The Breitling Watch Blog

Well, here’s my second installment of the high-quality fake analysis. This time I’ve got a fake Breitling Chrono Avenger on the block, and i’m going show you guys what’s wrong with this replica, so you can check to make sure you know all the signs.

They did a good job copying the original with this one, right down to an almost perfect all Titanium case. The Titanium feels a little bit different to the touch than the real ones do, however, the fake is still Titanium, which is pretty impressive. They did miss some pretty major things, and this one is not as good as some of the replica’s I’ve seen, but it is the best Chrono Avenger fake I’ve seen.

Check out the video, and keep yourself informed so you don’t get duped!

I’ve been slowly adding to the series of articles on my website on how to make sure you identify those fakes Breitlings out there. There are plenty of folks out there just ready to take your hard-earned cash and replace it with a cheap replica. Be armed with the information you need to make informed choices.

Currently there are three written articles:
General Rules on Spotting Replicas
Spotting a Replica Dial
Spotting a Replica Caseback

And one more video article examining a Fake SuperOcean steelfish which has already been posted here. There will be an article on a fake Chrono Avenger up soon which should be very useful for people.

Also on that page is a series of other articles that can be handy for identifying things about your watch such as date of birth and tutorials on how to properly size your watch for maxium comfort. Keep checking back as this page is also getting new information added to it.

http://www.breitlingsource.com/articles.shtml

I’ve been conversing with a lady named Margaret about a watch that she got from her Father around the 1950’s. I am not a vintage watch expert, so I turn to you, my readers. This is the initial email she sent:

“I am trying to trace history of a Breitling Watch purchased by my Father around 1950
It is a stainless steel watch with stopwatch facility which I believe he purchased for use in his job after the War which involved time study.

The watch has a number 63832 4 with another number of 176 underneath.

I would be very grateful if you could give me information of anyone who might be able to let me have any history or any info at all on watches from this period”

To me it probably means that the movement is a Venus 176 Chrono, but I dont really know what else to tell her. If you can provide any info that would be great… pics have been attached.

In one of my recent videos, I’ve examined a SuperOcean Steelfish X-plus Replica. This watch is very convincingly real, even though it is clearly a fake. Considering the low quality of fakes that many get duped by on ebay, a high quality fake like this might easily make it into someone’s collection posing as real.

I want to make sure everyone out there is aware of the quality of fake Breitlings now. These fakes cost a fair bit of money, selling in the $150-300US market, depending ont he movement you request. They are available with genuine Swiss ETA movements! The rotors and movements are not elaborately decorated as all Breitlings are, but there are many many similarities, and the dials are quite good. Watch the video and see the level of detail these Chinese fakes now have.. its astonishing!

I got an email once asking me if the Breitling Caliber 23 had a quickset date, and I replied that it did not. And, it doesn’t, which is odd, since the previous Caliber 13 has one. The Caliber 23 is used in the current standard Navitimer with the 3,6,9 subdial layout.

I got to thinking, about how some of the older non-quickset Navi’s had the ability to let you change the date by turning the hour hand back and forth over the 12 midnight marker and how you could advance the date much more quickly that way, and I wondered if I could do that with my Navitimer. I didn’t want to mess with the date since I would have to move it all the way around to get it back to normal so I tried to look it up online, and found that there were others with this question as well and no answers.

Well I have the answer, and the short answer is yes, kinda. The date can be quick advanced by moving the hour hand to about 8:30pm on mine, then back over 12am.. and the date changes. That is quicker than advancing it all 24 hours. Your watch may not need to go all the way back to 8:30, but mine is about that.