The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Want to pick up a couple of stock straps for my SA, I don't mind paying a little extra for the Breitling brand but I'm not sure which sites are legitimate and which will be shipping fake straps from China 3 months late. Any recommendations?

Also (newbie here) if I were to buy a cheap one on ebay, would the quality be very poor? For example http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-24mm-ELITE- ... 61cb8bf94a as opposed to http://www.authenticwatches.com/breitli ... strap.html ... or is crocodile the same no matter who makes it?

Hey a!!!1,

The leather Breitling straps are top quality, and you will absolutely pay top dollar for them. Not sure if your buying for every day use, or special occasion only.

If your using every day, Id recommend a regular leather strap, if special use only then go for the Breitling original.

I use eBay straps and have been very happy with the results. Its quite difficult to tell the difference between a Breitling or a copy strap. I do however use original Breitling buckles or deployant clasps (Im a fan of the deployant, but some people don't like them)

If you search eBay using "bob 22mm Breitling" you will get a good selection.

Here is a pic of my Evolution on a 22mm Bob crocodile with deployant clasp.



And my Airwolf on a blue 22mm Bob.



I doubt anyone except maybe LingForum member could tell the difference

_________________
Avenger M1
Airwolf
Omega Planet Ocean 9300
Omega Dark SoTM
B50 Night Mission
Chronoliner
Chronomat 47mm GMT Ltd Ed
Bentley Supersports
SuperOcean OuterKnown
Chronomat 44 (Yellow Ltd Ed)

If you are going to buy Breitling then go with an AD. Places like AuthenticWatches are often more expensive on straps than an AD and a lot of eBay ones are fake. I am going to move this thread to the accessory section where there are a number of threads on aftermarket makers.

@jkwelsh those straps look great, are those Breitling ones or cheaper ones?

I concur about the AuthenticWatches.com prices being out of whack on straps. I believe below is what the actual retail prices of OEM straps are:

calf w/tang buckle $110
croc for deployant $505
croc w/tang buckle $455
calf for deployant $160
deployant buckle $260

The Breitling straps are super nice. They are tanned very well and have the most padding I've ever seen. Gives the watch a beefy look.

Btw Roffensian, how can you tell the fakes ones from the real ones?

He told you in the post that they are BOB straps.

@A!!!!1, as Roff said, these two are the Bobs. $27 each versus the $400+ each for the Lings. The Bob quality is just fine and at that price you can buy a few to change the look around whenever you want

The deployant clasp runs at around $250+ from an AD, but you can still buy a Breitling original clasp with 10 different Bobs for less that an original Breitling strap (And don't forget they charge extra for the clasp!!) You can pick the clasps up from eBay as well, tho you may wait a while before one shows - and they are size specific so you need to buy to fit your strap.

I like to Ling on a budget, and prefer to drop my cash on the head than on the strap. Im sure other forum members will take a different view. You decide

_________________
Avenger M1
Airwolf
Omega Planet Ocean 9300
Omega Dark SoTM
B50 Night Mission
Chronoliner
Chronomat 47mm GMT Ltd Ed
Bentley Supersports
SuperOcean OuterKnown
Chronomat 44 (Yellow Ltd Ed)

Anyone have opinions on comfort differences between the sharkskin, calf, etc. straps?

Depends on the strap - that's why it's always suggested that people post in the replica section. The 'standard' give away on fake croc straps is that they say cuir veritable on the back instead of croc veritable, but there are pleny of variables.

The Headwind I bought last summer came on a BOB--nice looking, serviceable strap and still the primary strap I use day to day for the Headwind. Just don't assume it has the look and gloss of a Breitling Croc, which I still want to buy. The BOBs are also probably a good strap to try out in a "different" color, to see if you really like it or would use it before you blow the big bucks. If you don't wear it that much, it's not like you made a huge investment and you can still get that occasional use you want.

I have bought from Bob Davis at mywatchmaker.net. Good guy, and sells DiModells, which are good bands. I have a brown Imprerator which is a tremendous quality strap. I paid $65 or so for it, but there has been a price raise. The DiModell Chronissimo is a fantastic, beefy black band, which was just doubled in price, though Freda straps still has some, I think. Now up to about $160 but I think Freda is selling what's left of the pre-increase stock at the old price.

Then there's the custom option. Take a look at Sharkman's post about his new strap from Stone Creek Straps. There is at least one high-end AD in town who orders straps from her, and they all look tremendous.

I'm not nearly as big a strap guy as many here but the right one can really be special. Good luck shopping.

_________________
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

Can the straps be changed fairly easily or does the watch need to be brought to a dealer to change it ?

_________________
Chronomat Evolution / Mother of Pearle Face
SuperOcean 44 / Blue / Ocean Racer Strap
Tag / Formula Chrono / Black

You do it yourself and it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. There's probably a link to a tutorial on the site somewhere, I'll let a more senior member here chime in. Essentially, though, you pop off the bracelet by pushing in the ends of the spring bars connecting band to watch with a small fork-tipped tool. I bought a Bergeon, which is a popular brand, but for example Bob Davis often gives you a tool if you buy a band, and others may too, I don't know. Replace with new band the same way.

_________________
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

What this one? - http://www.breitlingsource.com/video_ar ... p%20Change



That and a Bergeon 6767F and you are good to go.