The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hello,

First I introduce myself, I'm Nicolas from France, I'm 38 and new comer in this very useful and interesting forum. I've dream for about 20 years to get a Breitling and I expect to make it true for Xmas.

My main criterias are :
- chrono
- slide rule (I'm not a pilot but want to use it as daily simple operations such as multiply, divide, car consumption, money conversion, ...)
- good night reading

So I hesitate between thes 3 models :

1/Navitimer
That's a classical, a sure value from Breitling.
Slide rule is accurated. But I've noticed all types of Navitimer haven't all the same slide rule, such as hour/min conversion, which is a pity if not.
I've got some fears in case I dive with it, but a watch I can dive no more deep that 3 meters is enough for me.
I've been told some Navitimer model such as World one have a lower reliability, don't know if it's true.

2/Skyracer
Choice for same reasons than Navitimer, same basis with a different style, nice chrono reading and slide rule. May be the night reading more powerful than the Navitimer.

3/Airwolf
Many features, I'me very interested by alarm and 2nd clock. It is more a sports watch, looks like I'm.

Although I'm afraid this model is not so in the pure tradition of Breitling, to get a full of features, let's have a Casio. For this reason I'm afraid this model will loose its value with the time.

In addition, it's a quartz (superquartz) model and I wonder if finally, mechanical is not better ones (duration of life compared to quartz, cost and waiting time in case of a battery replacement).

Here is why it's so difficult for me to choose and I'd like to get your expert advise to help me in the best choice.

It will be my first Breitling, I don't want to be disappointed and I wish to keep it functionning properly for many decades.

Thanks a lot to all of you.

Regards

Nicolas

if i were buying i go Navi, but if you want to get it wet i would go with one of the others

Well, interesting criteria..

My opinion (I underline "my" opinion), and I first of all say I am very much biased for Navitimers..

I would never go for a quartz watch even if it is a Breitling. To me a quartz watch is tool, it has no soul. I don't believe any Quartz watch will keep value for decades like watches with manual movement will.

As far as comparing the Navitimer to the Skyracer.. The first question is which Navitimer are you looking at as there are many many types (it's a bit like you said I am thinking of "a Mercedes" vs. a BMW 330d).

In any case, though, in my opinion the 2 things you also have to think about (if you haven't yet) are size and movements.

The classic Navitimer is 41.8 mm, the Skyracer is 43.5 mm. Have you actually tried them on?

In terms of movement, the classic Navitimer has a Breitling 23 based on a Valjoux 775X, the Skyracer a Breitling 27 caliber based on ETA 2892-A2. There is a lot of debate about this but the 2892-A2 is known to be more reliable than the older Valjoux 775X series. HOWEVER, I will always prefer the Valjoux over the ETA (even though Valjoux now actually belongs to ETA) as it has more history and is the more interesting of the 2 (my watchmaker, Winner of the 1994 Artist Craftsman competition of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, hates the new ETA movements because he considers them "cheap"). I don't care if they make funny noises sometimes.

I would also say that Navitimers have history going back to the 50's at Breitling and if you check the value on used Navitimer on eBay, you will see the keep good value.

All just personal opinions..

_________________
Navi 1966 806 (Venus 178)
Chrono-Matic ref. 2130 (Cal. 11)
Navi Mechanique (Lemania 1873) LE Patrouille de France
Navi Old II (Valjoux 7750) LE Snowbirds (sold)
Tavannes 1942 Chronomat ref. 769 (Venus 175)

Welcome to the forum. Considering your perfers the most suitable piece for you would be a Skyracer. I've handled it and can tell you that it is magnificent.

I personally agree with the others to go with a mechanical watch as opoposed to a quartz...... but again that is just a personal preference.

However, what isn't just an opinion (it's a fact) is that quartz movements are much harder to maintain long term as parts are very specialised at the time of manufacture and technology quickly moves on. As a result, you can already find watches made as recently as the 80's that are no longer repairable due to a lack of spare parts. However, mechanical watch technology hasn't really changed in hundreds of years and as a result you can still quite easily repair watches made in 30's or 40's..... and even earlier.

If you want to keep a watch running for decades, choose an automatic.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

Agree with everything said on mechanical vs quartz.

In terms of Navi versus Skyracer, you have to try them on and see which one calls the loudest.

Oh, and welcome.

If you want water resistance, id get the skyracer. Both the navi and the airwolf are not really meant for too much water. I think the skyracer is a robust, all around watch that you will enjoy. Of course, this assumes that youve tried them all on and like the way they all look and fit. If you havent, you may end up tryin some of them on and deciding that they arent at all what you had thought.

Navi World if it were up to me

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for ruggedness, water resistance for surface sports & functionality I would consider the airwolf. I do prefer the autos, but function over form for me. Also I wouldn't let long term value sway opinion. Value should be judged on how long you'll love your watch for. Not a $$ figure.

Isnt the Airwolf 50m WR? Im not sure id want to go swimming with that, let a lone 3 meter dives..

true its 50m, which means swimming & surface pursuits except water skiing. That said, I swim a lot with it, kite surf etc. If a manufacturer quotes WR they'll always be conservative. I'm sure if they quoted 200m it would be silly to be afraid to snorkel or shallow dive with it. Likewise 50m is designed to go swimming but not snorkeling etc. since most pools are up to 3m deep, I'm sure this is fine too. I swim with mine every other day & get it serviced/checked every 12-18mths & the gaskets checked--perfect.
If I would be wearing a watch in any sports however I would be a bit hesitant with little sub dials though. I don't think they would like shocks etc. Another reason for my choice.
Enjoy life & your watch...they go hand in hand.
cheers

Dear all,

First I want to thank for your different opinions that helped me a lot to make my choice : it will finally be the Navitimer.

My last question now is which Navitimer ?

I really like 3 of them :

- classical one
- world
- cosmonaute

May be I will not keep the World one since I've got tight wrist and its diameter is the biggest (I need to have a try ...).

For the Cosmonaute, I'm afraid it seems to full of information so that the reading will not be so comfortable, minutes & hours reading on 24h basis will certainly need some training as well.

I've noticed that the Cosmonaute has a different slide rule compared to the two others : she has hour/minutes conversion. I don't know if it's better for daily calculations which are not for navigation at all.

At last, The Cosmonaute has not a Valjoux 77xx but an ETA 2882-A2. So I've been told Valjoux is better because more history.

So I'm almost at the end of my reflexion, I think with your last advise, I'll be able to make the final choice.

So thanks to you by advance.

Regards.

Nicolas

They are all great watches, and I think you need to try them on, but I have one issue with the Valjoux / ETA statement.

The ETA movement that you refer to is actually an ETA 2892-A2, which is a platform for many different movements. It was designed and built to be modular, and is therefore the basis of many complicated watches - including the most complicated movements that Breitling uses.

On the other hand the Valjouxs under consideration were built to be chronos, they aren't modular. While the Valjoux name may have been around longer, conventional wisodm would say that the ETA name is higher quality than the Valjoux name today, although in a Britling that's fairly irrelevant given the modifications that they make to the ebauche to ensure quality.

Finally, bear in mind that both Valjoux and ETA have the same owners - they are both part of the Swatch group.

Hope the posts helped you make your choice.
Now, whichever one it is - Go Out and get us the Pics!

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Black Breitling Super Avenger - 2008 Batons Model,
Black Hamilton Khakhi X-Wind
Black Marathon Le Grand Plongeur

Furthermore, isnt it now referred to as an ETA 7750? I thought the Valjoux name was phased out altogether..


@Nico92:
Great choice. But just to clarify, you do realize that the navi should not be worn while swimming, right?