The Chronomat gets a serious facelift from Breitling and we just can’t cover this new Breitling luxury watch all in one blog posts. One of Breitling’s most loving watches goes under a serious operation and comes out of the operating room looking stunning.
We are talking about the new Breitling Chronomat B01 with a 100% in-house chronograph movement:
The Case: The case of the new Breitling Chronomat B01 has a elongated profile that molds the wearers wrist for a perfect fit. Aviation always being the theme, the unidirectional rotating bezel focuses on the need for flight and drive times by incorporating engraved numerals.
The Dial: The dial is stunning and the options are endless. You can get the dial in an hour marker or Roman numeral version. The design mixes a number of colors and materials to not only enhance the appeal of the watch but to increase visibility.
The Guts: We call the motor the guts because without good guts… well the watch would be nothing. The new Caliber B01 has some amazing features just like the older Breitling Chronomat luxury watches which can be traced all the way back to 1884. The Chronometer-certified watch has gone through 15 days of testing to make sure it received the coveted COSC certification like all Breitling watches. The result? 1,650 feet of water resistance, reliability, amazing precision.
Stay tuned as we delve deeper into Breitling’s new watch the Breitling Chronomat B01 in this 3 part series.
Breitling timekeeping is no stranger to Bentley cars, and vice versa. The two companies have already joined forces with the Breitling of Bentley watches, a very popular and luxury watch brand… soon after Breitling clocks started showing up in Bentley’s and the two brands have been making sweet music together ever since.
The new continental series of cars by Bentley is no different. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed four door and the Bentley Continental GT Coupe are both new to the Bentley Continental line. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed has a 750 Nm 6.0 engine, it goes from 0 to 100 in 4.8 seconds, and it can max out at 322 km/h.. at $400,000, it’s definitely a luxury.
Of course, the Breitling clock nestles between the two air vents above the GPS navigation system…
Obviously, the first place your eyes go when viewing 125th Anniversary Special Edition Breitling Navitimer watch is the watch bracelet. It’s stunning and it’s called the Air Racer Bracelet. The Breitling Air Racer Bracelet gives the new Navitimer a new look with a futuristic upgrade. The huge symmetrical holes go from case to buckle, definitely a special watch… if you can get your hands one.
The Navitimer originally came to life in 1952 and is the best selling and most popular Breitling watch to date. Professional who only wear Breitling as a sign of their trade and watch enthusiast that spend their lives collecting Breitling watches understand the importance of this 125th anniversary Breitling Navitimer watch.
The 125th Anniversary Breitling Navitimer Watch has a calibre 26 movement and 60 minute and 12 hour totalizers. Absolutely gorgeous.
So recently it came to our attention that the Breitling Emergency watch has some changes made to it’s distress frequency.
The Breitling Emergency watch uses the 121.5 MHz distress frequency and the International Satellite System For Search and Rescue (COSPAS-SARSAT) will be terminating the 121.5 MHz emergency frequency satellite processing service on February 1st.
So what does this mean for Breitling Emergency watch owners? Does this mean your current watch won’t have these features? That the Breitling Emergency watches won’t be for “emergencies†anymore?
No, if you were told that you were misinformed! This is how it works. COSPAS-SARSAT is terminating the satellite processing part of the 121.5 MHz which will affect boats, aviation, and personal beacons. However COSPAS-SARSAT won’t be terminating homing devices, which don’t rely on satellite, like the Breitling Emergency.
So basically, your Breitling watch functions will still work. Because the Breitling Emergency watch is just to help locate you if you are in distress, and not meant to trigger an “alert” the new COSPAS-SARSAT changes won’t affect the Breitling Emergency Watch.
For more information, here is the offical .pdf file released by Breitling.
Breitling is a brand name in itself, but why do their watches cost so much? Well, not only are you paying for quality, but you are paying for a number of things. Some include:
Scientific Research and Watch Development
Breitling watches, like the Breitling Emergency, have some high tech features. Some have over 1,000 feet in water resistance, some help pilots navigate the sky, and some help adventurist and athletes get out of some slick spots.
Someone has to test every feature out to make sure they work, and to make sure they are the best watches your money can buy.
Materials
From glareproofed sapphire crystal cases to 50 plus jewels included in the movement, materials cost a lot of money. Especially when some Breitling watches are even made of Titanium; add it all up and you’ll see why your $30,000 watch cost that much.
The Breitling Watch Brand
This is pretty self explanatory, Breitling has made a name for itself since the early 1800’s. A brand name is everything, especially when technology allows hundreds of companies to attempt at replicating them. An original Breitling watch can be passed down from generation to generation.
Brand Ambassadors
This is one of the most obvious reasons why your Breitling watch is high priced. When celebrities like Gordon Ramsey, Bear Grylls, and John Travolta wear Breitling watches, you know it’s not going to be cheap. You are paying for a brand that is worn by the greatest in the world.
So all in all, research, materials, celebrities, and the Breitling name is the reason why your Breitling watch is worth the money.
Okay, let’s admit. Selling your used Breitling watch or buying a used Breitling watch is like selling a car. They are so valuable and so expensive; you don’t want to end up buying the wrong one.
With cars, you can get a car report, which tells you everything your watch has been through. Now, Breitling is taking that concept and applying to their watches by extending their Solarsoft ERP system to include catalogue price updates, to track spare parts, and to build a service history for every Breitling timepiece.
Arvind Mehta, from Breitling UK explains it:
The ability to track the individual spares used in a repair will enable Breitling UK to improve the quality of its customer service.
Furthermore, the company will be able to undertake in-depth analysis of warranty costs by watch type and by year of manufacture, which will deliver greater insight to drive performance improvements.
The highly adaptable nature of the ERP software enables continual small enhancements, typically every three to six months, to support business expansion
Future developments are even more exciting. It seems that Breitling is planning to provide their retailers access to the system online. That way they can order online and track any watch repairs and servicing. It’s a big move for the traditional company, but it’s about time!
Royalty is still alive today and Breitling has a front row seat in the castle. I’m not talking about a video game, I’m talking about France and the second annual Cholmondeley Pageant of Power announced by LORD Cholmondeley to take place on July 18 - 19.
Before you raise an eyebrow think competition, fast boats, Breitling watches, fireworks, Bentley, and jets. Combine them together and you get the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power at the Cholmondeley Castle. This event is packed with some spectacular visuals:
Bentley motors will have a large display area where they will display historic and modern cars. This will include the 2003 Le Mans winning Speed 8. Derek Bell will be piloting the vehicle around the Cholmondeley circuit.
Breitling will be there with the Breitling Jet team performing a close formation display along with other military and civilian helicopters.
Cholmondeley fireworks and a concert will be included for a great family outing as well as marching bands, military hardware, tanks, and much more.
However, everyone is looking forward to the inshore powerboats which will be competing in the Cholmondeley Championships…the winner will get the Breitling Trophy.
Here is a 1 minute highlight of the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power 2008
Sometimes, in this market, sellers have to do a little extra to sell a home, and that’s exactly what George Hajjar of the Hajjar Group decided to do when selling two multi-million dollar homes in Arizona.
The first perk, the Breitling Continental GT (see below), includes a 12-cylinder engine, hand crafted cabin, leather interior, bluetooth telephone system, keyless entry, Infotainment System, intelligent engine management, and a Breitling clock in the dash board.
The second perk, a Breitling for Bentley GT Chronograph Steel watch (see below), includes a Breitling Calibre 18B, 21,600 vibrations per hour, 100 meters of water resistance, screw-locked crown, rotating bezel with variable tachometer, cambered and glareproofed sapphire crystal, and a 44.8 case diameter.
To check out the great perks there is an open house on January 10-11 and January 17-18.
Source: Cartier Watch Blog
In New York, the capital of counterfeit goods, a New York man was charged for not tagging his merchandise correctly… and he was doing it on purpose.
The man arrived in the United States of America 24 years ago and owned an online store, 33Urban.com. According to prosecutors, he was untruthfully tagging apparel with brand name tags. One of the major ‘fake brands’ was Breitling for Bentley watches.
He plead guilty to trafficking in counterfeit goods and services and was sentenced to five months in a federal prison and five months of home confinement. Any longer and he would have been deported.
(Source:Â GreenvilleOnline.com)
The moral of this story is don’t sell counterfeit Breitling watches, don’t steal real ones, and don’t buy one illegally, it has a way of coming back on you. We’ve covered stories here of drug dealers having their Breitling watches confiscated and auctioned, jewelry thieves getting away with everything except Breitling watches, and much more..
Coincidence or random occurrences? There are many legitimate sellers for real and replica Breitling watches like thewatchery.com or your local boutique…. it’s just easier that way.
I ran into a pleasant surprise today, Breitling has a new website, totally redesigned from yesterday. Here are a few features that I like:
1. The Landing Page
Breitling new website’s landing page includes some links that were kind of hidden on the old site. In the top right corner you can quickly change the site language. In the top left corner there are quick links to Models, Retailers, Air Time, Technology, History, and Breitling For Bentley collection. At the bottom right corner the choices include Portfolio, Breitling World Time (more about this tomorrow), News, Contact, and the Breitling Copyright information.
2. Breitling Watch Model Display
On the old website the Breitling Models were displayed in the bottom and sometimes froze up and took up screen realestate. Now you can hover over the ‘All Models’ button and the Breitling models easily fade in and when you move the mouse it easily fades out of the interface.
3. Breitling Model Info More User Friendly
Breitling has also changed the way it gives you details about each of its models. Instead of a sometimes difficult flash interface, when you click on a model it you can easily look at the models Presentation, Versions, Technical Data, Bracelets, and the 360 degree view. Each click opens up a new menu with additional features.
Okay those are my three favorite features of the new site. However, there are two things that I wish they would have fixed:
1. The News Feature
You have to subscribe to Breitling to get upcoming news, however, you hardly ever get anything in your inbox. Breitling should feature news, products, and events on the website for easy access and to keep everyone updated.
2. Mozilla Firefox Functionality
One of my pet peeves with the Breitling website is that when using Mozilla Firefox somethings get cut off including words and pictures. That seems to have not been fixed, especially when a menu reaches out to the edges of the right, left, or bottom screen.
