The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hi
I have a breitling blackbird lancaster limited edition of only 60 it is in mint condition.
I would like to know if I should keep it or sell it and move on

Well that has to be a very personal decision, no one can tell you that. It's a piece that doesn't come up for sale often, and I know someone who would potentially buy it, but it's not worth any more than a regular Chronomat of the era, potentially a bit less because the logo makes it a more limited market of potential buyers. If you have the model that came with it then that will add a couple of hundred bucks to the price.

Only you know whether you would rather have the watch or the money - there are plenty of similar vintage Chronomats on eBay and Chrono24 to give you an idea of value - although bear in mind that Chrono24 is asking prices rather than selling prices. Check the completed listings on eBay for the green prices (the ones that sold) to get an idea.

Thank you for your advice the watch comes with the plane ,boxes and papers,do you think it will increase in value or will it lose money. I have no idea what these watches sell for

If you don't care about the watch, except as an investment, you might as well sell it and look for a better investment.

When you buy a watch you would like to think if you look after it than it would hold it,s value or maybe not lose to much.
If I was looking to invest ,it would not be in any watch

It gets older every year, and cheaper every year. As a general rule I don't give priving advice, and I certainly am not going to value a piece that I may ultimately be involved in the sale / purchase of, but my first post gave you advice on how to get an idea of value.

It will almost surely lose value IMO. I'm not sure what model you have that has only 60 made, but if it is a Redstrike or blue model, then it isn't even in that high of demand as most Blackbird fans like the Blackbird as being black (myself included). Other than a Rolex or Patek, watches aren't an investment. While buying a watch isn't like furniture in that it goes to no inherent value, it does depreciate, and often substantially as newer models come out. As of today, there are many super luxury brands that now are being sold for the cost of the materials they are made of (gold and platinum) because their value of a watch has fallen below their value as scrap metal.

As he said in his original post it's the Lancaster limited edition.

I owned one of the 50 Vulcan B-1's. I sold it 7 years after I bought it for the same money I paid when it was new.

There is no knowing what your limited edition watch will fetch but if the buyer has a particular interest in the subject on which your limited edition is based, you could find that you don't loose, and may even gain. However, I consider myself extremely lucky to get what I paid after so many years even although the watch was kept serviced etc.

_________________

Have
B-1 Black Dial+UTC
Emergency Black+UTC

HAD
B1Vulcan+UTC
B2 Black+UTC
C.A. M1-Team SEB in the Volvo Ocean Race+UTC
Emergency Ti -Yellow+UTC
Mission -Black
Old Navitimer -RAFAT

I hoped a quality watch like a breitling would hold its value, a limited edition more than mass produced models.if that's true I should sell it and buy a timex.i,ve made my mind up sell

I missed that. Still, it seems unlikely value will increase.





I don't think you are going to find many watches, no matter how nice, that will increase in value. You'll see a much better value increase if you put that money towards gold or silver bullion IMO, which have an established track record of being a stable investment.

I think you may be right ,the watch goes bring on the gold

It's a better investment than a watch IMO. The past 5 years have seen gold go up in price 2x+. Silver has gone up even more than gold in the past 5 years.

http://www.goldprice.org/spot-gold.html

It is unlikely that any watch is going to match that, and gold and silver are far more resistant to economic influences than watches given their inherent industrial and universal value...the industrial value gives it more stability and is something a watch lacks. I don't think even Rolex models have increased that much and we've seen what the economy can do to some watch brands not known as well as Breitling. This shows the watch market is susceptible to external economic influences IMO. Certain super-precious materials with increasing industrial value may also be good investments, but they are a bit more complicated as you can't just go to a bank and buy hard bullion to store. Gold and silver are obvious not the only investments, but in my humble opinion, they are far better than watches.

Very, very few modern watches are going to make good investments. A handful of PPs, and extremely limited haute horlogerie pieces may be but no one should be buying a mainstream brand's mainstream watch as an investment.

In this particular case it may be a limited edition of 60, but the only thing that makes it limited is a logo on the dial and a slightly different caseback. In that regard it is the same as the hundreds and hundreds of similar logo editions that Andrew Michaels have commissioned over the years and the literally thousands of logo LE chronomats that Breitling have produced over the last 25+ years.

Buying anything in order for it to appreciate in value is
basically gambling. You cannot predict future trends, &
all the pontificating about these items ruins the overall
enjoyment that is inherent to owning them. Besides gold
& silver, platinum is a worthy investment, but these metals
are very expensive, so just amassing enough to make them
worthwhile may not be worth the aggravation & outlays.