The Breitling Watch Source Forums

hello all , it has been many years since I reached out to this forum for assistance , thanks to advice from members of this group and a great watchmaker out west , now retired , my 769 was reborn and on my wrist. After much, almost daily ....,years of admiration, love ,use and well ..., ok some abuse my 769 ended up at a local watchmaker for a new stem , as the crown detached. problem is , the watchmaker, here , never fixed it, and misplaced/lost its crown. He contacted me after many covid months , asking if it was ok for him to cut the stem tube down on the case ,to fit a breitling b crown he found, at which point I promptly retrieved my watch. Can anyone share with me where I can source a replacement crown , or at least , its dimensions ? my watch is a little later version 704xxx serial number with non lume silver hands and markers .I have occasionally seen it on the web with a b breitling marked crown, like the ones I've seen on the 808, but I am not sure if thats original or what would work without compromising its integrity. any help would be greatly apreciated .

Greetings. My own 769 does not have a signed crown. Its an earlier 682xxx serial for 1946, so just 1 year younger than yours. They didn't have signed crowns back then. Mine is a slightly thinner sort of crown and measures 6.4mm in diameter and 1.5mm in depth. I doubt its original either after 80 years, but proportionally it looks right.

What year is your 769? It probably should not have a signed crown

Thank you for the measurements, , from the case number , I guess it is from the late 40s .I am not really looking for a crown with a b on it . Especially so if it is not age appropriate , just one that will fit properly without compromising , or altering the case, . I also could use a contact number for a trusted watchmaker. One working in the Washington D.C. area even better ,I know I`m asking a lot .

I’m also in DC. I don’t know of any good watchmakers around here I would trust tbh.

I’m sorry you are having trouble with what should be the simplest of tasks. I would have thought that an internet search of “vintage watchmaker” should find something at least in your own state. In my experience, these types of people have container full of hundreds of crowns they’ve collected over the years and will have one that fits.

The crown on mine sits proud of the case tube, and so even the issue of the crown fitting over the tube isn’t an issue.