NOW OHPF !!Up for grabs is a classic Breitling Navitimer 806. The Serial Number 1022652 dates it to 1965, and I believe it's a 'Generation 4', with the 'new' style sawtooth bezel and silvered sub-dials (the earlier, slightly smaller sub-dials, which became larger in the 5th generation (1967), the last of the 806's.) It would have been one of the first to incorporate the 'Twin Jet' logo (1964 onwards) and Breitling name on the dial (taking over from the AOPA version). It uses the Venus 178 17 Jewel movement, which was gradually replaced by the Valjoux 7740 over the next few years.
I got this in a local auction fairly recently, and after a chat with the auctioneer, found that it's got some interesting history. It belonged to a fellow called Warwick Banks (born 12 July 1939) who is/was a British former auto racing driver. He was a race winner in British Formula Three for Tyrrell Racing during the 1960s and was team-mate of Jackie Stewart during his first season in 1964. He won the European Touring Car Championship in 1964, and in 1965 he finished runner-up in the British Saloon Car Championship with a class winning Mini Cooper.' (Thanks to Wikipedia for the additional info..).
Mr Banks (or whoever gave him the watch) had his name inscribed on the Caseback (pictures to follow). So that's a nice bit of providence for those interested in the history of their vintage watches.
To cut a long story short, I won the auction for the watch, so the first job was to get it checked out. Steve Burrage at Ryte Time gave it a thorough inspection for me - and I'm happy to report that the Venus 178 movement is in terrific condition - it didn't even need regulating, and looks as though it has been serviced very recently. This tied in nicely with what the auctioneer had told me - that the previous owner had a fair amount of very smart vintage watches, and was very fussy about maintenance and upkeep.
Which brings me very nicely to the '
Condition Report":
Crystal: As well as the inspection, Steve also buffed up the Hesalite Crystal for me - it wasn't bad at all, but had one or two noticeable marks. Steve's worked his magic, and the crystal looks great now - under a loupe I can see the odd 'swirl' from the buffing, a tiny 1mm graze at the edge at '35', plus some other negligible hairlines, but nothing you'd even find unless you were looking for them.
Dial: Original Black Dial, with 3 silvered Sub-Dial Registers, in 'Guilloche' finish. Left register is main Seconds hand, Right register is Chrono minutes, while the lower register is the Chrono hours. Black 'spear' indicators on the registers. Applied Steel markers for numbers, with lumed tips, except Arabic Number '12', original and not restored. Internal Gold on Black scales in very good order. The outer White chapter ring is superb, which is a bonus, as they tend to be the area that suffers most over time on these.
Hands: Hour and Minute hands are slim steel 'swords', with a luminous fill. Lume is of course 'dead' now, but appears complete. The central Chronograph hand is gold steel, needle style with an arrowhead tip.
Case: The case is a classic diver-style, in a gold-filled steel. Again condition is excellent - there are of course some minor marks, but no major dinks or nicks, which is remarkable, considering this is nearly 50 years old. Even the undersides of the lugs, which are prone to 'nibbles', are smooth and nick-free. I can't see any area where the gold-fill has worn through, or even any noticeable fading.
Caseback: The caseback is steel, a snap-down type. Wording is clear, both inside and out. Serial Number on caseback of 1022652 indicates the year of manufacture as 1965. There are minor scratches, nothing nasty. Inscription as described above. Overall is very good - see photos.
Bezel: The bidirectional steel bezel, with a gold-filled sawtooth-edge, rotates smoothly with a soft resistance, and turns the white chapter ring as it should. Very good condition.
Crown/Pushers: All original Push-Down ridged-edge steel crown, gold-filled, clear 'B' signed. Two gold-filled steel pushers. The Crown shows some fading of the gold as you might expect, but still very good. The top pusher does show some wear - the 'cap' has worn, to the underside edge - actually not noticeable when the watch is worn, as it's against the wrist, which is possibly the cause of the wear. The lower pusher is fine. All work perfectly. (I've taken some close-ups of the wear to the top pusher - it's nothing major, but do have a look).
Movement/Running: Steve at RyteTime has carefully inspected the lovely Venus 178 movement (17 Jewels unadjusted, fully signed). He reports that it "is in excellent condition, and appears to have been recently serviced". It didn't need regulating either, so would suggest that the previous owner was fairly meticulous about maintenance. It's running well, with a strong reserve. I timed this a couple of weeks ago, and it was within +/-10 seconds per day - I'll run it again to firm up the figure. The Chrono functions perfectly, with a crisp flyback to zero on all registers. It has 'WOG' engraved on the balance cock, which is the Wakmann import mark, so was probably exported to the US at some point. The Breitling and Venus markings are clear (see the photos - lovely!).
Strap: The watch is mounted on a classic Breitling Hide leather strap, Black with Ivory contrast stitching) (22-20, 435X), with a polished steel Breitling buckle (older impressed style). Though used, It's in really nice condition - see the pictures.
Measurements: Width (without Crown/Pushers): 41mm (with Crown 44mm). Thickness: 14.3mm. Lug-to-lug: 48.1mm. Lug Width 22mm. Weight (on strap): 77 grams
Other: It's nicely sized at 41mm (i.e. about the same size as a full size Bond Seamaster), and wears on the large side, as the Crown and Pushers add width, and the domed crystal and caseback means it wears quite high. The near-new Breitling Black/Ivory strap with the Steel tang complement the watch nicely. I don't have an original Box or Papers for this, but I will supply the watch in a Breitling Service/Travel Case - either the old style rectangular type, or the newer box style - buyer's choice.
A good 806 is a prudent investment as well as a lovely watch, and they seem to command absolutely stupid money on the 'bay. Mine is in superb mechanical condition (and pretty damn good cosmetically as well!). I found a couple that I'd judge to be in a comparable condition to mine - one went for £2230, the other for £2500. Even so, I'm going put this up at an extremely reasonable £1899 - that gets you the watch, a Breitling Travel Case, and the lightly used OEM Breitling strap and buckle. I appreciate that some buyers may wish to use their own accessories, so if you don't want the OEM strap, reduce the price by
£50. If you don't want the Travel Case, knock off another
£15.
The prices quoted include Next Day RMSD for UK Bidders. Overseas will need to contact me for exact Shipping costs based on destination, but I'll use a tracked and insured service - I imagine it will £15-20 maximum.
I've loads of Feedback on here, I'm a 'Top Rated' e-bay seller (2750+ deals, 100%, username 'goonermike'), and I've got plenty of Feedback on Breitling Source (username 'BigBird'), so there are no worries there.
I'd prefer payment by Bank Transfer. PayPal if absolutely necessary, or for overseas, but I cannot accept PayPal Gifts (my account just won't accept them, and I get charged even on gifts). So if you want to use PayPal, it'll be via the 'official' route, and you'll need to add 3.4% to cover Fees.
If I've missed anything, you'd like more info or pics, please feel free to PM me.
Cheers!
Mike
Photo Time – in 3 batches, due to bandwidth restrictions..starting with head shots:
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