The Breitling Watch Source Forums

agreed, how big is his wrist/overall stature. This will help with diameter. Also does he have a more techincal profession. If so with a larger stature I would go for the skyracer which is very dressy as well. If elegance is more him & he is a broader fellow, then I would go the chronomat. Finally if he was slimmer, or more reserved type the colt. Just a point of view, hope it helps.

Where do I find a wife that says these humble words..... "Need help picking out a Breitling for husband"

He is the luckiest man alive..... I have been married 3 times and not 1 has ever said this ....... oh well..... that is what you get for picking ladies who are great in the sack !

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I need more watches....

Archie - first, there's no reason why you can't have both. Second, you are obviously confusing "greatness" with "willingness."

Almondine - my wife surprised me a couple of years ago with a Colt GMT. For me, the watch was perfect. I wasn't used to wearing massive watches, and for me personally, it would have difficult to start off with one of the larger models. My dad loved my watch, and got him ther same one. He's a big guy, but didn't want something big an bulky on his wrist, and didn't need "all the other dials and gadgets" as he called them.
One thing to keep in mind - on both occassions, the authorized dealer said that me or dad didn't like watch, wanted a different color dial, or perferred a strap over the bracelet, that we could come back to the store and switch out for something else.

Or, make an event out of it! Work out prices for each with a dealer. Arrange ahead of time with the dealer to have the three watches ready, without price tags on them. On the pre-scheduled day, as you walk by the store with your husband, tell him you have a surprise for him and pull him in. The dealer will lay out the 3 watches, and let him choose the one he likes best. Would certainly be a memorable experience for him!

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Breitling Colt GMT
Breitling Navitimer World
IWC Portuguese Automatic
Breitling Transocean Chronograph LE

Thank you all for the great feedback. He is a partner in a company that sells surveillance gear and is an electrical engineer so he is really into gadgets and seems like this brand would fit that bill. His customers are usually military and government folks from the U.S. and overseas. He usually wears a shirt and tie, but sometimes just a polo and slacks. He also travels quite a bit.

The last watch he had was a Movado Chronograph that I bought him as a wedding gift. The thing that I remember him saying about that watch was that it was kind of heavy.

He's 5'10- and about 180 lbs. I think his wrist is between 7-8". A M/L size wrist IMO, and he is a fit, muscular guy with broad shoulders. Maybe I shouldn't worry about the weight of the watch- he may be so happy to have a Breitling that he'll get used to wearing it. Someone asked if he would like an elegant watch and that's definitely not what he would want for everyday. I think he would like something basic and rugged that could be dressed up or down. I would definitely get a steel band- I don't think he'd be into the leather or other ones. I hope that helps! Any suggestions for watches other than the 3 models I mentioned are also welcome.

Welcome to the forum. All the power to you for going thru the trouble of doing the research to make the best choise. My wife bought me a Breitling Avenger Skyland as a wedding gift couple of months ago and I love it. Although she took me to the AD and let me choose.

I would leave the Colt out. It´s probably too small for him. The Skyracer is also a riskier present. Their both great pieces in their on right. The thing is, with Breitling there´s not one watch that´s thought to be a lesser piece or "not a REAL Breitling". The Colt is the entry model but there´s no entry level cues on it. It´s actually thought of beeing a real bargain as the same built quality of the other models is there for less expensive price.

Go with the Chronomat It`s a very safe bet. They´re very respected pieces and Breitlings best sellers at that. I´m sure it´s not too big for him. Breitlings have a tendency to wear smaller then the specs suggests. He could wear a much larger piece too. Breitlings are very comfortableto wear and have a nice balanced feel on the wrist. Go with a neutral dial colour as they´re the best allrounders. I´d suggest for bracelet too. It´s one of the most beautiful piece of mans jewellery ever made. Its also a very recognisable and quintessential styling feature of Breitling with the slated link design. If he wants to change it later, the leather (about 100$) aren´t that expensive to buy aftermarket compared to the bracelet (about 1000$).

I hope all our help is actually helping and not the other way around. We´de appriciate on an update of how it all finally went!

Can anyone give me a general sense of the price of a Chronomat vs. Colt?

chronomat on steel is around $5800 msrp, depending on the ad you go to you can usually get up to 20% off of that. the colt gmt is $2895, same discount may apply, and the Colt Auto is $2695 again same discount could apply. All three of these prices are on SS bracelet.

Ross

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Colt GMT with Blue dial

Thanks so much- this is a really hard decision. I think I have narrowed it down between the Chronomat and the Colt GMT and will check them both out in the store soon. I think the Colt GMT would be a nice first Breitling for him and if he wanted to upgrade later he could, but as the previous responder said it may look small on him. I guess I could look for a store employee (or random person) with a similar build and make him try them on for me!

Remember also that the 'big watch' is a recent trend. I have a number of older pieces that are small by today's standards, and definitely smaller than the Colt, and I still wear them. I don't consider them to be 'too' small at all, that's really just current fashions.

As I said yesterday, the Chronomat would be my choice, but the lighter Colt might be better if he isn't into particularly heavy pieces. It's definitely a smaller watch, but we aren't talking about a piece that's going to disappear on him.

for comparison (without pics) i'm 5'11" and about 205lbs, and my Colt GMT fits just fine on my wrist, I actually tried on a few bigger watches not just Ling's but some other makers also and some of them just made my hand and wrist seemingly disappear. I kind of like the one responders idea to get the price you want ironed out with the ad on all 3 watches and then take the hubby for a stroll through the mall and take him in the store for a surprise and have all 3 out and let him choose.

Ross

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Colt GMT with Blue dial

If your looking for something in between those two, there are couple good choises too. The Skyland Avenger is a little bigger then the Chronomat and price wise between them. At AD:s you´ll probably find the previous model with white hands and numbers which I have. But there´s a new model just coming out called the Avenger, which will have metallic ones instead. The AS has stenciled numbers that does divide opinnion. Personally I´m a fan. This watch has the excact same movement as the Chronomat and so offers very good value for money.

Other good choise, but for a non chrono, would be Super Ocean Steelfish. About the same size as the Chronomat and just a little more expensive then the Colt. It offers maybe the best value for money of any Breitling.

You had a very good idea of going to the AD to get somebody to try them. That way you´ll get a very good sense of what size and style would be great.

BTW, I´m 5,55 feet and 140 pounds with 6,5 wrists and I think the AS is a perfect size for me. This is of course personal preference.

Here´s couple of pics of my piece to give some idea about the size.

I hope I´m not confusing you more.

Those are all great choices, I would definately go with the Chronomat.

If you like the look of the colt, might I suggest the Super Ocean Chrono. It is priced between the Chronomat & the Colt, also it is a little bigger than the Colt and a lil smaller than the Chronomat. It has the same movement as the Chronomat and is a very rugged watch. I have both the Chronomat & Superocean Chrono and I find that they are equally versatile. It's just a thought, I'm jealous that your husband has such a great wife!

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Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm
Breitling Chrono Avenger
Breitling Chronomat Evolution
Breitling Chrono SuperOcean
Breitling Avenger Seawolf
Omega Seamaster Pro James Bond LE Co-Axial Auto

I'm going to confuse you a bit more and suggest a couple of other watches to look at.

Given his field and work around engineers, it sounds like he would be a good candidate for one of the Professional models such as the Aerospace or Airwolf. These are SuperQuartz watches, rather than the automatics you've been looking at. That may be a deal breaker, but if not...

The Aerospace comes in Titanium and offers multifunction, such as second timezone, alarm, stopwatch, etc.

The Airwolf has similar functions and has a UTC time, but offers a slide rule bezel.

Both watches are a bit more subdued than the Chronomat, but have a great deal of presence. Bonus is they are well under your $5k budget, but very much Breitlings in their own right.

I find my B-1 (similar look and functions to the Airwolf) is always useful when traveling (alarms, multiple time zones) and using the slide rule is especially cool. My pilot buddies always comment when I'm wearing the B-1, not so much with my other watches.

I'm 5'10" and 180 lbs and this is my Chronomat on my wrist. It fit good on my wrist.

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Justin
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