Comments:
Sinn 903 ST BE
In my search for a low/mid travel watch the force is strong with this one. Any owners wish to share their experiences before I take the plunge
There is a (his)tory behind that.
I hope that I tell the story correctly. Please chime in if you feel the need to set something straight
At the end if the 70ies / beginning of the 80ies also Breitling was heavily shaken by the Quartz crisis and in 1982 Willy Breitling finally gave up.
Helmut Sinn purchased a share of the remaining stock of Navitimers and brought then to the market. Sone were labeled Sinn on the dial, some were not marked at all on the dial. But the markings on the movements and cases were still Breitling.
I faintly remember Lothatr Schmidt of Sinn telling me years ago that Sinn also got the copyright or at least the license to use the Navitimer designs. I cannot tell for sure which it was.
Today Sinn are still building Navitimers, but with a ormore technical twists as you would expect from Sinn.
Best, Martin
At the end if the 70ies / beginning of the 80ies also Breitling was heavily shaken by the Quartz crisis and in 1982 Willy Breitling finally gave up.
Helmut Sinn purchased a share of the remaining stock of Navitimers and brought then to the market. Sone were labeled Sinn on the dial, some were not marked at all on the dial. But the markings on the movements and cases were still Breitling.
I faintly remember Lothatr Schmidt of Sinn telling me years ago that Sinn also got the copyright or at least the license to use the Navitimer designs. I cannot tell for sure which it was.
Today Sinn are still building Navitimers, but with a ormore technical twists as you would expect from Sinn.
Best, Martin
I had a 903 HD 24
with the Lemania 1873 manual in it. I also have other Sinn pieces. Their QC is excellent, their after sales servicing too. They remain a bargain in honest watchmaking I think and the first piece I grab if I'm not sure how wet, crashy or bashy its going to be.
The 903s are especially cute, of the original Navitimer case design - almost more true to the toolwatch spirit of the Navitimer than the current Breitling self important overpriced fashion offerings. People think they are a homage, but as Stromer alludes, with their history, I find them the thinking person's Navitimer.
The 903 dials are non reflective and beautifully executed looking close to the original Navitimer. The difference today is their use of the 7750/SW500 base movement; a reliable tractor, and the WR of the case. As a result of the WR, and the crown drive for the slide rule, its immediate usefulness and convenience is more restricted.
If you stick it on a water tolerant strap you could keep it on all trip, through pool and sauna, use the chronograph as a second timezone or set the '60' of the slide rule as a GMT hour (as I used to do) and you have a great travel companion at little cost and a story to tell at the bar.
Velociphile
The 903s are especially cute, of the original Navitimer case design - almost more true to the toolwatch spirit of the Navitimer than the current Breitling self important overpriced fashion offerings. People think they are a homage, but as Stromer alludes, with their history, I find them the thinking person's Navitimer.
The 903 dials are non reflective and beautifully executed looking close to the original Navitimer. The difference today is their use of the 7750/SW500 base movement; a reliable tractor, and the WR of the case. As a result of the WR, and the crown drive for the slide rule, its immediate usefulness and convenience is more restricted.
If you stick it on a water tolerant strap you could keep it on all trip, through pool and sauna, use the chronograph as a second timezone or set the '60' of the slide rule as a GMT hour (as I used to do) and you have a great travel companion at little cost and a story to tell at the bar.
Velociphile
While you can read
Broxi,
Looks like you should get it while you can still read the font on the dial. 
It has that sensible feature of both mph and km scales.
Plus the twist in the tale should you meet the right PuristS at a bar..."No, it's not a Breitling but..."
Regrets? I never got one in my youth and now, I can't read the scales even with special spectacles...(sigh)
Regards,
MTF
If you buy one, you could always take a picture of the scales with your phone and zoom in to read. [nt]
No message body
The only thing that kept me from buying a Sinn "Navitimer" was the case ...
... the original ones, with the Lemania movement, were not watertight at all, due to their unique construction with the rotating bezel being a unit with the crystal and the inner calculator scale. The Breitlings, too, were not water resistant. Then Breitling invested a lot of money in getting this kind of construction watertight, while retaining the appearance of the original. Sinn went the easier way and added another crown that moves the inner calculator scale only. This makes the actual use of the calculator a fiddly issue, and I cannot help feeling it to be the "cheap solution".
Finally, but this is my personal pet peeve, I hate black date disks in blue dials ...
Marcus
Finally, but this is my personal pet peeve, I hate black date disks in blue dials ...
Marcus