The Breitling Watch Blog

A rare review of a ladies watch – but this is such a stunner, I had to review it! This is the model WB520005, featuring a beautiful 18k pink gold ellipse case, first introduced by Louis Cartier in 1906. This beautifully crafted piece is the largest of the Baignoire line, featuring a case measuring 44mm x 34.07mm and is 10.05mm thick. It is a statement piece from Cartier, with many little features and highlights that I’ll talk about.

First a frontal shot to really appreciate the watch and the presence it carries. Two rows of brilliant cut diamonds, totaling 149 and a reverse set brilliant-cut diamond in the crown with a total carat weight of 1.44. The dial is silver flinque-engraved, and features Cartier’s signature roman numerals.

The reverse-set diamond in the crown is truly a thing of beauty, and a very unique feature from Cartier that really sets the watch off. It may be one of my favourite features of this watch! A nice change of pace from the usual sapphire cabochon. The sides of the case are polished 18k pink gold.

The mechanical manual winding caliber 430 MC is in-house designed and looks fantastic through the sapphire see-through caseback. It is signed and features the Cartier logo monogram on the bridges. Its rare to see a ladies watch with a mechanical movement these days, with most electing to have quartz so this is a nice little bonus.

The 18k Pink Gold deployant clasp a precision crafted thing of beauty! It requires folding of the strap for installation and will not take most aftermarket straps. I also purchased a fuchsia crocodile strap for this watch and it costed about $300. It is not as easy to user-replace as others from Cartier, but it is doable.

Lastly a beauty shot, which unfortunately came out a little fuzzy. Still a heck of a looker that any woman would be proud to wear on her wrist! This might be one of the most beautiful, yet slightly understated (if it weren’t for the diamonds) luxury ladies watches out there. The long case allows it to stretch across the wrist, and really shows it off, while still being comfortable and relatively light and wearable.

Specs:
Model: Large model
Case Material: 18K pink gold, diamonds
Strap: Fabric strap
Size: 44mm x 34.07mm
Thickness 10.05mm
Reference: WB520005

Enter the Breitling Transocean Chronograph 1915. Finally, a refreshingly different, yet quintessentially Breitling-styled watch from my favourite watch company. It captures all the retro charm of the era that saw the creation of the chronograph pushpiece, and captures it in a truly uniquely styled watch with an interesting dial design and mono-pusher version of the in-house Breitling chronograph movement dubbed the Caliber 14 (Which happens to be a designation that was used before, oddly – two caliber 14’s now?).

100th anniversary of a capital invention
One century ago, Breitling created the first independent chronograph pushpiece. To celebrate this milestone invention that was to change the face of the chronograph, the brand is introducing a limited series of its Transocean model, with an exclusive new Manufacture Breitling caliber and an unusual design reinterpreting the famous 1915 pushpiece.

Pocket chronographs had only one pushpiece, housed in the crown and successively handling the start, stop and zero-reset functions. In 1915, Breitling – a specialist in technical watches – was one of the very first brands to offer a wrist chronograph. But in relocating it from the waistcoat pocket to the wrist, the firm introduced an innovation that did not go unnoticed. The founder’s son, Gaston Breitling, came up with the ingenious idea of ensuring a clearer separation of functions by creating a pushpiece independent of the crown to control the three chronograph operations. Keen to ensure smooth, ergonomic handling, he chose to place the pushpiece at 2 o’clock, where the thumb or forefinger naturally rests, whether the watch is on the wrist or held in the palm of the hand. In 1923, Breitling perfected this system by separating the stop/start functions, governed by the pushpiece at 2 o’clock, from the crown-activated zero-resetting. This patented innovation would enable users to add up several successive times without needing to reset the hands to zero – whether timing a sports competition, a scientific process or a flight time. Finally, in 1934, Breitling took the final step in shaping the modern face of the chronograph by creating the second independent pushpiece exclusively intended for zero-resetting. This patented invention was soon adopted by all its competitors.

A monopusher chronograph with double column wheel

To celebrate this major milestone in its history, and the history of watchmaking, Breitling has created the Transocean Chronograph 1915. Far from contenting itself with a mere re-edition of the original model, the firm has chosen to reinterpret it from both technical and aesthetic angles. The steel case, designed in the pure style of the Transocean collection, features the famous pushpiece at 2 o’clock, but expressed in a redesigned, elongated and smoothly integrated form that further enhances its functionality. A concern for comfort and ergonomics that would doubtless have pleased Gaston Breitling. To ensure that this single pushpiece can successively handle the start, stop and zero-reset functions, the Breitling watchmakers and engineers have developed the new hand-wound Manufacture Breitling Caliber B14, officially chronometer-certified, equipped with a clever two-tiered double column-wheel system activated by chronograph controls also arranged on two levels.

A patent has been filed for this innovative construction. The twin-zone silvered dial with small seconds and 30-minute counter is adorned with large Arabic numerals and baton-type hands accentuated by a luminescent coating in an appealing patinated shade. A vintage touch reinforced by the historical Breitling signature and the steel mesh bracelet. A sapphire caseback enables one to admire the unusual construction of the monopusher chronograph movement, along with the “100e anniversaire 1915-2015” (100th anniversary 1915-2015) engraving. This model is issued in a limited series of 1,915. A collector’s piece for all chronograph lovers.

Panerai has released four special editions for 2015 in SIHH. This is less than previous years, especially in 2010-2012, when it was normal for Panerai to release 8-10 new special editions in a year, but who knows.. the year is young so we could see some more! One this is for sure though, the big watch trend at Panerai is in full-swing. Nothing smaller than 47mm this year.

A couple of interesting pieces, with the most interesting Panerai released this year not even a special edition.. but rather the Carbotech Submersible posted earlier. Check out this year’s Special Editions:

Radiomir 1940 Equation Of Time 8 Days Acciaio PAM 516

Unique Edition of 200 Watches.

Luminor 1950 Equation Of Time 8 Days Acciaio PAM 601

Unique Edition of 100 Watches.

Mare Nostrum Titanio PAM 603

Unique Edition of 300 Watches.

Radiomir Firenze 3 Days Acciaio PAM 604

Unique Edition of 99 Watches.

The new Submersible line from Panerai released at SIHH 2015 yesterday is looking pretty awesome!!! I particularly like the Carbotech case, nothing like Carbon Fiber composite for a watch case. Really digging them! Click on the images below for more info on the models.

LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE 1950 3 days CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC TITANIO
47mm PAM00614

LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE 1950 3 days CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC TITANIO
47mm PAM00615

LUMINOR SUBMERSIBLE 1950 CARBOTECH ™ 3 days AUTOMATIC
47mm PAM00616

I’m super enthusiastic about these straps from Mr. TipTop in Denmark. Got three more from him (including some Belts that are absolutely insane!!!) and just had to post about them here as well as on Paneraisource. These guys are even cooler than the first three I got and have even more personality to them. Great for strap collectors like me that have just about every strap under the sun and need something different to round out the collection! Three ultra cool straps, the Bomber strap in particular is really cool and I can see a lot of guys wanting something like that!