The Breitling Watch Blog

Check this out! My Hunky Chunky buddy shipped off his Formex to a new home the other day and it arrived there via Canada Post (which was delivered by USPS, so who knows who’s to blame) and received in what can only be described as DESTROYED condition. This boggles the mind on how someone could even deliver a package that is so destroyed… Take a look at these pics.. a beautiful Yellow dialed Formex TS 375 Quartz Chronograph watch taken to the cleaners. This is the same Formex that will be reviewed shortly. The owner decided to upgrade to an Automatic Formex (much to my pleasant surprise)!

Check out the photos:

Look for upcoming ‘Quick Looks’ at the Formex TS 375 and TS 350 Swiss Quartz chronographs. Also have a couple of incoming watches, one of which is the Versace Madison with small seconds, swiss automatic watch. I will also be posting reviews of some Breitlings such as the B-1 and perhaps the Headwind.

Look for upcoming more in-depth reviews of the Orbita Sparta Watchwinders, and the Rapport winders as well. Now’s the time to tell me if what you guys would like to see? I will be posting up dissection of a replica Chrono Avenger as well… a very GOOD replica. The Chrono Avenger is possibly the most accurately faked watch in the Breitling line, not including the recent fakes of Breitling for Bentley Models… without having seen the actual models in real life one could be easily duped, even one that is familiar with Breitlings.

In the future I will also be doing a series in general on spotting fakes, which will inform the casual buyer of things to look for when trying to spot fake Breitlings. There should be more soon!

The Formex 4Speed AS1500 Automatic watch is a very nice looking watch from the new watch company. It uses a Valjoux 7750 movement, and is unspecified as to whether it has been modified or not, which likely means that it is stock aside from the addition of their logo to the rotor.

It is a massive watch at 47mm, and has incredible wrist presence. Like the smaller formex however, this watch is not really a favourite of mine. It does hold appeal to the ‘hunky chunky’ crowd, and stands out several feet from your wrist (well, more like 20mm or so) but that is a lot of stand out! Watch is set up as a bullhead, so the pushers and crown are on the top. Not personally a layout that I like, but it really appeals to some people. Formex is a watch for the few, not the many.

A nice shot of the exhibition back, and shows the suspension system as well:

The bracelet is a multilink 5 row deal similar to the Breitling Pilot bracelet but does not appeal to be nearly as well made. It has phillips screws and a foldover clasp.

Hope this quick look gives you some more info about the watch and can further your decisions on making a choice!

Sometimes I get great email, with some great suggestions that I’ve had on the block, but sometimes gives me the extra motivation to work on it. This is the email I got today:

“Hi.
I love your site. It’s an incredible resource for
newbies and old timers who collect. My only request is
a data base that includes rarities and limited
editions. I know there are many that I do not know
about, and would appreciate any assist your site can
offer in the future!”

I really would like to get some of the Limited Editions up there, but there are so many and they are so hard to find examples of that I have relegated it to the bottom of the list for importance. I still have tons of other things to add to the site.. Reviews, more articles, and tons of watches that I still have not posted yet! But if you guys have some more info on limited and special editions please email me with the info!

Absolutely AMAZING. This watch can be summed up into 2 words, and those are them!

I absolutely love this watch. From the moment I opened the package and laid my eyes on it, I was fixated. The dial is beautiful with it’s sunburst Guilloche pattern, blued steel hands, and applied blued steel arabics. The watch is very large for a dress watch… 44mm wide so it sits with prescence on your wrist.

The blue Crocodile pattern Sinn Strap is very well made, It is a bit stiffer than the leather straps from Breitling which I tend to prefer, but very palettable and quite robust. The Strap is calf leather with a Croc pattern on it, not genuine Croc. Watch sits at about 10mm thick, so it is not extremely thin, but not thick either.

Check out that Detail!!! The watch comes with a loupe so you can look at the movement and dial with it and see all the intricacies that Sinn has modified! Very cool watch. I always find myself looking at it and not able to look away! The watch also comes with a CD Manual, not a written one. The guilloche is nicely done tho the lacquered letters look a bit lost in the pattern sometimes.

The Unitas 6498-1 Movement that Sinn has modified is called the SZ 04. Sinn has modified it to a Regulator configuration and has tweaked it to perform at Chronometer standards. The watch is keeping time within 2 seconds per day since I have received it. Amazingly the watch is water resistant to 100m, even with the push-down crown. It uses Sinn’s new D3 system. The movement as you can see is decorated very nicely.

Movement: 9/10
Case/Crystal/Crown: 9/10
Dial/Hands: 9/10
Strap / Buckle / Bracelet: 7/10
Accuracy: 10/10
Comfort: 9/10
Packaging / Manual: 7/10
Overall Impression: 9/10