The Breitling Watch Blog

Bell & Ross, Seiko, Vianney Halter, Azimuth and Zenith are among the brands that have jumped onto the Instrument watch bandwagon. Bell & Ross has arguably brought the look to the forefront, with many brands such as Invicta and Debaufre (formerly Steinhart) copying the style of their popular Bell & Ross BR01 series Instrument watches.

The instrument style dials know no limits as far as prices go, as cheap as several hundred for a Seiko or up to half a million for the new Zenith Defy Zero G Tourbillion! Like it or not, the instrument style dials are popping up everywhere, and I’m still not sure what to think of them.

Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph:

Zenith Deft Zero G Tourbillon:

Vianney Halter Antiqua:

Azimuth Chrono Gauge Mecha 1 BMF:

Bell & Ross BR-01 Tourbillon Phantom:

When they first came around in a few years back, I thought some of their stuff was just incredible, and now I’m really starting to appreciate it more and more as I see how well their cutting-edge designs still provoke, yet maintain an air of class.

Their name is cool, their logo is cool and their watches are limited to a handful of top-shelf boutiques, which allows them to control the distribution channels much better than bigger brands. You’re not likely to find their stuff heavily discounted on the grey market 🙂

Hautlence has 2 lines of watches, the HL and HLS and all of the watches use the same movement in it, which is quite a unique movement to begin with. It is something of a regulateur with a retrograde minutes complication. If they were in my price range, they would quite possibly be one of my watches of choice for a classy night on the town in a suit.

I look forward to seeing what this unique brand brings to the table next. There are many small specialized watchmakers out there in the mountains of switzerland, producing watches in 200+ year old heritage homes, continuing the art that their country made famous, and the stuff coming out is phenomenal.

Check out their site:
http://www.hautlence.com

For some watch brands like Panerai, straps are part of the whole subculture of being a Panerai owner. However, there are brands like Breitling which excel at making very nice bracelets that are also very attractive and comfortable – albeit expensive.

I personally prefer bracelets, however, with a Panerai I do like the straps. I’ve never tried a Panerai on a bracelet so I can’t say which I prefer. Some other brands where the Bracelets do look substantially better include IWC and Rolex, though Rolex bracelets have only recently become something to be impressed by.

In the Breitlingsource forums there is a term that comes up often, and that’s the “FULL LING”. We often use this term to describe a very larg ling with a 24mm lug width on a bracelet. In my opinion, a Breitling is always more desirable on a bracelet, though many of them do look quite nice on a strap as well. Here are a few shots of Breitling Motors on a bracelet and strap. I think it looks great on a strap but the Bracelet does appeal to me more.

Motors on a Leather Strap

Motors T on a Crocodile Strap

Motors T on a Bracelet – The FULL LING as we refer to it 😉

Choose wisely, but always pick the one that calls out to you. That’s important in picking a watch!

Like Fungus!

Sorry… I just really wanted to say that. Back to business… the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is probably one of the ugliest popular watches out there in my opinion, and I never really liked them. However, that is starting to change. The lines do not flow, the bezel is clunky, and it usually sports a set of very out-of-place looking Arabics. But obviously the designers at Jaeger are doing something right, because the watch sells.

I am starting to like the Larger Reverso Grande’s, with the bigger face and thick straps. Check out this bad boy:

That’s the JLC Grand Reverso Complication a Tryptique… it is mind-boggling crazy. Under the first watch is another set of comlications on both the rear and the base of the watch.. just too many to list! It won the Watchtime Reader’s Choice Watch of the Year for technical innovation last year. I’m not surprised! (notice it didn’t win for Design 😉 )

In a way, they remind of me Beer and Wine, and Spyderco Knives. An acquired taste, one that develops when a distinguished gentleman reaches a particular point in his life or somesuch. Or maybe it’s just a taste you never acquire.

At any rate, the JLC Reverso is not a watch I like enough to buy, but it is starting to turn my head when I see one. The dials are certainly beautifully made, and the reverso mechanism is machined beautifully to very exacting tolerances. I really enjoyed playing with the one I handled. But in my opinion, the Reverso is one of those watches that is so ugly it is beautiful.

Anyone else feel this way?

Most of you guys are familiar with Jaeger-LeCoultre, at least enough to know that they make a fine watch. A lot of WIS’s out there consider them to be the best bang-for-buck manufacture out there, and for good reason. Their in-house movements are among the most affordable out there, with their Reverso watches gainly a lot of popularity for their unique design. I do like the Reversos, but the one that really caught my eye is the JLC Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographic.

This is a nice big sized watch at 46.3mm, and has a thick chunky titanium bezel that is unmistakably a Divers. The chunky crowns look beautiful, and are characteristic of the Master Compressor watches from JLC. This bad boy goes 300m deep. There is also Master Compressor Diving GMT and Chrono that are 44mm around which have 1000m water resistance.

The coolest thing about this watch is the mechanical depth guage. This watch will tell you how deep in the water you are! Here are the tech specs:

Diameter: 46.3mm
Case: Titanium
Movement: Calibre 979
Power Reserve: 48 hr
Water Resistance: 300m

I’ve also posted a pic of the 44mm Master Compressor Diving Chronograph below. This watch does NOT have the mechanical depth guage and though is still a beautiful watch, not quite as remarkable as the Diving Pro Geo.

Finally here is the video of the guys at JLC doing live water tests with the watch!