Chronomat 44 vs SA

FlyingFish44 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:13 pm

I really just got into watches and from everywhere I read the more jewels, the better. The in house movement Breitling has uses 47 jewels vs 34 or so that I found on the next closest watch. Most other movements seems to be bought as kits from ETA and "modified". I actually like the idea of having your own movement which makes it exclusive. This is just my opinion though. The looks of this watch are awesome though! love it.

Roffensian · **Posted:** Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:16 pm

FlyingFish44 wrote:

I really just got into watches and from everywhere I read the more jewels, the better. The in house movement Breitling has uses 47 jewels vs 34 or so that I found on the next closest watch. Most other movements seems to be bought as kits from ETA and "modified". I actually like the idea of having your own movement which makes it exclusive. This is just my opinion though. The looks of this watch are awesome though! love it.

The more jewels the better is only true to a certain extent. I wrote this article a few years back that goes into all the details - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10320.

In house vs. modified generic (ETA or otherwise) is generally seen as a good thing, although there is obviously a price to pay for that. The problem can be that the ETA designs have been around for 40 odd years and the wrinkles were fixed long ago, Breitling's in house base calibre is relatively new and has had some teething problems.

FlyingFish44 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:18 pm

Roffensian wrote:

FlyingFish44 wrote:

I really just got into watches and from everywhere I read the more jewels, the better. The in house movement Breitling has uses 47 jewels vs 34 or so that I found on the next closest watch. Most other movements seems to be bought as kits from ETA and "modified". I actually like the idea of having your own movement which makes it exclusive. This is just my opinion though. The looks of this watch are awesome though! love it.

The more jewels the better is only true to a certain extent. I wrote this article a few years back that goes into all the details - viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10320.

In house vs. modified generic (ETA or otherwise) is generally seen as a good thing, although there is obviously a price to pay for that. The problem can be that the ETA designs have been around for 40 odd years and the wrinkles were fixed long ago, Breitling's in house base calibre is relatively new and has had some teething problems.

I am going to check this article out now. Thanks.

JacksonStone · **Posted:** Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:24 pm

FlyingFish44 wrote:

I checked out almost all the watches in my price range with Ulysse Nardine Maxi Marine being the one I was debating against.

Personally, I really like the IWC Pilot Chronograph. The new model lists for less than the 44, and the older model (current until last year) can still be found for even less, especially if pre-owned is an option. It's sort of an apples/oranges comparison, especially since the IWC is 7750-based, and has a few functional differences from the 44. Still, if choosing between the two, I would likely go with the IWC. The fact that's not an in-house model doesn't bother me at all. But like I said, the FF is a great watch - definitely the 01-based Chronomat I like most.

FlyingFish44 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:52 pm

JacksonStone wrote:

FlyingFish44 wrote:

I checked out almost all the watches in my price range with Ulysse Nardine Maxi Marine being the one I was debating against.

Personally, I really like the IWC Pilot Chronograph. The new model lists for less than the 44, and the older model (current until last year) can still be found for even less, especially if pre-owned is an option. It's sort of an apples/oranges comparison, especially since the IWC is 7750-based, and has a few functional differences from the 44. Still, if choosing between the two, I would likely go with the IWC. The fact that's not an in-house model doesn't bother me at all. But like I said, the FF is a great watch - definitely the 01-based Chronomat I like most.

That IWC watch is AWESOME. I do not like the straps it comes/offers with. That is a great price for an IWC. I will take a look at that one just for fun now as there is no going back on my FF! IWC has a classier look to it.

boogiebot · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:18 am

jlee5050 wrote:

Side notes from my visit for the Blancpain FF...

Also tried on the Super Avenger on my 7 inch wrists just for kicks. No F$&%Kin way I can pull that off. Those lugs were hanging over my wrist.

jlee5050 i totally understand how that feels. i use to own a SA a while back and had to dump it for this exact reason.

jnelson3097 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:22 am

JacksonStone wrote:

Roffensian wrote:

It took them (by their own statements) eight years of R&D to "rush" them to market.

Not only that, but the five year warranty is only effective on sales as of January 1, 2012, meaning the earliest of 01 models - i.e., the ones most likely to be "buggy" from early production issues - aren't covered with the longer warranty. Therefore, it seems unlikely the move to a five-year period is to placate early adopters. If anything, it would piss them off even more, since they're excluded from the extended coverage. I think Roff is probably on the money: it's to reassure those who have heard about the bugs who might be dissuaded from a purchase now. Either way, I think it's a good move - why ask why, as long it's what you want.

OP: just make sure the crown and pushers are screwed down if you want to go swimming. Although, if it were me, I wouldn't swim with it anyway, because, well...why?

One thing for the OP to note is that to get the full 5 year warranty, doesn't the watch have to be checked after 2 and 3 years? I thought I read that somewhere and that you don't get the full 5 years unless these tests are done.

JacksonStone · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:30 am

jnelson3097 wrote:

One thing for the OP to note is that to get the full 5 year warranty, doesn't the watch have to be checked after 2 and 3 years? I thought I read that somewhere and that you don't get the full 5 years unless these tests are done.

My understanding (in other words, I haven't verified this) is that water resistance checks need to be done at two and four years. Breitling will perform these free of charge. If the checks aren't performed, any damage occurring from water exposure will be excluded under the warranty. I don't think failure to perform the checks voids the whole warranty. But the OP will want to verify this to be sure.

tulgs212 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:08 pm

Roffensian wrote:

wessa wrote:

There is nothing wrong with the movement.

Well...........

Now that's not really true is it :nono:

Problems have been reported with the chronograph function jumping and stuttering and apparently there have also been date issues, although haven't heard so much about those.

The cynic in me says that the 5 year warranty is to avoid losing sales from people who have read of the problems.

Roff--this may be just a newbie question but what would chronograph jumping and stuttering look like? Also, what were the reported date issues?

Roffensian · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:53 pm

tulgs212 wrote:

Roffensian wrote:

wessa wrote:

There is nothing wrong with the movement.

Well...........

Now that's not really true is it :nono:

Problems have been reported with the chronograph function jumping and stuttering and apparently there have also been date issues, although haven't heard so much about those.

The cynic in me says that the 5 year warranty is to avoid losing sales from people who have read of the problems.

Roff--this may be just a newbie question but what would chronograph jumping and stuttering look like? Also, what were the reported date issues?

Well the hands jump and / or stutter - not sure how else to describe it. One of the more common ones was the chrono minute hand jumping to 1 as soon as the chrono was started.

I spoke with a service tech who said that they had seen a few different date issues - I do know of a situation where the numbers got scratched because the date wheel was too close to the underside of the dial and rubbed.

JacksonStone · **Posted:** Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:17 pm

tulgs212 wrote:

Roff--this may be just a newbie question but what would chronograph jumping and stuttering look like? Also, what were the reported date issues?

Not a newbie question at all. I hadn't heard about the date issues. Good info to know.

tulgs212 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:22 am

Thank you for the quick response. Great info to know.

Time2time · **Posted:** Fri Jul 27, 2012 7:59 am

Congrats on a great watch! The Flying Fish is a sweetheart, with the brushed finish and the dashes of red.

Comparing the 44 to a SA is not really a good comparison... they really are different completely waches as I'm sure you've found out by now.

As far as reliability goes, I've got three of the new movements (if you count the B04 with GMT as one of them) and so far they are all most excellent. They keep phenomenal time, run smooth and have a real high quality feel. The only problem I have had is my LTD Ed had to go back after purchase to correct the chrono hour counter on the subdial... it wasn't properly zero'd, but they fixed it and it's been fine since. The new 5 year warranty doesn't hurt one bit either.

I've got a couple of SA's, and they've never seen the inside of a service lab either... they are extremely durable. But like I said, a completely different watch. If you're looking for an "every day" watch, you most definitely have made the best choice.

Now how about a few pics??? : )

Cheers

Ross

FlyingFish44 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 27, 2012 6:04 pm

Time2time wrote:

Congrats on a great watch! The Flying Fish is a sweetheart, with the brushed finish and the dashes of red.

Comparing the 44 to a SA is not really a good comparison... they really are different completely waches as I'm sure you've found out by now.

As far as reliability goes, I've got three of the new movements (if you count the B04 with GMT as one of them) and so far they are all most excellent. They keep phenomenal time, run smooth and have a real high quality feel. The only problem I have had is my LTD Ed had to go back after purchase to correct the chrono hour counter on the subdial... it wasn't properly zero'd, but they fixed it and it's been fine since. The new 5 year warranty doesn't hurt one bit either.

I've got a couple of SA's, and they've never seen the inside of a service lab either... they are extremely durable. But like I said, a completely different watch. If you're looking for an "every day" watch, you most definitely have made the best choice.

Now how about a few pics??? : )

Cheers

Ross

I think I am a little slow!!! Where can I attach a picture? I have them, just havent messed around to upload them here.

Roffensian · **Posted:** Sat Jul 28, 2012 2:05 am

FlyingFish44 wrote:

I think I am a little slow!!! Where can I attach a picture? I have them, just havent messed around to upload them here.

.jpg files up t o200k can be attached directly using the fields below the main message window, instructions for larger files are here - viewtopic.php?f=5&t=453

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