The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Here I am for the first time disconcerted. Is this clock genuine or not?

http://cgi.ebay.de/BREITLING-1940ER-18K ... 5639a24d3d

Hallo Roff, what is your opinion about this watch ?

Breitling on the dial looks redone. Movement might be either a Venus 152 or 178, hard to tell from the pic, but probably ok. Never heard of a ref 903 and the serial number doesn't jive for the age of the watch. Conclusion: 18k Frankenwatch.

Sorry, missed this one.

As Paul says, the serial number is inconsistent with the era, and the model number isn't close to anything that I can find documented. The dial logo is good, but the application looks flat and inconsistent with the rest of the dial - stencilled or machined in my opinion.

I see no evidence that the movement has been modified to offer any additional anti-magnetic properties, so not sure what supports the antimagnetique claim on the dial - quite possibly because the dial doesn't match the movement. It's also odd to have a gold watch be claimed as anti-magnetic as gold offers less protection than stainless steel.

The movement itself looks to me like a 178, but as Paul says, it could be a 152 - minor visible differences and you end up looking at things like scre positions which are unreliable. It's also odd to have no incabloc in a gold case (though obviously not unknown).

I'm with Paul, I think that this is a frankenwatch with only the movement being donated by a Breitling.

thanks for the coments. I am realy very uncertain about this watch.

I am the one who bought this watch yesterday.

Unfortunately I have noticed it only shortly before the end of the auction - so I had no time to do some research.
Now I had...and an antimagnetic chronograph was invented by Vacheron Constantin in 1954. What does the serial no. tell me in regard of the year? Is that really supposed to be a 1940s watch?

Thanks for your help!

The serial number doesn't tell you anything I'm afraid because it's not a Breitling caseback. The watch is likely 40s or 50s, if the serial number were a real Breitling one then it would be before the reliable dating started but likely 30s.

In terms of anti-magnetic, claims have been made for a very long time about watches having anti-magnetic properties, but in earlier watches it generally just meant better shielding.

Ok, so far this watch seems to have:

- a Venus 178 (maybe 152) movement, probably Breitling?
- a dial which seems to fit a Venus 178, definitely not Breitling?
- a case which also seems to fit a Venus 178, the serial and the ref engraved on the caseback look like Breitling, don't they? Would it be possible, that this is an older Breitling case?

I guess I'd best withdraw from the deal? Or is a Venus 178 and a golden case worth the price, anyway?

I don't think that the case is Breitling either - the movement does look genuine Breitling, but that's it for me.

Is it worth the price you paid - well, that's your call. If you enjoy it as a watch then it's not a horrendous deal, just be aware of it's limitations. If you want a Breitling then you are better off looking elsewhere.

See that base metal ring around the movement that is marked "METAL." That was a requirement for Swiss makers to show that only a small amount of gold was used in the case of a "Chronograph Suisse." It is very common to see these re-badged as Breitlings and other more up-scale makers. The more common varieties have the "egg shell" caseback that needs a base metal liner to avoid dents and bending.

Breitling never used such cases.

Ah ok, I was wondering why it was marked "Metal". I was aware of the fact, that this was not wood.
But this only refers to the ring, doesn't it? The case is still 18kt gold?

Case is gold, or at least the hallmark looks genuine. Just bear in mind that not all gold cases are created equal - sometimes the gold is very thin so you have to go by weight to determine gold content.

So, now I have confronted the seller with this findings. He says:

- it's actually a Venus 175 movement
- it's called antimagnetique because there is an additional metal base under the base for an antimagnetic field.
- this case cannot be a Chronograph Suisse case, because the have not used Venus movements and therefore the pushers would not be at the right place.

He says I can withdraw from the buy if I want to, but now I am not sure, anymore.

What do you reckon?

Pretty strange. The Venus 175 is a two register movement and he even describes it as a Venus 178 in the ad, which is a three register movement. I'd walk away from this one given the opportunity.

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