Hello all.
I have a really lovely 1806 dating to November 1969, which I bought from a dealer in Geneva about ten years ago. Looks like it sat in a drawer unworn until then - the bezel is super-crisp (they often seem to wear smooth or get clumsily refinished) and the caseback seems barely to have seen a wrist, with all engraving still clear. Please ignore my rubbish photos, it's much nicer in the steel!
It came on the slightly plainer bracelet shown at the top in the photos, signed 'Breitling Geneve' on the clasp. Given the condition of the rest of the watch it's probably reasonable to assume that this is original. I've seen plenty of period brochures showing my watch on this bracelet, which is referred to as the 'No. 14'.
I later acquired the fancier bracelet below, which I prefer. Clasp is signed only with the winged 'B'. I think I once saw a period catalogue showing an 1806 on this type of bracelet but I'm damned if I can find it now.
Anyway - these bracelets seem to have a reasonable value now, and it feels a bit daft to have a few hundred dollar's worth of bracelet sitting in my watch box doing nothing when someone else could have the benefit of it. I'd rather sell the plainer bracelet the watch came on, but the question is - would the watch still be period-correct on the acquired bracelet, or would I be committing sacrilege by parting my watch from what's likely to be its original bracelet?
Any more info on either of these bracelets would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
