ffeelliixx wrote:
Robertus61 wrote:
ffeelliixx wrote:
Not sure I like it. Sort of boring. If I want something that utilitarian, I'll buy a Sinn.
I beg to disagree on Breitling vs. Sinn. The last beautiful utilitarian Sinn with blue dial and the very same useful features (countup bezel, day-date) was the Arktis (I have one), now discontinued and pre-owned prices began to rise. If you want to have a diver chrono 7750 day-date based with blackeye-blue dial, good waterresistance, screw-down pushers, certified chronometer, good lume, screw-safed 120-ratchet bezel and no no-name brand (these are all important features for me), you cannot find anything else. The Arktis still has the 60-ratchet bezel without screw safe, bracelet with somewhat cheaper feel and heartless hands design (can be beautifully upgraded with Flieger hands, on mine nice Tudor pushers too). To the CSOSF you can add the micro-adjust clasp (alright Breitling should deliver with that) and change hands too if you wish (I'd love to see the black-eye blue version with the hour and minute hands of the 42 mm CSO, white small hands and the Chronomat Evo central seconds hand). So (for me) no competition here between the two brands.
If you could show me a day-date blue or BEB (no square inside) Chronomat 41 mm with the new/old (Airborne) bezel, I could not resist though...
Only my two cents thrown in.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i237/ ... 5bdb40.jpgI hear all of that. But I'm really more focused on design and price. All I need is a good design, a chrono, rotating bezel, and date, and I'm good to go. For a utilitarian look and for far less money, I'd rather have a Sinn 900, 757, or if I felt like going big, an EZM10 (still far less expensive than the Breitling). Each of these watches also have patented technologies that the Breitling lacks, including hardened steel.
sent from my Note 3
I agree with many of what you wrote but I think I'm a handicapped on this issue

You are lucky if you need only a date: I need the weekday too 'coz I work on a different schedule on different weekdays, not to say holidays too, while my childhood in the seventies brought the first payable day-date watches (Seiko) so it's kinda nostalgy too. The missing weekday feature made me not to buy the Chronomat 41 BEB dial yet... (The other nice option would be the "good old" Simple Full Calender like that on the Valjoux 72C or 7751 movements. I'd love a Chronomat 41 with such!!! Look at the Blancpain FF Chrono Full Calender how beautiful she is! Price, FP base mov't, missing bracelet option and size make this a no-go for me though.) Date chronos can be chosen from a much wider offer, be it Breitling or not. The other thing is that I cannot live with countdown bezels. Tried it and sold the watch with that. (That's why I've just decided to sell my Sinn 103 Ti Ar UTC too.)
Regarding patented technologies I'm the one that don't really need most of them: The view of the copper sulphate window disturbs me on the side of my Arktis and I'm happy that my 103 St does not have this feature. Regarding hardened steel: My IWC Fliegerchrono 3706 had just suffered her first refinish of the watch case after 16 years - and for many years she was my 7/24 daily beater. My daily wearer of the last 3.5 years is the IWC AT Chrono 376706 and no serious sign of wear yet. I usually baby my watches and that's it.
With prices you are right too, the RRP of the CSOSF will be over the roof, but you can bargain at the AD way better than at Sinn e. g. and you can go pre-loved too. BTW the EZM10 (with the countdown bezel...) has a German RRP of 4.460 Euro while the Breitling will arrive somewhere at 4.950 (both on bracelet), so the Sinn is cca. 10% cheaper which I wouldn't call far less expensive and the 10% (will disappear after bargaining) is well worth the extra 80 or so years of manufacture history too...

On the central minute counter: it was a disappointment for me: could not use the advantage of the quick reading, be it the rebuilt 7750 or the LWO5100. (If I were to go for a watch with central minute counter I'd choose a pre-owned Breguet Type XXI. over a new EZM10 anytime.) Here again the AT 376706 is the best for me: anything near this is good enough.
At the end of the day I think for many of us the design is the main point: if you look at a watch you either like her or not. Returning to the CSOSF (don't want to hijack the thread...) I like the BEB dial version a lot (personalizations to be done though), while I dislike that of the EZM10 - and many competing models on the market.
Excuse me for writing so much.