Horological Meandering

Team, As I committed last week, here we have the final set of the Breitling pictures that I took from "two lost boxes" from a friend collector. Wrapping up this series (that may continue if he locates more missing boxes), we have "modern" watches, includi...  

I am not very found of the funky chronos, but the black dialed top time you showed is just breathtaking... Best, nicolas

I'm on a non-conventional phase and, for chronos my current taste is bigger and bolder are better. Of course, for non-chronos, I'm on a very traditional, almost 50's style (You didn't guessed yet?). Cheers, Nilo

i used to have a sprint with a classic styled case. not sure about these funky cases, but any vintage Breitling is fine by me. thanks for all the work in getting these pics Nilo, i greatly appreciate it. Graham

It's my pleasure to please you. Lets see what Ubik, the missing heir of Breitling has to say. Cheers, Nilo

nilo, Thank you. Was that the longest Breitling series on PuristS? I think so, upon using the SEARCH button. Still puzzled at the similarity to the "Hitch hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" trilogy of 5 books ! :-) Part 13 of 11 parts??? Regards, MTF

My friend, the crazy Breitling collector, located two additional boxes that he "missed" when we did the 11 part series. Then I decided to play "the Guide to Galaxy" style. I'm glad that you notice this. Lets hope that he can locate another. The diving Bre... 

well, I like this box much, much more than the last one - maybe I am too much of a Breitling purist ? it would help immensely to include pictures of the casebacks, as this would allow us to verify model reference numbers and - in most cases (some carry th...  

Thanks for the reference info's Fred, it goes a long way towards understanding the models. Best Graham On 15 Apr 2013 11:57, "www watchprosite" *Alert from:* www:watchprosite > *Posted By:* WatchFred (registered) on April 15th, 2013 - 03:57 > > *Title: so... 

Your catalogs shows to us how complex is collecting vintage watches, Breitling in particular. I agree that there are some pieces that shows changes but in some cases I admit that is impossible to collect a very large number of watches without getting some... 

thanky Graham, thanks Nilo, happy to add a bit of model background to this thread - Nilo, I was not criticizing your friend in any way and love the watches he has collected, I have some imperfect watches too, although I try to be as close to original as p...  

Fred, I understood that your comments are not to criticize the pieces but to educate us on the correct models. Thank you. The only Breitling divers that I saw "in metal" are the 1004 from Nicolas and this one: Cheers, Nilo ...  

that, Nilo, is a SuperOcean ref. 2005, mid 1960s, missing the lume on the hands ;) Nicholas, great to meet another owner of a 1004 ! let me add some pics of this, including a meovement shot; it truly is a lovely piece. ...  

This watch is interesting to me because of the chrono activation indicator. The only other watch that I know with this complication is the recent JLC Deep Sea. Check here: amp;ti=848133&fi=2 Cheers, Nilo

know and like the JLC a lot, but Breitling did that in 1965 ;) sad to see what they call "Divers" in their current lineup, talk about neglected heritage.

Here's a pair of first series Superoceans, mine and a good friend. ...  

Thank you so much for adding these interesting scans of the era. And to have mentionned, in a further post, these delicious Vintage Divers! Best, Nicolas, happy owner of a 1004.

here is a group shot of two 7650 Co-Pilot (one AVI, one Yachting) and a Unitime AVI ref. 1765 the black Top Time ref. 810 have some white and panda siblings and the transOceans, a ref. 2129 Chrono-matic and a V7740 ref. 7102 ...... here is a Sprint ref. 2...  

Perhaps the first time I've seen so many of your watches in one thread. A beautiful and cleverly curated collection you have put together. Mouthwatering :)

I'm impressed with the overall conservation of all pieces. The Yachting is fantastic. Thank you for enriching the "Breitling week" series. Cheers, Nilo

Thanks to Fred for giving us a lot of amazing material on these watches already. Thanks to Nilo for unearthing these watches and photgraphing them so eloquently. I can perhaps add a small amount of extra background info. The Transocean is actually referen...  

Very interesting point of Jim Clark wearing one Top Time. Jim Clark, for the younger ones, " At the time of his death, he had won more Grand Prix races (25) and achieved more Grand Prix pole positions (33) than any other driver. The Times placed Clark at ... 

one of my other interests in the watch world is Gallet, primarily those with Excelsior Park calibers, but could not resist this one, a Multichron 12 Jim Clark, "only" a V72 bit still quite nice ;) sorry for taking this a bit off the Breitling topic .........  

Eitan, as you know I love those TopTimes (tend not to include too many in one thread, a thin line between showing and showing off), but have to add this 1967 ref. 2002, the "Thunderball watch"; quite a lovely piece. ...  

Fred, Even considering that the movie was ... OK, this "panda" two register chronograph is gorgeous. Thank you for showing, Nilo

No need to worry Fred, I think you can post as many of these TopTimes as you like. They never get boring.

wearing this today and enjoying it very much; a transOcean ref. 7102, manufactured in 1971, Valjoux 7740. huge (for the period) with a width of 42mm, funky and quite innovative in design. ...  

Fred, Another amazing piece. I'm hooked on 4:30 date watches. What is the movement of this watch? Cheers, Nilo

movement is a Valjoux 7740; best, Fred

I notice that you mentioned Valjoux 7740 on the original post. I happens that I Google the movement and I landed on a page that contains information about this caliber (That page mentioned that the Valjoux 7740 was derived from the Caliber 11/12). In fact... 

afaik the chronograph module for the was designed by Dubois-Depraz, but manufacturing was always done by Valjoux, Breitling and Heuer (assume Kelek too) did the final assembly of the Bueren base movements and the modules. 7740 are almost identical to the... 

a lost decade for some watches, but there are some wonderfully styled pieces that came out of there as well. This is one for me. Great to see it.

That Datora without bezel, it's not original no, but damn it looks so sweet. Would you know if this watch could be for sale? /Michael

It belongs to a dear friend that first will sell his liver before considering to sell any watch. Cheers, Nilo

Hehe, well yes, I don't blame him for that. :)

But he is a strict vegetarian. No deal. Cheers, Nilo