WatchFred
176
Breitling has a problem respecting it's own heritage
the hands are clearly wrong for the Old Navitimer II - a shame that they could not get you correct hands (I can't think of a model these would be correct for, btw.) , I think you should contact Breitling Switzerland and insist on getting this right.
It get's even worse, a lot worse with true vintage icons, I have seen Breitling Switzerland put totally incorrect hands on a SuperOcean ref. 1004 from 1957, irreparably spoiling a rare beauty; I never ever would have them work on a piece from my vintage collection.
On a side note: even the claim that Breitling "introduced the Navitimer in 1952" has been proven to be incorrect; the first Navitimer were shipped to AOPA in 1954, still without the "806" model reference and using the Valjoux R72 - all Navitimers that have serial numbers that would put them in the 1952 and 1953 production years have all the specifics of 1959 to 1960 production runs (less rice beads on the bezel, different AOPA logos, WOG instead of BOW import markings and all have Venus 178 movements) - apparently a batch of cases was incorrectly numbered with a leading 8 instead of the correct leading 9 - and voila, 1952 Navitimers.
Sorry for taking this a bit off topic, but your Navitimer hands just prove again how low the respect of Breitling is for it's own stellar heritage - quite hard to accept for a true aficionado.
A few pics of my Breitling Old Navitimer II
This week's wristscan with the aviation theme reminded me of one of my first watches that I picked up many years ago. It's a Breitling Navitimer, officially named the Old Breitling Navitimer II. The Navitimer collection was first introduced in 1952 and be...
Coincidence ...
Just today a dear friend acquired an Old Navitimer II (Black dialed, gold bezel). I had one (robbed) but one day I plan to return to this wonderful Breitling Navi line. Congrats, Nilo
The black dial and gold bezel combo
Hi Nilo, the black dial with gold bezel looks great too. Congrats to your friend and hope you get another one soon. Regards, ED-209
Thanks for a great write-up
I've always liked the Navitimer, but felt itmight be a bit large on my wrist. That's a really cool custom built cipter. Did you have as much fun building that as you do building a custom 1911? Cheers, Frederick
The bracelet helps
Hi Frederick, IMO the Navitimer bracelet is really supple and helps make the 41.5mm size wearable even on small wrists. It has a thin bezel and the sapphire crystal goes out to the edge so it makes it look larger than it really is. Thanks for the complime...
Breitling has a problem respecting it's own heritage
the hands are clearly wrong for the Old Navitimer II - a shame that they could not get you correct hands (I can't think of a model these would be correct for, btw.) , I think you should contact Breitling Switzerland and insist on getting this right. It ge...
Thanks for the background info about the Navitimer
Hi WatchFred, Thanks for the background info about the dates on the Navitimer. I didn't know about the AOPA logo versions. I'm not going to bother with contacting Breitling Switzerland, because Breitling USA had their chance to resolve the issue and blew ...
I'm wondering why Breitling's service department . . .
. . . changed the hands at all, Ed. If the first photo is fairly recent, then there was practically no evident degradation. I've had a few problems of my own with local watchmakers that can't seem to follow explicit instructions: cases that were polished ...
Breitling service
Hi DrNo, I'm not sure either why they changed it. To be honest, the watch was in pretty good shape even though it was almost a daily wearer. After 12 years I thought it would be a good idea for it's first service. Dumb idea right? I've worn the Navitimer ...
I bought my son a Breitling
About twenty five years ago my son, Jeff, was leaving the U.S. Air Force and was going to fly for a major carrier. As a gift, I offered to buy a Breitling for him. Stubborn as he was (and still can be) he refused saying that "My $20 K-Mart keeps perfect t...
A Navitimer or Emergency?
Thanks for sharing the story about your son. The Navitimer is a good fit for his profession, maybe he's really looking for the Breitling Emergency as a more 'modern' watch? The new one has both the prior analog signal as well as the new satellite frequenc...