B DNA and are actually an improvement. For example introducing the 42mm SOH or theNavi B01.. On the other hand, most of the Areomarine line has painfully swerved towards fashion watches, and I'm still not excited about the new Chronomats (though the previous Evos were overpriced for what you got IMO). It's difficult to stay committed to a brand that tosses good design language so easily. Lately it doesn't seem like many B models actually evolve, they just "change."

i could see them trying to do something like this. but IMO you cant be everything to everybody. Like Driver said small design changes over time would have been ideal. some of the things that they did were just drastic huge changes that made the whole brand look weird.

To some extent I do agree, BUT just look at Rolex. They have no problem year on year on year attracting new and younger owners, despite their designs not drastically changing since the 60's. Why? Because they have built up a level of brand respect and desirability (perceived or otherwise) over the years which means they don't have to be outlandish in their designs. In fact, buyers would (and do) shy away from the more "radical" Rolex designs. The same also goes for Panerai - their designs don't radically change, they just evolve. To me, this shows confidence in the product they produce. In contrast, Breitling's constant changes seem like a brand fighting to find it's identity by trying as many random things as possible and hoping something sticks. The daft thing is though - they HAD a perfectly good identity that worked just fine thank you very much. It was to produce aviation-based watches under the banner of "Instruments For Professionals". How times have changed.....

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Driver8

Site Moderator

As I said, I'm not trying to be the devil's advocate and I think the key word here is "TRYING".
Breitling is trying to do something that perhaps has good meaning and intentions behind it and us trying to understand what the hell it is that they are trying to accomplish.
I'm just trying to get myself confused trying to understand this whole thing because I'm probably an old fart that is trying to kid himself that he is still young at heart

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"It is just a matter of time!"

So change instead of evolve = could mean drastic second hand prices?

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Breanach78

A Few Breitlings.

I 100% agree with you D-8. Breitling HAD something but it was still far from a very decent market share, single digits at best. I think Omega is currently doing much better than Breitling when it comes to marketing and brand awareness and market share with their offerings and that is who B should be trying to compete with.
I think it is unfair to compare anyone to Rolex who wrightly or wrongly through very clever marketing campaign cornered the market and do not need to do much to maintain it's market share and it even grows by itself at this stage without much effort from them. Excellent marketing example.
A bit like trying to compare iPhones to other Smartphones from Samsung, HTC, etc... today.
No matter what they do just about everybody wants an iPhone.
Show me another watch manufacturer that can demonstrate the same.
Now as for Panerai, I will stay out off it as it just simply does not do anything at all for me and I can just not understand it at all as far as I'm concerned other than just a current fab just like Nokia was when it comes to mobile phones, if you allow me to use the same example again.
I don't know, just my thoughts.

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"It is just a matter of time!"

They do have a 44mm Chronomat GMT, and it's awesome. I think the new Navi is outstanding, love the TOC, and will always love the Avengers. But the red bezels, the boggling of the Blackbird and such are just nuts to me. They can get it right if they want to, but hey I'm old so maybe they just aren't targeting guys like me.

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An ever changing collection.....

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have about 30 watches in my collection and I love them all equally, even some smart Chinese examples for what they are TRYING to accomplish.
About a 1/3 of them are Breitlings ranging from mid 90s to current models, that I like.
I may not like every single new offering from Breitling's 2011 or 2012 range, thanks God for that.
2 or 3 models a year that appeal to me is more than enough to keep the fire burning, wallet intact and Mrs. Wessa happy , no love lost.
I would hate to imagine what it would be like if I loved every model Breitling had to offer every year

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"It is just a matter of time!"

They could sack Stevie Wonder from the design team, that would be a good start. Far too many of the current line up are just awful, imo.

As others have said, a steady evolution of the Windrider and Aeromarine watches might have been the way forward.

Do or do not. There is no try.

I would like to see Breitling come up with an easy secure strap changing system such as the Panerai design for example, Breitling do an excellent range of straps and bracelet options and I would love to see new watches come with maybe an extra Rubber strap with a special Breitling strap changing tool. I know most of us on here like changing the look and feel of the watch with different strap options and IMHO it would increase the popularity of the brand.

+1

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Breitling Avenger Hurricane

I personally am very sad to see the bezels with rider tabs slowly getting faded away. The Colts and the SuperOceans already have new bezels, as do the Chronomats. Can't say I'm a fan of any of the new bezels, but what bothers me most is that there is little resemblance between the bezel designs on the different models. There's no "Breitling"-look to tie the models in the ranges together, it's just a hodgepodge of different looks.

I do however like the Transocean-line, but that's the only new model that appeals to me since the introduction of the Superocean Heritage or the steel seawolf. I was actually drooling at the 3-hand model at the AD last time I visited. If I had to wear a suit to work that would be a top contender for me.