The Breitling Watch Blog

The Breitling DC-3 wraps up its world tour

Having departed from Geneva last March, the Breitling DC-3 made its grand return to Switzerland after circling the globe, landing in Sion where 100,000 passionate enthusiasts are set to attend the Breitling Sion Airshow 2017. A new feat for this legendary plane still in perfectly flightworthy condition and which is celebrating its 77th birthday this year.

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Breitling released a bang-for-buck watch made of Breitlight® which is essentially a exclusive polymer (plastic) blend that looks to contain some carbon, fiberlgass or graphite in it to strengthen it. It also happens to give it a look similar to Forged Carbon, which is very cool. Its funny though because at $2000 it is considered a budget luxury watch, but I remember not long ago we could get a Colt Automatic in Steel for around that price! How things have changed.

Breitlight® is described as a state-of-the-art material, as most high-tech polymers are, but it really is just a cool-looking, very rigid plastic. It is probably not too different from Luminox’s Carbon reinforced polymer cases, though it does look a bit different. I would like to see Breitling add a Professional III bracelet made from Breitlight® to the watch. This would make it much cooler in my opinion.

Breitling just announced a new model, featuring their new in-house quartz movement, the B60. This is a thermal compensated SuperQuartz movement, and pairs nicely with the new Chronospace EVO B60, which is a reasonably sized 43mm Titanium chronograph. This is a no-nonsense watch, for the watch enthusiast who wants a reliable, lightweight quartz chronograph watch and still cares about style.

I think its a great addition to the lineup, and really fits in as Breitling slowly evolves its brand to appeal to a more active sportsman’s tool and instrument watch company. The Navitimers are still the heart of the company but the sportier watches are bringing a different clientele. I’m not a quartz guy myself, but there are times that I can see how having one would be useful. One of the things that I don’t like about quartz watches is the unpredictability of when the battery will need to be changed.

Breitling has released a new model, which isn’t really new. More like an option on a previous released model from last year, the Superocean 44 Special. Its a nice option for those of us that don’t like the blacksteel cases like myself. I don’t mind the look of blacksteel I just don’t like how it ages after its been bumped and scratched a few times. Overall, not a particularly interesting release from Breitling, but a release nonetheless.

Superocean 44 Special

A diver with a steely temperament
With its sturdy steel case, its ultra-legible dial and its rotating high-tech ceramic bezel, the new Superocean 44 Special plunges securely to a depth of 1,000 m (3,300 ft). This special series with its technical and original style is available in black or blue versions.

Breitling’s new Avenger Hurricane 12H features the world premiere of their Breitlight material (which was premiered before, but they are calling this their world premiere anyway..), which is similar in look and feel to the forged carbon cases out there. This is a pretty sweet case material to finally come out of the Breitling labs.. I just wish it wasn’t a cheesy name like Breitlight… they need to work on their names and take some tips from Apple. Otherwise, this is a pretty significant release from our friends at Breitling and I will be keen to see what other watches start coming out in this case material. The movement is the Caliber B01 and is very similar to the limited edition Hurricane 24H that came out last year… and like that beast this one also measures 50mm in diameter.

Its a sweet looking watch, and I think if this was in a different case shape, maybe something like a Chronomat, with some better mix of materials I would be all over it.

Avenger Hurricane 12H

Homing in on great feats
The Avenger Hurricane takes off in a new version in which the ultra-light, ultra-sturdy case in Breitlight® – a world-first – is teamed with a yellow or black dial and high-performance Manufacture Breitling Caliber 01. A chronograph built for extremes.