The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Well at last the correct info is here. I have had the following information direct from Breitling Switzerland about the gold features on the TT Evolution Chronomats.
The Pushers, The Crown, The Bezel and the 1/4 hour Riders are all SOLID 18ct gold. The bracelet is not solid gold however, it is capped gold which is what I think you guys have been calling Rolled gold which is 20 microns thick (much thicker than plated gold) and of course very hard wearing compared to standard gold plating. I hope that this info reassures any members who have newish TT watches, They have not been mis-lead at all.

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AlphabetABC

Rolex Daytona TT
Omega Planet Ocean Chronograph
Breitling Navitimer 01 Red Gold

So that would make the solid gold content on your watch the riders crown and pushers, thanks for finding that out!

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All the best.
Ian

I'm not going to discuss it again, but..........

I still don't believe it - at least in terms of TTs with steel bezels.

With the chance of sounding crass....... this is exactly (as far as the TT bracelet is concerned) what you where told by several members already. But if you now have piece of mind, I am glad. Maybe you can now trust the "experts" on our site.

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Breitling Steelfish(black)
Breitling Steelfish(silver)
Panerai PAM 312
Bell & Ross BR03-92 Phantom
Steinhart BreitlingSource LE #5/15

I don't think you can except being wrong can you. BREITLING SWITZERLAND has said this not me.......The crown , the riders and bezel plus the pushers are all solid only the bracelt is not solid gold. this is not really what i was being told on thids forum, even now Raff will not except it. And yes I am now convinced that the TT chronomat I am looking to buy has genuine Breitling Solid 18ct gold Accents everywhere. Of course I will now buy it with peace of mind.

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AlphabetABC

Rolex Daytona TT
Omega Planet Ocean Chronograph
Breitling Navitimer 01 Red Gold

You really don't know me very well if you think I can't accept being wrong, but that's OK, it's not my watch.

When I'm wrong I will (and frequently do) admit it. Thing is, I don't care who told you what, I'm still not convinced that I'm wrong.

If I am, so be it, if not, so be it.

Either way, I'm done.

Ok. End of story. It's official then that Breitling watches are not only beautiful watches, but are as well made as we all thought they were.
People here that do own Chronomat TT's may be a lot happier knowing their gold is solid 18ct. With regards to the 18ct capped gold used on the Pilot bracelet, I trust Breitling knows more about making watches than I do and that the combo of materials they used in the bracelet will last longer and be "fit for purpose" more so than solid gold/SS mix together. I know I am happy now and will be picking up my Chronomat TT sometime this week. On a final note, if I appeared to be challenging remarks and comments made in post's from other members, it was in no way personal and hope they see it that way.

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AlphabetABC

Rolex Daytona TT
Omega Planet Ocean Chronograph
Breitling Navitimer 01 Red Gold

Well this gets more bizzare! I trust my ad completely, their service staff are trained by Breitling, I just asked her again this time about the crown and pushers, she went and asked and they said they recently replaced a gold pusher on the TT chronomat, the pusher was definately gold capped. she said that there is a lot of confusion as it is often said to be solid gold as it is, but with a core of steel, she even went and check what a solid all gold watch would be and they said the the solid all gold watch still has the capped pushers and crown.

So, yes, you are getting a solid gold crown insofar as it is not plating it is a layer of solid gold over a core of steel just like the bracelet, she said that the parts would wear out very quickly if it were all gold!
Also just to note, the one pusher is over $300 Canadian,which would be in line with the price you were quoted for the crown!

I see no reason for my dealer to lie about this, they have an impeccable reputation and the service staff are not only Swiss trained but a few of them are also Swiss.
Hope that helps, I still think you are getting one hell of a watch and you are getting a solid gold layer as opposed to just plated!

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All the best.
Ian

Hi Ian. It is getting very bizzare. Whilst you and I trust our local AD's. they are not infallible, I think I trust the Service dept at Breilting in Londomn and Switzerland much more.
Just a question Ian.... Do you know the age of the Chronomat TT that needed a replacement pusher, could it have been a few years old, in which case the replacement pusher may well have been capped gold as in those days not much was made of solid gold on the Breitling range unless it was a solid 18ct gold watch. We are in the hands of the experts here and Breitling are the experts. Cheers Ian.

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AlphabetABC

Rolex Daytona TT
Omega Planet Ocean Chronograph
Breitling Navitimer 01 Red Gold

Yep, it was one year old, it had suffered damage.
Also the store I go to is a dedicated watch store with a full service center on site, the sales person I spoke to spoke directly to the service person who performed the replacement on the pusher, they said that even on the full all 18k model has this type of crown and pushers, solid gold over a core of steel, they see it with their own eyes in the service department, I cannot for the life of me see how or why they would lie about that as the kudos and ego would be to claim it to be full gold. You are getting solid gold, it is just that it has a core of Steel for longevity.

This is as I say a dedicated high end dealer, they sell nothing but watches and only Swiss and seiko spring drive.
I went into detail about it to them as I had told them your story and what was happening, the could not understand why you are being given this information my AD is the equivilent of a full breitling service departmant that you would find in Switzerland or other countries major service centers. The store is not some ill informed mass chain like Goldsmiths in the UK where a great many of the staff would not know a crown from a crow! These are all Swiss trained Breitling trained service personal using only breitling parts!

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All the best.
Ian

Exactly.

I thought that they were solid on the solid gold models as it's designed as a dress watch rather than a 'functional' watch, but not particularly surprised to find that's not the case.

Think about the implications of a gold crown for a minute. The crown has a very distinct function - through a series of ratchets and gears it winds the mainspring of the watch and as such is subjected to relatively high stresses and strains - not something that gold is well suited for.

I am way past caring whether anybody believes me, but they are simply not solid gold, and inflamatory posts about 'the truth is out there' based on someone in customer service at Breitling who has probably never even seen a two tone pusher will never make them gold.

OK, I really am done, I think my beliefs are fairly well documented, so I have nothing more to add.

+1

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All the best.
Ian

gold cap=keeps the overall cost down

all this talk makes me appreciate my Rolex Prez.... 100% SOLID 18CT Gold, and it doesn't wear out

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Rolex DeepSea, GMT Master II TT, Pres 18038, DJ TT 16013
Breitling Chronomat 39mm (bullet+UTC), Starliner SS/MOP (wife)

back with ROLEX

I dont think I'd be overly willing to part with 11K for non solid gold crown and pushers.....so if you feel the same then dont do it!!!

Roff is right.....Think about it......think about it some more......then accept that a lot of the experts on this forum have monumental knowledge in this field - more so than a lot of Breitling EMPLOYEE'S (NOT ENTHUSIASTS) who simply take a wage at the end of the day and are willing to tell you what they think might be correct or what they think you want to hear -

Must admit this thread has more than amused me and am genuinely curious as to whether you will be prepared dismiss other members comments and shell out on this non-solid piece.

Either way - Good luck, I'm sure you'll love it anyways.......and surely thats the main thing !

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Polenzo



Breitling For Bentley 6.75 on Speed!
Headwind TT on SS Pilot
Super Avenger, Black,Batons on Ocean Racer

The confusion here centers on the meaning of "solid", which I think has to be quantified. The crown nor the pushers could be completely solid gold. There has to be a steel core integral with the operating shaft throught the case. A single, solid gold (certainly 18K) component would be an extremely poor choice of material as it is too soft. It may be that it is a solid gold cap, (far thicker than rolled gold), maybe an investment casting, that is press-fitted onto the steel operating spindle. Such a design could be regarded as 'solid' gold for all practical purposes. The alternative to 'solid' being the much, much thinner layer called rolled gold, and of course the thinnest -electroplating.

IF I am right in surmising how these components are made, it IS rightly, called solid gold. As for rider tabs, I don't know how they are attached, but if they are screwed on, then it is unlikely they are all-gold. They may be steel base 'capped' with cast gold, as a screw won't hold strongly into 18K gold.

Just think about 'gold' teeth. Are they 100% gold - of course not, they are solid gold caps (also investment cast).

Just my 2 penneth with my engineering hat on.