The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Chronomat 44

Well, I'm happy that Breitling had the good sense to (mostly) eliminate the Buck Rogers bezel on the chronomat line. And I do like the replacement, at least inasmuch as it's possible to posit a value judgement without seeing one in real life.

However

I don't like limited dial options. We need to get back to the days of the rose gold bezel/roman numeral dial combinations. That's my sweet spot and IMO struck the ideal balance of flash and utility that many Breitling customers had grown to love during the 2000s.

Sadly I think I'll continue to sit on the sidelines until I've seen a developmental track record; nothing in the new lineup makes me say 'Yeah, I have to buy that!'. I do like the dial combos on some of the Navi 41s, but the problem is the watch has a 41" diameter which is just too small for my liking.

Let's see what next season holds, that will be the true test to me.

Of note-my collection now totals 17, and has been parked on that count for the better part of a year and half. I'm just....waiting.

I think that's very cool, and makes me feel excited about what is yet to come!

On a side note, I like the old-style triangular marker (under the dial), and had hoped that this might be the style used on the Navi 8.

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Cheers,
Jim

I'm sad to see the Cossie go -- but perhaps it is simply getting a makeover and will be re-launched?

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Cheers,
Jim

Like the new website, as with anything new there are bugs to be worked out. Quick question, has Breitling changed the names of its Bracelets? On the drop down portion of the the straps section with the B01 Navitimer and the new 41mm Navitimer the website show a seven link bracelet and refers to it as a "Pilot" bracelet. On the new 38mm three hand Navitimer it refers to the seven link bracelet as "Navitimer". The old "Pilot" bracelet which used to have 5 links is now used to describe bracelets which have both 3 and 5 links. The new 3 link "Pilot" Bracelet looks like the Professional III bracelet of yesteryear! To say the least I am somewhat confused, Fred can you please provide some guidance!

precisely

Buck Rogers still available but only in two tone. However they used an all steel buck rogers Chronomat as the front model of the Chronomat series in the collections page. I suspect the buck rogers all steel Chronomat might still be available but only upon request for certain variations. The new Chronomats are safer looking with the old bezel. Honestly speaking, I imagine myself using the watch as a pilot and find the buck rogers more functional than the new one because I have tried using the old bezel before and took me a lot more time to read off the elapsed time. The buck rogers model also has more sophiscated elements and details that make replication harder. I normally appreciate watches based on what they are designed for more than simply judging by their appearance on the surface. However I do understand the reasons for the new Chronomats since most customers prefer a safer look. I am glad that they did not just wipe out the older versions overnight but instead offer the old versions in a more "limited" manner while presenting the new versions. Actually I feel that the wings logo will apply better on the Chronomat, but oh well, all the better since that's another reason to love the buck rogers Chronomat. I like how they associate the different models as the representation of air, land and sea.

I must say that I quite like the Navitimer B01s and for some reason I love the red gold blue version. Very good idea to offer 41mm but IMO they should have created an in-house for a 6-9-12 Sub dial layout and introduce it in the model instead of just dumping a modified movement into it. It's a pity in view that it's a brand new Navi model and its prestige could have been further enhanced with a milestone. With the modified movement it is "just another watch". Same feeling with the 38mm.

For the rest, well... well safe but a generic looking and a little "IWC wannabe". They are nice but personally I will not put my money on these since such design element opens up to a lot more to other choices.

George has indicated that he does not plan to move Breitling upscale and prefers to position the brand in the current price range. Not sure if I like it as I would love the brand to position itself higher. Don't really think I would purchase a Breitling ever again though.

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Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

I do love the fact that the Chronomat is now being offered in a brushed steel version. That's a nice development.

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Cheers,
Jim

I know most of the attention will be on the new models and also what has been dropped from the collection, but the star for me is the revised Navitimer 01, now just 1.



The cleaner dial and san serif date wheel font is much nicer. I hope eventually they will phase out the B and anchor chrono second hand for the cleaner hand on the SuperOcean and Transocean.

For the "Super 8 Watch : As a reminder, here is a preview of an Emergency II (51mm) then placed on a wrist 22cm in circumference:

The online world works so broadly and so fast that it is hard to make an amendment once information is released. ****** agree with the unisex sentiment too, but are quoting the old website text. They are very influential so will be interesting whether the 38mm Navi can still find a market with men.

Since when is H.O.D.I.N.K.E.E. a word so sensitive that it needs to be replaced with ********?

Since a long time on this forum actually. Admin's wishes...

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I can't believe how close this actually is to my "5-minute-Photoshop- mockup" I put together the other day!

Theirs -



Mine -



Still wish the real one had the twin registers at 3 and 9, and a 6 o'clock date as per my version, but hey, it's pretty darn close!

As for the rest of the new collection -

I really like the 44mm version of the SOH, as I've always found the 46mm marginally too big and the 42mm marginally too small. Really great size, so that's another one I'm excited to see in person.

The new Chronomat looks great (and finally no Buck Rogers!), although it needs more colour combinations - a black dial with white subs would be great. I'm sure they'll come, but still slightly odd they didn't lead with that classic combo.

The 43mm Navi is great (as long as you get the right dial colour as they aren't all great IMO ), but that's no surprise as essentially it's just a renamed Navi B01, albeit with a nicer cleaner dial. And I do also quite like the Navi 8 Unitime....although it does have a whiff of IWC about it.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Sums up my thoughts exactly.

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Cheers,
Jim

Not a fan of new logo!
So looking at the website I do not see the rattrapante navitimer or the world anymore. Does this mean they are being discontinued?

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Avenger Seawolf black baton (custom 1.7 diamond bezel)
Chronomat 01 MOP diamond dial and bezel