Horological Meandering

new movement, manual wind chronometer certified chronograph, 70 hr pr, 28,8 freq, 41 mm case, wr 3 bar, 22 mm lugs with leather strap tapering to 18mm. sounds very good, despite my being on record as finding chronograph function unnecessary (see  www.watchprosite.com  .

Yes, I admit this is inconsistent but I still find chronograph dials can be attractive and alluring - the human contradiction. Nevertheless, to Breitling I went. I had already visited three other Breitling shops - the boutique in Hong Kong International Airport, and two other ADs. None of them had any 806 1959 re-editions in stock.

And at this boutique, which was empty when I entered, where the sales clerk was most gracious, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he did have one in stock, unsold, uncommitted, in a display case. But it was not the steel version, but the gold version. I knew that the steel watch was limited to 1959 pieces (numbered). I did not know that Breitling also has made/is making 159 gold versions and 59 platinum versions. The gold one is not yellow gold, but a very copper-y reddish orange gold with brown panda dial, creamy subdials and aged lume, whereas the platinum version has blue panda dial, white subdials and white non-fautina lume.

So I tried on the gold version, with case still ensheathed in plastic: see pic. It was lovely. Of course, the red-orange gold is nice for a niche watch, but I am not in the market for such a niche product to go mostly unworn. I asked the salesman how many steel versions the boutique has received. He told me three, and all had been ordered fully prepaid -- Breitling boutique will not take a partial deposit. Moreover, if you put down the full price, i.e. prepay, and the watch comes in and for whatever reason one decides it is not for you after all, well, tough luck. Breitling considers it pre-sold and despite that you have not even left the store, you cannot decline it and get your money back. I assume they would let you apply to $ to a different Breitling piece to take home, but you can't get a single centime back. Interesting. I believe Omega has the same policy when you order a limited edition and they require pre-payment in full to guarantee your getting the watch.

Anyhow, I was surprised to hear that (this) Breitling boutique (how many are there in the world?) had not gotten even one steel piece for the boutique to have available for sale should someone walk in and desire it or see it and decide to buy it on the spot. 1959 pieces are a fair amount. The salesman told me he has several other prepaid orders awaiting delivery, and said he would call me when one came in, before the destined owner came by to retrieve it, so that I could see it and decide if it was for me or not. I would not commit sight unseen.

Having gone this far, I let my fingers do the walking and called the other Breitling AD in my neck of the woods, and asked if they happened to have a steel model in stock. I have gone into this shop a few times, but have never purchased anything from them, and they do not know me by name. Even more surprisingly, when they checked their inventory, they said they did have one in stock in the display case.

I headed on over, and saw the steel version. Very lovely, but low contrast due to black on black subdial to dial design. I ultimately decided to pass on the watch, since my budget is limited, and at this point I want to see what SIHH/Baselworld 2020 have to offer, included to see what Breitling may do with this movement in a different watch. It is a great movement, no date, and even a black/white panda dial in the same steel case might be more eye-catching.

All to say, were I to buy a Breitling at some point, I would definitely go to the AD to purchase it, as they were super nice and accommodating. I find it a bit odd that a Breitling boutique, of all places, would not have a steel model in stock, unless they only received one at a time until it sold and then got another in, but to hear that the boutique has never gotten a steel piece in unless it had been pre-purchased/ordered seems to defeat the purpose of having a boutique at all, since I would think a boutique would have first access to on-demand pieces, which clearly are available and not completely pre-sold out.

I thought others might be interested in these proceedings. Best, M

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