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Just purchased my first Breitling about a month ago. Curious, is the B01 and the Chronomat 44 one in the same? Is the B01 the quintessential Breitling timepiece? Opinions would be interesting. Ha Thanks.

B01 is a movement inside Chronomat 44.

There was also the Chronomat B01, the first Breitling with the in-house B01 movement.
It was shortly renamed Chronomat 01 and now its Chronomat 44.
I do not think much has changed between them all.

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"It is just a matter of time!"

Depending on who wants to come in and play, this could be interesting.

I think a few basic paramaters need be set. If you're talking regular production, not LEs or very small production, like some tourbillion they may do that i don't know about, the B01 in-house movement is certainly the lead for Breitling. As to the timepiece, given the history and reputation of the company, I think the quintessential or lead piece has to be the Navitimer with the 01 movement. The Navi has been the constant in the lineup for the past 60 years for a company that has otherwise varied its lineup a lot over that time.

There are probably a lot of other side-arguments or points which can be made. For example, the Navitimers with the 1461 day complication are up there. Early morning Saturday is clouding more specific thoughts here, but I'm sure if they pop in, the longer-time enthusiasts will point out others. Very limited editions have been made over the years, and a lot of LEs. If you told me I could have only one Breitling and had to keep it for the next ten years, I'd think really hard between my brushed Navi Fighters and a Navi01 LE.

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Scott

AP Royal Oak 15400, silver
Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Classic Cars
Vintage gold Corum
Rolex DJ 36 TT, oyster dial, oyster/smooth
Baume & Mercier Riviera 200m, silver dial/aquamarine bezel
Breitling Superocean 57, rose/stainless

It hasn't changed. Is it the quintessential? Depends who you talk to. A lot of folks would say that is reserved for the Navitimer. Or many would stick with the Super Avenger. Some don't like the fact that the model represented Breitling's change in some of the basic Breitling design cues. Some love it. In the end, it is how you feel about it.


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SHARKMAN

I think that it's fair to say that it's quintessential Breitling design of the last few years. Whether that's a good thing or not is a wholly different matter.

OK, so I'm asking for it but IMO the SA is just a recent years thing due to the fashion for bigger watches.
The razor thin thing will be back, it is just a matter of time
Now I'm asking for even more IMO the SA is just a bigger Chronomat.
Both the Chronomat and the Navi have been around for donkeys years in one shape or another.
As such, IMO, these are the two Breitling quintessential models (now, that's a big word for Sat evening).

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"It is just a matter of time!"

If you want to choose the one quintessential Breitling it would have to be the Navitimer.
Now which of the many ?

It does not matter that much as it is just a matter of evolution. The Navi will always be instantly recognized as a Navi, no matter which one (just about).
Just like Fred was Fred 20 years ago and he is still Fred today but perhaps evolved a little bit

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"It is just a matter of time!"

...and so it begins. The whole, SA, Bentley, and large vs. smaller and "bling" issue is to me a side issue. I read this as a question of the "quintessential" Breitling, not the most popular, best liked, best selling. Lots of folks are here because of the SA or the Bentley, very important watches for Breitling over the last ten years and the promised land for guys with big wrists who never had a watch that fit them. They might not know the brand otherwise. Still, given the overall history, and the hypothetical question, "What Breitling would you immediately recognize as a Breitling from 10-15 feet away?" I think the nod goes to the Navitimer.

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Scott

AP Royal Oak 15400, silver
Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Classic Cars
Vintage gold Corum
Rolex DJ 36 TT, oyster dial, oyster/smooth
Baume & Mercier Riviera 200m, silver dial/aquamarine bezel
Breitling Superocean 57, rose/stainless

I agree with most of what you said, but I think the OP is referring to current models,beacuse otherwise we would be talking about any one of the 5000 or so vintage Lings Fred has!! At least that was my assumption. And I don't think anything outsells the SA presently.

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SHARKMAN

Just to elaborate, the Chronomat B01 was so named because it contained the then-new B01 movement, which was Breitling's first in-house movement. When Breitling changed the name of the movement simply to 01, the name of the watch was accordingly changed to the Chronomat 01. There was no change in the model itself, or the movement. Last year, with the introduction of a 41mm Chronomat (also with the 01 movement), Breitling changed the name of the larger Chronomat yet again, calling it the Chronomat 44, after its case diameter. The name of the movement did not change. Again, there was no real change to the watch or the movement, although some minor cosmetic options have been introduced since the inception of the model, such as a brushed bezel.

On a side note, by the time the 01 movement was used in other models (e.g., Navitimer, Transocean), it was no longer called the B01. The Chronomat was the only watch to use the movement when it was the B01, and as such, was the only watch model to feature "B01" in its name.

and this makes it the quintessential Breitling ?

BigMac, the quintessential American Food ?
Johnnie Walker, the quintessental Scotch ?
Swatch, the quintessential watch ?
the four billion fly principle ?

Don't get me wrong, I would love to add the SA to my collection but as I am as size challenged as sharkman (wrist wise at least) , the 44 is the absolute max I can make unfortunately and that stretching it a little bit.
But than, as Mrs. Wessa says, "It is not the size that matters ...."

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"It is just a matter of time!"

Yeah, mothers always say things to make their sons feel better.