The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Well that thought did cross my mind, as did the diagnosis that the problem is "the bridge".

Of course, that leads to the next question - which bridge? This watch has more problems the just "the bridge". One look at the fuzzy picture of the movement tells me that someone other than a competent watchmaker has been into this one. A word of warning. Do not attempt to run the chronograph!

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1809 Cosmonaute
1903 Navi
Navi Olympus
Super Avenger

Please look here, I have almost the same watch: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=16474

Thanks for all the replies. If this was your watch, who / where would you recommend (in the U.S.) to send it to for another evaluation?

BTW, I did call my now retired watchmaker who looked at it several years ago and asked him if he recalled what part needed replacement and he said that he did not remember, but said that it definitely was not the bridge, so I was recalling that part of the story incorrectly.

Gene

The definitive vintage Breitling guy is Mark Heist at Horological Services in PA. He's Breitling authorised.

He's expensive, and it's a long wait, but given that this is a potentially contentious piece I would start there. He won't work on non original pieces, but can give you an assessment of what you have.

All of this is quite true, the only problem being that he may flag such an unusual watch as "non-original" even if it is simply a rare and hard-to-confirm genuine piece that he is unfamiliar with...and charge you something like $125 for the privilege.

This is the problem when a great watch manufacturer abandons (or loses) their history and heritage and leaves the servicing and establishment of provenance to independent contractors.

Still worth a shot if you've got the money, though, because supposedly he has a lot of records that could wind up confirming your watch after all.
Best of luck,
Tom

Mark's records are the source of much speculation, though I don't blame him for not sharing as it is part of his business.

At the end of the day none of us can say 100% whether it's real or not, but Mark should be the most reliable.

Hi Tom, 100% agree with you and not only Mark Heist, also some other specialist here think in this way.

But is very simple, when somebody only evaluates the well known and usual Breitling watches as genuine and every unusual or real rare watch evaluates as fake, only because he dont know it.

But this story is very trustfull for me.


Why he should lie ?

And the second: I have a very similar watch with the same movement from an other source, too many casualties.

I assume that is a dig at me among others.

So just to be clear.....

I find this piece more intriguing, but I still have doubts.

I am however less sceptical than I am about pieces that are unlike anything that I have ever seen before and where the only person claiming them to be correct is trying to sell them at higher prices than the current market seems to suggest is warranted. I also consider reputations and track records.

I may indeed be an old cynic, but somethings require a higher standard of proof than others.

Its not a dig at you Roff, but I had explained it a lot of times to you private, now I explain it public for all:

Why you think, how stupid I am ?

If I set a watch in the price too high, then it is solely because this watch is it worth to me and I do not want to sell it really.

And certainly I am not forcing anyone by gun to buy.



In addition, I have been able to prove a few times here, that I was right at the end with my assessment.

I am much indebted to all of you for your comments. I'm going to pass this info along to my brother-in-law, who now has the watch (it was his father's) and suggest that he contact Mark. BTW, my mother-in-law, now 93, has put in her two cents, saying that she's pretty sure my father-in-law bought the watch second-hand in 1937 or 1938. They were just starting a small business back then and she said he never could have afforded an expensive watch.

Here's a funny story to accompany this that I will treat all of you to. They had been married for a few months and were living in the Bronx. After a month of my father-in-law sneaking out, she was a little suspicious that he might be seeing another woman. After being confronted, my father-in-law admitted to being obsessed with flying and showed her that he was sneaking off to take lessons at an airstrip on Long Island. He earned his private pilot's license in a month, something that was still possible back then. He went on to a lot more flying after that, which is when the watch became necessary.

Thanks!

Gene