The Breitling Watch Blog

First a disclaimer: I do not recommend that you do this, but because I’ve received several emails regarding how this is done, and also several emails about where to buy the case back opener I used in the Panerai video, I decided to write a post on it. Opening a watch and servicing and regulation should be done by an experienced professional. However if you are so inclined, you can give it a shot.

Opening a Breitling Caseback

Breitling Casebacks have 15 sides, which make them a bit odd and seemingly at first difficult to open. However, they can be opened with a simple high quality Jaxa opener. This MAY slightly damage or put small dents in the case back sides as the Jaxa openers do not fit perfectly. Remember if you open the case, a proper case holder should be used as well to secure the case.

A Jaxa tool looks like this:

The more proper way to open a Breitling caseback is to use a Breitling 15-sided caseback die designed for use in Horotec or Bergeon openers. These are large devices with big wheels on the top that look something like this:

The Breitling Die (and Panerai Dies too for that matter) look like this:

They fit into the Opener and open the caseback without damaging it. The case openers are expensive, at around $600, and the caseback dies are about $80 each. You will need a different size depending on the size of your Breitling.

Opening a Panerai Caseback

Opening a Panerai Caseback is a bit easier (cheaper!) to do without damaging your watch. There are caseback dies just like the Breitling ones, but with 12 sides as Panerai casebacks have 12 sides. Panerai Casebacks also come in 3 different sizes, for which you can use any of the above mentioned methods of opening just as the Breitling cases can be opened, but there are aluminum hand held openers for panera casebacks that work very well.

These caseback openers are made from Aluminum, which is softer than the Steel used in your case so it is less likely to scratch it. Also they offer very good grip and cost from about $50-100, depending on where you purchase them from. Strap-works sell thems for $85 IIRC:

This is the opener I used in the fake Panerai video. I cranked that guy open since my friend did give me permissions and its a fake watch. I have also opened my PAM250 without problems, so it works with the real deal as well!

Anyway.. don’t blame me if you break something. I don’t recommend you do this unless you feel comfortable with it, and even then, I recommend finding a quality watchmaker to fix your watch is something is awry.

I received an email from a Mr. Abu Zeid this morning, and felt I had to publish it. I personally think that his expectations are unrealistic, and to assume that a “quality bracelet” is synonymous with scratch proof is rather ridiculous. Does that mean any gold bracelet is of inferior quality because it is easy to scratch?

At any rate, Mr. Abu Zeid goes on to accuse me of being inaccurate in my review of the pilot bracelet stating that it is of very high quality because it just “started to get scratches all over it”. It is not my fault that he rubs it against anything and everything, but he does raise a good point in that it would be nice to had a scratch proof bracelet. But maybe, we should just learn to take care of things.

He goes on to state his proof that Rolex watches are of higher quality because his wife’s Rolex looks like new after 2 years. Well, I have a feeling that his wife isn’t as rough with her watches, and Rolex does use a harder stainless steel.

But in the end he’s just accusing me of not wearing the bracelet long enough before I review it, and giving false information. I’ve worn my pilot bracelets for years, and there has been no excessive scratches on it that are out of the ordinary. I polish the bracelets when they need to be, which is not that often.

Any thoughts?

Email:
I been looking at your Breitling site and thanks for the information ,

I tried going to the net to send an email to Breitling company… they don’t have an email !!!!

Well, that’s the email. For those of you interested in fixing up the tiny swirlies and restoring the shine back, Cape Cod cloths are the bomb. Do a search on the forum and you’ll see some cool pics and reviews of their results:

Breitling’s legendary SuperOcean in Chronograph configuration, with the unique white dial/blue subdial configuration finally gets a video. The Chrono SuperOcean is a very fine watch, with a very serviceable 42mm size, thick chunky styling, and reliable Breitling Caliber 13 movement. This bad boy has a nice look and cool features like the screwdown pushers, and 500m water resistance. The Professional II bracelet is a nice improvement over the previous Professional Bracelet, albeit slightly (just slightly) less comfortable. Enjoy.

Here’s a video that’s been long overdue.. one of Breitling’s more popular models, the Breitling SuperOcean. A classic diver that has been compared to the Rolex Submariner and Omega Seamaster time and time again, but offers the benefits of a significantly improved depth rating over the other two.

The SuperOcean is a great watch. I hope you enjoy the review. Some quick stats:

Movement: Breitling 17
Power Reserve: 42 Hours
Water Resistance: 1500m
Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 15mm
Weight: 99.7g

Video:

I recently posted a new Video review of the Breitling for Bentley Motors T watch with a black dial. Almost identical to the regular Motors, this watch has a different engine turned bezel and a two-tone polished and brushed finish to the case and bracelet. Oddly, this bracelet costs slightly more than the fully polished one on the Breitling for Bentley Motors.

Enjoy the video 🙂