Breitling Colt GMT

Got this watch on the forum was slightly less than what it would usually go for because firstly the date changes at 6am instead of 12am. Secondly, it would only fit a 7" wrist and lastly no box or papers. I thought it would be a nice daily wear given the condition.

When it finally arrived, I was surprised how shinny this watch is although I had purchased a Colt II which is practically the same watch without the GMT function before. It is a nicely made watch - very striking. It is a little on the heavy side due to the bracelet. The other thing that I really like about the watch is the accuracy of time keeping, which is about +/- 3 secs a day - better than my Breitling Chrono Avenger. Maybe it is time to send my Chrono Avenger for service.

I contacted my local watch repair guy to inquire about the date change problem. He told me that if the watch is keeping good time then wait till it requires a full service to fix the problem.

Keeping this one for now :)

Breitling B-1 Watch

I had this watch for a quite a while now, but I did not post about it because the bezel that came with it was in terrible condition. I got a good deal for a brand new Breitling bezel on eBay and finally got the old scratched out one replaced.

Many consider this a tool watch and rightly so too. It has dual display - analog and digital. The digital functions include - digital time, date/day, alarm, chronograph, timer, 2nd time zone, 2nd alarm, UTC and backlight.

This is my every day watch because I use the alarm daily. It is one of the loudest alarm on a watch, much louder than my Casio digital watches - except the older models. I don't why they made the alarm on the new Casios so much softer.

The other thing is that when you set the digital time, the analog time will automatically sync with the digital time, so there is no need to set 2 different functions.

It is rated at 50m water resistant but I never test it except splash of watch from washing hands. It would be nice if they made it 100m so that you can go swimming with it.

Swiss Watch Repair Center (NYC)

I had to replace the battery for my Breitling B-1 but I did not want to send it to BUSA as it probably will take longer than "15 mins". Well, my B-1 is my tool watch, I rely on it to wake me up everyday so to be without it for more than a week is unacceptable :)

I found this company from the list of authorized repair centers on Breitling website some time back. It is a small repair shop in an office building on 42nd Street. I waited for 15 mins to get the battery replaced and pressure tested. I was charged $27 + tax which is quite reasonable, for an authorized repair center to work on it. I had some comments that it is expensive for a battery charge. Well, yes if you compare it to a water dealer not authorized by Breitling. So for a peace of mind, it is money well spent.

They are also the authorized repair center for several other Swiss watches - Omega, Rado, Certina, Tissot, Hamilton, Longines, and maybe TAG Heuer.

I would definitely recommend them to anyone who needs to service their Swiss watches or just a battery change.

Here is their info:

Swiss Watch Repair Center Inc
60 East 42nd St.
Suite 2328
New York NY 10165
(212)-949-6522
Harri Beutler

Custom Strap with Chrono Avenger

My custom Red12 strap mounted on my Breitling Chrono Avenger.

Breitling Professional B-2

I got this watch with the intention of keeping it for myself. When it arrived, I did not like the complication on the dial and went for the Chrono Avenger instead.

I had to change the seconds hand because it was bent (from the previous who claims he has no idea how it got that way.) I sent it to Horological Services (a Breitling Authorized Service Center) and quoted me for a whole bunch of things like a complete overhaul recommended for all 5 year Breitlings.

I decided to go ahead with the complete overhaul and it cost me almost 1/3 the price of the watch. Not really worth it on my end but I thought it would be nice for the new owner to get a watch in good excellent working order.




Sold it at a lost but I hope it makes the new owner happy.

Breitling Old Navitimer

This watch caused quite a bit of curiosity amongst some members of a forum because of the red sweep hand.
This model does not come with red or orange (some say it looks orange) sweep hands.

When it arrived and after close examination, I noticed that the paint job on the red sweep hand is quite uneven. According to the pros, the hands and lumes are also worked on before.

Another puzzling thing was that this watch has both the old and new reference numbers engraved at the back. Some suggested that it is because this watch was made during transition period to the new reference number.

Aside from these two things, this watch is close to the real deal. The sound of the movement sounds like my car catalytic converter after I stop the car, which is quite normal from a vintage mechanical piece.

However, I could not keep the watch because there was a scratch on the crystal and seller did not disclose this when I purchase the watch.

Breitling Colt II

This is one striking watch, if not for its 20mm lug size, I would have kept it.

Pilot Bracelet for Breitling Intruder

This watch came with the original Breitling 20mm dark blue leather strap but I decided not to use (since it was brand new). Instead, I bought a-look-alike Ostrich leather band for and a blue silicon band to replace it for wearing.

While browsing eBay one day, I came across an after market stainless steel Pilot bracelet with all the Breitling markings and logo. You don't usually see many of these after market Breitling bracelet with markings and logo. Price was 10% of what the real thing cost, so I went for it.

I hard abit of a hard time fitting the lugs maybe because it is an after market one or just maybe this watch was not mean to be worn with the Pilot bracelet but the Professional bracelet. Here is what it looks like:


I would say that apart from the markings and logo on the deployment bucket and clasp, no one would really be able to tell that I had a fake Breitling bracelet on. Can you?

Breitling Intruder Chronograph Reveil

This is my first post on this blog, so I will start with my own collection. I recently acquired this Breitling Intruder Chronograph Reveil watch on eBay. The watch come with the original manuals only, no boxes :( However, what surprised me is the condition of the watch. It was purchased in 1998 but it seems like the owner never worn it at all.

The Intruder is discontinued, the last of the line replaced after nearly 20 years by the new B-1. The 'INTRUDER' ref A51035 has the same Breitling B51 movement as the Pluton but the case and dial are new. The Intruder is instantly recognisable by the words 'CHONOGRAPHE REVEIL'(chronograph alarm) on the dial. The dial design owes a lot to the Colt SuperOcean while the hands are like the Aviastar.

Featuring a double time display system - analog and LCD digital - the INTRUDER combines the instant legibility of time shown by its hour, minute and seconds hands with the digital logic facilitating the programming and use of its timing functions. These include a split-time chronograph to 1/100th of a second, and alarm function, a second timezone indicator, a 12hr/24hr civilian/military time readout option along with a time signal.

The watch's highly resistant steel case, with screw-locked crown and recessed crystal, is water-resistant to 100m (330 feet). Its bidirectional rotating bezel bears 360° and wind-rose inscriptions, making the watch easy to use as a solar compass.

Breitling Catalog Photo