The Breitling Watch Source Forums

As you may know from some of my recent posts since trying on the new Premier, I'm actually a really big fan of the panda version, and by extension it's got me somewhat rejuvenated for all things Breitling! Great news indeed (for me!)

And this new direction actually got me thinking about the Chronomat, because I kind of get the impression that the "new" version with it's non-Buck bezel may be a bit of an "end-of-life spruce-up" before something new takes it's place. (I may be wrong of course!)

So for a bit of fun, if you guys had a blank canvas to design a new one from scratch, what would be your ideal/dream Chronomat? Would it be all Schneider-era rider tabs, or something that harks back to an earlier more vintage time, or maybe something entirely new and ultra-modern (ceramics, etc), or maybe even a return of Buck Roger's finest! ?

So what would be your dream Chonomat?

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Driver8

Site Moderator

One exactly like the one on the right in this picture, but in steel and a 38 to 41mm width, and certainly not as thick or slab-sided as the Montbrillant on the left. I think the foundations are already there in the new Premier line.



PS: I know this is not the "Chronomat" type you were talking about . I just don’t like any of the Breitlings with riders on the bezel.

No, there are no rules here in this thread! Vintage Chronomat designs are just as valid as more recent versions IMO. Just interested to know what people's ideal Chronomat would be.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

So choice. It would be awesome if they replaced the Chronomat with something like this. The "what's old is new" strategy really resonates with me. I love Breitling's vintage styling, but I don't want a franken restored watch (and I'm not informed enough to sort out what's original and what's not) and I don't want to assume that risk. I also don't want (albeit what I perceive to be) the hassle of servicing and maintaining a vintage watch. (watchFred IG feed has me verrrry tempted, though).

I guess I'm not very creative with the blank canvas you've provided! But, to me, the ideal modern Chronomat has been done--Chronomat Evolution with black stick dial and silver subs.

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Current collection: Breitling Superocean Heritage I 46, Rolex Submariner, Swatch X ****** Sistem51

I think a return the Schneider Era ones for me. I like the rider tabs. I always really liked the airborne. And my all time favorite is the big date blackbird. I would like them to offer both a brushed and polished version of the chronomat so people would have a choice. And matching date wheels.

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I've thought about this and after owning 2 Chronomats (Evolution and Airborne), I still can't think of anything better than the Airborne. 10 years ago I would have said the Evolution I had was perfect with the graphite dial but at that time it was a little too much watch for me. I ended up selling it in favor of a Panerai and didn't regret it. When the Buck Rogers bezel was introduced on the Chronomat, I wasn't a huge fan but the LE versions one appeal was the brushed finish. The red accents were nice, but the Govberg edition with the yellow accents was so much nicer. The only thing I'd change was having a black date window but believe me, we tried asking for one when it was being built and was denied.

With that being said, I couldn't think of anything better than the Airborne. The couple of changes I'd make would maybe one or 2 less lines of text on the dial and I'd have a better matching date wheel for the white/ivory dial. I've thought about seeing if I could swap out the white date wheel for the one used on the black dial and have that match the subdials. Since I already feel like I pretty much have the perfect Chronomat, I figured I should post one of my favorite pictures of it.

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Justin
Please contact me via PM for the contact details for Govberg Jewelers
Govberg is an AD for over 50 fine Swiss and German watch brands.
Visit them on the web at http://www.govbergwatches.com or call 800-528-8463

^^^^This but with the 04 GMT movement and a proper 24 hour marker bezel with black numbers.

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Ok let's try :

42 mm, brushed bezel a'la Aerospace, brushed/polished surfaces on the case, B01 but not with contrasting dials, hands and indices like on Airborne, no day/date, pushers without locking mechanism.

Wings

Justin and Natesen, thanks for posting the pics!

Justin's Airborne is rather nice. If they are gong to revamp the Chronomat, I think it makes the most sense to start from that platform. With that, I'd like to see more vintage styling incorporated.

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Current collection: Breitling Superocean Heritage I 46, Rolex Submariner, Swatch X ****** Sistem51

i would take the blackbird big date case and bracelet, keep the mix of polished and brushed facets

put a B01, B03, B04 and in house big date in there with a sapphire caseback. 44mm with 22mm lugs

i would keep all the hands lumed like the BB and the lume dot on the bezel

i would consider the guilloche back on the dial that was used on the TO GMT

This ^, and reduce thickness by a couple mm (say 13mm)

Also would like the big date Blackbird reduced a bit in size, 42mm and thinner, brushed finish.

The 44mm Chronomats wore just too large for me. The 41mm Airborne was close to the right size, but a bit chunky. Probably not interested in the vintage style Chronomats.

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Chronospace EVO Night Mission
Colt Quartz 41mm
Chrono Jetstream

Well as this was my thread, I guess I should put forward my dream Chronomat too. As some of you know I like messing around with Photoshop, so below is my personal ideal Chronomat. (In fact I've created two ideals!).


It's not much of a secret that I'm a fan of the early to mid Schneider era, so for me, the next Chronomat should be an evolution of the current model. I'm all for vintage inspired modern "reimaginings" of classic pieces, but IMO the Chronomat has always been a forward-looking piece.

In terms of specs, I think the current model is a little too large, so I'd like to see it shrinking it down from 44mm to 42-43mm in diameter. As you can see from my Photoshop effort, I've slimmed down the lugs considerably, and made the bezel narrower which makes the dial look a little bigger. I've reduced the size of the bezel pearl a little, and obviously there's no Buck font in sight. In terms of the dial, I've gone with a reverse panda, partly because it's the inverse of my new favourite panda Premier, and partly because the contrasting rehaut pays a little homage to the early Chronomat posted by Arcadelt.

I've also (OBVIOUSLY!) got rid of my pet hate - the 4:30 date! On both my versions the date is now at 6, including being hidden within the 6 subdial on my triple register model (á la Omega). Personally I think this is just an INFINITELY much more elegant solution, even if you lose a minuscule amount of functionality on that register.

I've also kept the details in keeping with the current direction by having the "B" logo instead of the wings, reducing the amount of dial text, and removing the "B-anchor" from the end of central seconds hand.

Lastly, I've kept it all brushed as I think polishing works better on the vintage inspired pieces.

Here's a three register version (notice the slimmed lugs and date at 6) -


And a twin register version -


And here's a comparison with the current model. The slimmed-down lugs and larger dial due to the slightly smaller case are really apparent in this comparison : it looks so much less "bulky" to me than the current model -

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Driver8

Site Moderator

The twin register version is great Driver, but I’d give it a Black date wheel to match the dial.

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Justin
Please contact me via PM for the contact details for Govberg Jewelers
Govberg is an AD for over 50 fine Swiss and German watch brands.
Visit them on the web at http://www.govbergwatches.com or call 800-528-8463

Now we are talking, Driver! Well done! I’d take the twin register if it were 42mm or smaller. Key to your design is the narrowed bezel and lugs. Looks sharp! I wish I had your PS skills.

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Current collection: Breitling Superocean Heritage I 46, Rolex Submariner, Swatch X ****** Sistem51

I think Driver has a promising career in watch design I would buy both of those models!

I'm another one that always prefers a date wheel that makes the dial symmetric. The 430 date wheel isn't a complete deal breaker for me, but I very much prefer the date at 6 or the big date at 12.

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