The Breitling Watch Blog

In the spirit of my budget watches series of articles, I bring you a video review of the budget Swiss Army Ambassador automatic Day-Date. This is a very well made watch for the money, and is crafted very well. The case work is substantially better than many watches in the price range.

Glashutte Original is a German watch manufacture along the lines of A Lange & Sohn. While not up to the technical prowess or level of finishing and handwork that A Lange is known for, Glashutte Original makes a very high quality watch, comparably to Swiss Brands such as Jaeger Le Coultre.

The watch that I purchased is the Glashutte Original Senator Sixties. This watch appealed to me because of the vintage/classic styling and pie pan shaped dial. The classic appearance is subtle, understated and extremely elegant.

The silver dial has the Glashutte Original logo on it, and GLASHUTTE I/SA written at the 6pm. The domed Sapphire Crystal is very curved, and shows very nicely, adding that classic old world charm with new world reliability and clean lines. The 39mm case wears a bit small, but when worn with a dress or casual shirt this watch looks amazing.

I have the strap on an aftermarket Brown Hirsch Classic Gator, but the watch came on a dark blue classic style belly gator strap of similar proportions and style. The strap in my opinion goes very well with it, but I think this is one of those styles that either you love or hate, as it is quite different from Breitling, Rolex and Omega.

The back of the watch is absolutely beautiful. The beveled sapphire crystal back allows you to see the side of the 21K Gold Rotor, as well as a very clear view of the in-house Caliber 39-52 movement, which is decorated very nicely. As you might notice, this movement differs from most swiss movements in that it uses a 3/4 plate, which is characteristic of German movements from Glashutte.

There it is on my wrist… before a day at the office. Works extremely well with the shirt and jacket, not quite as well with shorts and t-shirts.

My second Glycine that I’ve owned is this outstanding and uniquely beautiful Glycine Airman SST D24 Limited Edition Watch. This watch has the iconic Glycine Airman SST case, in a large 44mm diameter, double sapphires, and bezel control crown at 2 o’clock (4 o’clock on the 24hr dial of the Glycine). This watch is a limited edition of 300 peices, so is rather rare. Other versions of ths Airman SST are readily available, while this version is a bit more rare.

As you can see, the SST D24 has a very shallow but wide dial, and a very visible 24hr dial and 24hr chapter ring that allows you to read three 24 hour time zones in one glance. The color combinations of using all yellow for one timezone and all orange for another makes it easy to distinguish all three timezones. The main hour hand on this model is also a 24 hour hand in addition to the double sided 24-hour GMT Hand. The D24 in the model name stands for “Double 24”.

How the watch works is you set the main 24hour hand to the current time, then follow by setting the yellow end of the GMT hand to the second time zone you wish to read. The third timezone is finally set buy turning the crown at 2 o’clock so that the desired time corresponds to the orange pointy end of the GMT hand. Do not mistakening think that the Orange and Yellow GMT hand is two independent hands.

The large 44mm case wears very large due to the shape of the case, and also sites very low and sleek on the wrist, giving the watch a very different feeling that most other watches would give. I recently traded this watch, but unfortunately in my haste, I forgot to make a video review of this watch so this static review is all you guys are going to get!

Nice shot of the exhibition back here. The Gold Gilted rotor has the SST 06 engraved on it, and looks quite nice. The movement is an ETA 2892-A2 with GMT module, and modifed to have dual 24hour hands. Not sure if Glycine does the modification in house or if it is received this way from ETA.

The requisite wrist shot. Very nicely sitting on my wrists, this one works well for both large and small wrists. I like this watch so much that now that it’s gone, I think I want to purchase another one! Hope you guys enjoyed the review.

Specs
Diameter: 44mm
Movement: ETA 2892-A2
Crystals: Sapphire
Case: Stainless Steel
Complications: GMT, 24 Hour Hands

I picked up this 1000m TT1 Regulator used on Timezone and it has become one of my favourite beater watches. This specimen has some scratches on the bezel, and I decided against sending it back to Oris for replacement. As a beater watch, I figured I would be getting scratched anyway, and I would care less about dings and dents if I just left it the way it is.

The case on the all-titanium Oris TT1 Regulator measures 44mm in diameter, but wears perhaps a tiny bit smaller due to the signature Oris case shape, which tapers from the back to the front. The bezel is uni-directional, and has a red 15-minute segment, with the rest in black.

Luminous markers are very bright and are charged very quickly. The small hour hand is luminous as well as the second, hour and minute indicators but the hour hand is more difficult to read, while the large minute hand obviously stands out and is easy to read. This makes the watch slightly more difficult to read than a traditional centre mounted layout. The second hand is not luminous, oddly.

This model is the newer version with the wave-pattern dial, in matte black. Date window is at 6 o’clock and has nice bevelled edges giving it a very completed and professional look. The crown is located at 4 o’clock and a helium release valve is located at 2 o’clock, giving the watch a balanced crown look that I really like. Another watch that has this look is the Doxa GMT. The Helium release value has a red dot on the top to differentiate from the crown. The helium release valve aids in allowing the watch reach depths of 1000 meters.

The Oris TT1 Titanium watches are one of the few rare Titanium watches on the market that have a polished finish. The Case is a two-tone polished/brushed combination, with the center links on the bracelet being brushed, and the outer links polished.

While the case is Titanium, it is not all that light compared with other Titanium watches I have owned. The bracelet on the other hand is extremely light and feels almost a bit cheap because of the weight. The quality of the bracelet is so-so, kind of a medium quality bracelet with good finish, but the pins bend easily when it is sized, and the clasp is not a solid as it could be, however these are minor points.

Movement in the watch is an in-house modified ETA Caliber, which Oris does a good job with. Oris offers excellent value with their modified movements. Oris watches keep excellent time and have recognizable and unique designs.

Overall the Oris TT1 Regulator Diver is an excellent choice if you can live with the Regulator layout of the dial. The watch is light and comfortable, and has served me well since I purchased it.

If you’ve been following my blog, you guys might know that I’ve got a thing for Pilot watches. I’ve been collecting them for the past several months, and one of the ones that I have kept is the Eklund Pilot Watch. This watch uses German and Swiss parts, with the Swiss ETA 2824 workhorse movement. Glass is sapphire and the dial I believe is from Germany. Retail price on this watch is $650US from GNT Watch.

Dial is a simple Pilot dial with the Dots and Triangle 12 o’clock marker. Lume is good, but not fantastic – the luminous material is SuperLuminova. Matte black finish, with a 41mm case diameter, which makes it very wearable without being too large and uncomfortable. This is a great beater watch!

The Sapphire Glass is not AR coated, but it is curved so some reflections are noticeable. The case is brushed and the bezel is polished. Hands are polished stainless steel with SuperLuminova. There is a Date feature with quick-set and hacking seconds, which is standard with the ETA 2824 movement. I have mounted the Eklund Pilot watch on a Hand Made in Germany Jurgens pilot watch strap which looks great with the watch and is extremely comfortable.

As you can see, the watch has a Gilt ETA 2824 movement, and it is accurate at the moment to about 10 seconds a day. This could possibly be regulated to be slightly more accurate. The case back is exhibition and polished. I think having the caseback bushed like the rest of the case would have been better as it sometimes seems to cheapen the look of a watch a bit when they do not match.

The proverbial Wristshot. Shown on my 6.75″ wrist, the watch appears smaller from the angle that I’ve taken the picture, but I feel the 41mm diameter looks fine on my wrist. It does seem to wear more like a 40mm, however. The thickness is 11mm, and feel just about right. Not a bad watch if you can snag it for half price used, though at the retail price you have some more recognizable German and Swiss brands that would be a better choice.