The Breitling Watch Source Forums

well since my watchmaking attempts have come up with a bunch of mismatched movements, dial and cases I think i need to ask for some expert advise before pulling the trigger on my next potential purchase. Clearly I have much to learn. I have another auction in mind but I need to identify the movement so I can know precisely how big it is before I end up with yet another unusable bit (grrr)

Can someone offer me a little assistance?

i think its a landeron of some kind but really dont know which one

Thanks

actually in my random googling of movements and staring at details of movements i think its a landeron 48. does anyone know of this movement will fit in a 1188 casetype?

and thanks in advance

i know it can be troublesome for noobs to show up here ask questions and then leave but trust me ill stick around and add fresh blood to the forum

Breitling (probably) never used Landed on movements, definitely not in an 1188. Whether it would fit the s pure guesswork without being able to see pusher locations.

and, very frankly, you are asking us to assist in the production of a Frankenwatch at best, or most probably a total fake ? as Roff (and I in the other thread) explained, the 1188 is designed to hold a Venus 188, nothing else. even if you find a coorectly signed Venus 188 you'd still need a correct, authentic and fitting dial - and we haven't started to talk about the hands yet ....

you'll keep throwing good money after bad and end up with a fake, quite worthless watch.
maybe you should reconsider ?

trust me
i am reconsidering
i am trying to build an authentic watch but have made mistakes in my purchases.

and yes throwing good money after bad is very much on my mind

thanks for your input

i was thinking about this just prior to checking this forum for replies

so it comes down to this - if i spend the time to fit the venus 170 into the 188 case I wouldnt actually be getting anything valuable, only a pretend breitling. i could do this just to make the watch wearable but knowing the guts would be wrong wouldnt sit well with me and i certainly coudlnt/wouldnt sell it anyone else. I am interested in vintage breitlings primarily for the pleasure that rebuilding watches gives me and it was my intention to build a correct watch - even if the parts are difficult (and expensive) to find. i didnt realize that breitling actually only built movement specific cases and didnt offer movement ring adaptors until i authored this thread and saw the replies.

i am sorry if i gave off the impression that i was looking to suck knowledge from you guys in order to flip frankens on ebay. i just got all excited at the nos case i scored and wanted to get it up and running correctly and this thread came out of the frustration of that moment of realization that it is the wrong size

it pays to do my homework

just a followup to this

a Venus 188 movement is a 14''' movement. this translates to 31.58 mm

However this case - a breitling 1188 is only 30.81mm wide

so clearly the 1188 case type isnt designed for a venus 188

so what is going on?

the Breitling ref. 1188 is a rather large case - do not have the exact dimensions at the moment, but iirc around 37mm and it very, very definitely is designed for the Venus 188.

here's how an 1188 looks: http://instagram.com/p/mcR3vqgu9K/

reason for editing: typophobia

1188s had Venus 188 movements. If your case is too small for a 14 ligne Venus 188 movement (i.e. you tried one and it doesn't fit) then there would appear to be only one reason for that!

Edit, Fred beat me to it.

hrmm thanks for the info
my 30.81mm measurement is me using my digital calipers doing an actual reading of the interior space within the 1188 case itself and comparing that to the specs for the 188 movement. i havent actually tried to jam a venus 188 in the movement as I dont have one.

perhaps the measurements i found on ranftt's pink pages listed for the 14''' are a bit coarse and an actual 188 would slide tightly into the 30.81mm gap and I agree that the only way for me to tell properly would be to try and fit a venus 188 movement in it. However at this point I'm very much once bitten twice shy with these parts and I don't want to agonize over the price of an auction for a 188 movement (am I going to get something with a broken jewel in it or a bad hairspring etc) and have the parts arrive 2 weeks later and find they are out by a few fractions of a mm and then be stuck with yet another set of incompatible part.s it would kill my watch mojo!

Apparently I was too subtle.

If a 188 won't fit then it's not a genuine 1188 case.

The moral of this story my friend, and no one is trying to bust on you here unless you are trying to make fake Breitlings which I TRULY hope you are not doing. That is frowned on here and every other watch brand to my knowledge except perhaps Fisher-Price, if that is your goal just part company now and no harm/no foul. The moral is simply buy a real Breitling. Trying to manufacture one out of parts and pieces is going to cost you more in the long run IF you can even finish it. Like Fred mentioned at the start, you have not even thought about hands. HANDS!!!! I about went crazy over a flipping sweep hand last summer. I think that caused my Parkinson's!!!
Buy a nice original Breitling, the gentlemen on this site are more than happy to give advice on pieces all the time to assure a proper and wise purchase. And you will save untold funds.

Best,
Wayne

Thanks
I have the dial, the hands, the crown and the movement already (got them from lester Harrison as a package - a source I trust) At this point I'm just lacking the case. i got the wrong one - doh! Now I got the case from a source I trust here in town. They are a watch parts and jeweller supplies wholesalers who sometimes acquire and liquidate watchmakers estate so its possible the wool has been pulled over their eyes but I certainly don't beleive they would knowingly sell me a fakey. Perhaps I should take photos of the case from all angles and let you guys comment on it because now you have me all paranoid!

To me its about the hunt for the parts and the pleasure and satisfaction of assembling rusty/dirty bits into a functioning watch. Sure I can buy a real breitling. thats as easy as logging into paypal but there's no fun in that for me. I would rather build a watch than just buy one. Other projects I have on the go are a mid 70s speedmaster mark III with an omega 1040 movement. I can afford to buy the bits as well as I can afford to buy whole watches - money isnt the issue here.

and no i am not trying to franken a watch - i do want it to be correct.

The problem is, let me be blunt, you are proudly telling your plans to a forum that spends a lot of time trying to help potential buyers avoid buying what they believe to be original watches from people who make them up from parts!

And that is a problem. If these watches get on the open market they are 100% frankens. No ifs, ands or buts about it. This is not condoned here on this site.
I am completely aware you can build a vintage Omega from NOS parts or from complete kits from more than one eBay dealer sells right off the shelf. However, these are
not factory original and assembled watches and should never be sold as such or it is fraud.

Wayne

So if your mainspring breaks and youreplace it by your definition it is a franken watch and should be disposed of because itisnt original. This makes no sense. do you throw away your car because after a service it doesnt have the original belts or brakepads??

I'm sorry but i ut terly fail to see the moral difference between assembling a corrrect watch from correct parts from several different parts sources ( of course asuming full disclosure of watch history) snd changing out watch parts as part of a regular watch service. I wouldnt ever lie about the fact that its a rebuilt watch. In fact i doubt i wil ever sell anything i have built. For my pleasuere only.

And of course i agree that the watch has tobeto spec with right, case dial etc otherwise yes its a franken watch. I thjnk this whole discussion stems from the fact that i didnt realize that back in the day breitling designated case types for exact movements and i thought 170 movements were sometimes released into 1188case types but now i know this and it was never my intention to mix andmatch parts