2009 March | Designer Watch Store

Breitling Emergency Movie

March 31st, 2009 | 2 Comments | Posted in Articles

Breitling Cockpit Automatic Video Review

March 30th, 2009 | 11 Comments | Posted in Reviews

http://www.breitlingsource.com This is a look at the newish Brietling Cockpit with Big Date display. Grey silver metallic dial with Guilloche ...

Tags: Breitling Watches, swiss, watch

Breitling Watch Box Video

March 30th, 2009 | 5 Comments | Posted in Articles

http://www.breitlingsource.com - Here is a video showing a newer style Breitling box, and how they look. Goes along with the Panerai Box video. ...

Tags: box, Breitling Watches, video, watch

Breitling Chronomat Evolution Review

March 30th, 2009 | 25 Comments | Posted in Reviews

http://www.breitlingsource.com Video review of the famous and fantastic Breitling Chronomat Evolution watch. ...

Tags: review, swiss, video, watch

Breitling Blackbird Watch Video Review

March 30th, 2009 | 20 Comments | Posted in Articles

http://www.breitlingsource.com - a Video review of the New Breitling Blackbird watch with the Big Date. ...

Tags: automatic, review, swiss, video, watch

Testing the Breitling Emergency

March 30th, 2009 | 25 Comments | Posted in Articles

Heres how to test the Breitling Emergency watch. ...

Tags: air, b-1, Breitling Watches, Emergency, race, reno, team

Breitling History

March 30th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Articles

The Beginning

Leon Breitling opened his watch shop in 1884 in the Jura region of Switzerland. It was there that he began making watches for scientific and industrial uses. By 1892, the Breitling watches were in high demand causing Leon Breitling to move from his shop in St-Imier, Switzerland to La Chaux-de-Fonds, the center of Swiss watch making.

The Aviation Connection

In 1914 after the death of Leon Breitling, his son Gaston took over the family business. Breitling watches, due to the precision were growing in demand. Leading up to the 1914 death of Leon Breitling, airplanes had come into being with the Wright Brothers having made the first significan flight on Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Others had also taken to the air, including Louis Bleriot, known as the "conquerer of the air" after crossing the English Channel in 1909. He flew from Calais to Dover in just over 37 minutes. And, in 1913 the first airplane loop had been performed by Adolphe Pegoud.

In 1915 Gaston Breitling created the first chronograph or wristwatch specifically designed for pilots, giving them the first instrument that worked successfully in the air. By 1918 aircraft had been the defining technology that helped end World War I. One year after the war, John Alcock and co-pilot Arthur Brown were the first to successfully cross the Atlantic by air. The trip took precisely 16 hours and 12 minutes.

In 1923 Breitling introduced the first independent chronograph push piece. Prior to that the start and return to zero functions had been controlled by the winding crown.

In 1932 Gaston Breitling turned the company over to his son, Willy.

By 1934 Breitling developed the second return to zero push piece. This enabled multiple short time measurements to be taken, giving the chronograph its distinctive style and functionality.

1936 marks the year that Breitling became the official supplier to the Royal Air Force. This was a hallmark of Breitling's success and standing in the world of chronographs.

In 1942 Breitling introduced the Chronomat, the first chonograph to be fitted with a circular slide rule. Additionally, Breitling broadened its clientele to include the American armed forces.

In 1952 with the introduction of jet planes, Breitling introduced its Navitimer Series which included a navigation computer so sophisticated that it could handle the calculations required by a flight plan. By 1952 Breitling had earned its name and clientele, supplying not only watches for pilots, but cockpit instruments.

Ten years later in 1962 Scott Carpenter wore a Breitling Cosmonaute Chronograph into space.

In 1969 with the introduction of major jet liners and the Concorde, Breitling, working with two other watch companies created and introduced the self-winding chronograph movement, changing the world of timepieces.

Ernest Schneider took over the Breitling company from Willy Breitling in 1979. Schneider's background was as a pilot, watchmaker, and microelectronics specialist.

By 1984 Breitling introduced the Chronomat with its sturdy case and famous bezel with rider tabs. it quickly became the best selling watch of Breitling's history and has held the position since its introduction.

In 1995, Breitling continued to lead the way introducing the Emergency, a multi-function instrument watch incorporating a built-in micro-transmitter that broadcasts on the 121.5 MHz aircraft emergency frequency.

Not satisfied to rest on its reputation, in 1998 Breitling introduced the B-1, the most multifunctional chronograph created by Breitling. It was designed in co-operation with aviation professionals and is fitted with a microprocessor.

One hundred fifteen years after the first Breitling was produced, the company submitted its entire collection to the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute. This was the first time a watchmaker had submitted an entire collection.

In the year 2000, Breitling moved to state of the art facilities in Grenchen, Switzerland. The Super Quartz collection was presented in 2001, making it the most accurate of all quartz watches.

Today, the Breitling name stands alone among the best of the best and most accurate of chronographs.

Tags: breitling history, Breitling Watch, mens breitling watch

How To Date Your Breitling Watch

March 30th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Articles

You may not know this but the newer Breitling models have case dating incorporated between the bottom lugs.

Its not entirely clear when Breitling began case-dating their watches, but it seems very close to 2004 - perhaps 2003 on most watches. In fact, in some cases such as Crosswind Specials it has been reported that there may be case dating as early as 2001.

Breitling metal bracelets have the manufacture dates etched or stamped into them. They follow a four digit format the first 2 digits being the week of the year, and the last two digits being the year - therefore 2307 would be the 23rd week of 2007.

The Titanium Professional and Fighter bracelets also have the numbers laser etched into them, which means they could be polished off possibly.

The Speed, Navitimer and Pilot bracelets have always had the date stamped into them, as well as the new Professional II bracelet.

Its not documented as to when Breitling began dating their bracelets, but I believe the older pinned professional bracelets without the solid endlinks did not have have the dating system. The new bracelets came about in the mid to late 90's. The earliest Fighter bracelets that I have seen date to 1995, and do have the dating system.

Tags: breitling serial numbers, Breitling Watch, mens breitling watch

Serial Numbers Decoded

March 30th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Articles

Each current Breitling (since about 1990 onward) uses this reference numbering system, which gives you COSC indication and caliber identification.

The number consists of six characters. A letter, followed by 5 numbers. For ease of explanation, I will use the example A17360, which is the reference number for a Breitling SuperOcean that is COSC certified.

The first letter indicates the composition of the case. The chart below explains what each letter represents.

A - all stainless steel
B - stainless steel, 18K gold rider tabs, crown, and pushers
C - stainless steel, 18K rose gold bezel
D - stainless steel, 18K yellow gold bezel
E - all titanium
F - titanium and gold
H - rose gold
J - white gold
K - yellow gold
L - platinum
M - black steel
R - red gold

The next two numbers indicate the caliber of the watch. So in our example, A17360, the movement is a Caliber 17.

The third number is either a 0 or a 3 depending on whether the watch is COSC certified or not. A number 3 indicates that the watch is a certified Chronometre. In some cases, a number 4 is used when the watch is not COSC certified, the reason is unclear to me why as of this time.

The last two number indicate the model number of the watch. In this case the 60 indicates a SuperOcean or SuperOcean steelfish. This number is often repeated with different calibers.

Breitling Emergency

March 30th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Emergency

Breitling wristwatches have been the de facto standard for aviators across the entire planet for over 100 years now, and with good reason. Not only do they look the business but they have a whole range of features built in that just make a pilots life easier.

The Breitling emergency watch, as well as being a very attractive chronometer, uniquely has a built-in transmitter that operates on the international aviation distress frequency of 121.5 Mhz. The transmitter has an effective range of about 100 miles that, in the event of an emergency, can be picked up by search and rescue crews and used to pinpoint its exact location. Simple to operate, the stricken airman simply has to unscrew a protective cap and pull the small antenna out, this Breitling wristwatch really can be a lifesaver.
To underline this fact, a story was reported recently of two RAF pilots who's helicopter crashed in Antarctica. Both were wearing Breitling emergency watches and the distress signals were picked up by the Chilean Coastguard who tracked them down and rescued them from the icy waters of the South Atlantic. Both pilots owe their lives to this remarkable Breitling watch.

The Breitling Emergency also has a radio transmitter for military purposes. It operates on a frequency of 243Mhz and has an effective range of up to 90 nautical miles.

There are a couple of downsides to this amazing technology however. Firstly, you have to send the watch back to Breitling if it is triggered. This can take some time, so you should be sure that you really do need to be rescued!

Secondly, if you do not hold a valid pilot's licence, then you need to sign an agreement stating that you will bear the full costs of a rescue mission should you trigger the distress signal accidentally. Misuse of the emergency beacon can also bring a fine of up to $100,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration, making the cost of the watch seem cheap by comparison.

There are 11 watches in the range costing from $3000 up to $55,000.