The Breitling Watch Blog

Have you ever looked at your watch collection and thought to yourself.. what would happen if it were stolen? What would happen if your house burned down and thousands of dollars worth of timepeices were destroyed? Well then you may want to consider a few ways of safeguarding your collection.

There are a few ways you can protect your investment, either with insurance (you’ll need specific insurance as most basic ones won’t cover the high value associated with watches). I’ll talk about a few of them here.. and their pros and cons. Obviously having a home security system such as an Anti-Burglar Alarm is a benefit to not only your watches, but everything else. Additionally, these can help:

1. Third-Party Insurance.

Remember with third-party insurance you need to make sure they will cover the entire value of your watch collection. Most will only cover a few thousand worth of jewellry, and if you’re like me, that’s only one watch, if that! You can look at insurance through a bank such as TD Canadatrust or RBC, or a non-bank affiliated insurance company such as Cooperators if you are in Canada. In the US there are many private insurance companies such as Jewelers Mutual and in the UK there is a huge abundance… T H March has been recommended by some people I’ve talked to.

Third-party insurance is a great way to protect your investment and give you peace of mind, however it is still a passive method of protection.

2. Home Safe.

A home safe is a better active method of protecting your investment, but is difficult to implement sometimes and requires some planning. Bolting the safe to the ground is important, especially with larger valued watch collections. There are even some high-end safes that have winders built in such as the Scatola Del Tempo Time Safe. Of course these things will cost you more than your average watch.

3. Safety Deposit Box

Doesn’t get much safer than this. My father used to store his watches this way, but that means wearing the same watch for a week or two and then going to the safety deposit box to swap them. Perhaps a combination of methods rather than just a safety deposit box.

4. Get a Dog.

The right dog can be great for protection your wristwatches and jewelry! Just make sure it’s a vicious one. Always on the lookout when your valuable watches are sitting at home in the watchwinder/safe/what-have-you.

At any rate, I hope this article gives you a bit of insight into the situation and helps you decide what you want to do.

Most of the newer Breitling bracelets are adjusted with fine screws, such as jewelers screws, rather than pins. A question often asked is how do you adjust them? In fact, here is an email that someone sent me a couple of days ago:

“hello…i stumbled upon this site in search of info on the old colt automatic. i just purchased a NOS Colt Auto I (ca. 2005) and was wondering if you can point me out to articles on how to size the fighter bracelet..”

So I figured I would post a Youtube video demostrating how this is done. I accidently went off screen at one point but its still servicable! Hope this helps:

Here’s an interesting question that someone asked:

“I have had my Brietling Navitimer for about a week now. I have a question about long term use of the chronograph. I just like the way the watch looks with the second hand sweeping around the dial. Is there any significant downside to just letting the chrongraph run all the time? I would guess the time the watch can run without being wound is reduced. Also, I worry about the extra wear on the movement. Does anyone else let there chrongraph run all the time? Any other comments?”

Well, the Valjoux 7750 is not designed to have the movement running continuously, however it is not going to destroy the watch. There will be extra stress on the movement and it will not be quite as accurate as if you ran it without the chronograph running. Also, It will also drain your power reserve faster. Some watches have a power reserve with and without chronograph running rating, usually about 10% less with the chronograph running.

Hope that answers your questions!

Here it is! I know a lot of you have been waiting for this one… the Breitling Chronomat Evolution video review. What a watch.. and now you can see it u close and personal before committing to an online purchase… or if your AD is just too far away. Take a look.. and enjoy.

Got an email today:

“What’s the value of a 1998 Breitling Windrider model # b10350 (like the picture but with gold tips, markers and hands), and where, and to whom, could I sell it? Its in good shape, ordinary wear from wearing it notwithstanding, but in surpisingly good shape. It came from Paris and has French on the back “Chronometre Officiellement Certifie”. Is this typical?
thanks for your help”

Well, to answer the question, that is Swiss-French on the back.. the one of the languages spoken in Switzerland. Its a swiss watch, not French. But Swiss-French is very much like French I am told!

Another neat tidbit 🙂