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Any Breitling Heads Assist on 1970 Cosmonaute?

cvalue13
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I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and towards a Breitling Cosmonaute for sale locally, purported to be 1.3 million serial, ca. 1970, and recently serviced (April 2020)

it’s just so clean I can’t shake the feeling that I will benefit from extra eyes, if they should be so kind as to offer any hand-holding.

Understanding this watch contains the Valjoux 7736 movement, irking purists, I’m otherwise impressed by its apparent condition - to the point of skepticism!

090BC665-3116-4803-9540-5001F7AA071A.jpeg 591D2BFD-27ED-4107-9F43-836169BA1B7C.jpeg 635C2131-9935-41AC-A62A-526D692723CC.jpeg 330B1B3C-F69B-42A1-97DE-3117F205C4F0.jpeg 68DA1A5D-C6CF-4182-8669-785AC7E54197.jpeg 84BB7089-0B2C-409C-A975-D990A232705B.jpeg 2185FE1F-EAA4-440D-91A4-B70AB9464B83.jpeg 2DAA0439-358A-4618-8299-39CC315D8715.jpeg 676CCAC9-4900-4CF3-9989-3C4DDB264381.jpeg 3B63A10F-7457-446B-B52A-E0BB4019073F.jpeg 090BC665-3116-4803-9540-5001F7AA071A.jpeg
 
Foo2rama
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Google 806 timeline. There is a great reference out there by year and features.
 
cvalue13
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
Google 806 timeline. There is a great reference out there by year and features.

Thanks, @Foo2rama - not sure I found what you had in mind, but those particular search terms did lead me to a few resources I hadn’t seen yet, including over at WUS:

Breitling Cosmonaute - the history and development of a legend

Which contained this bit of intelligence that at first glance appears to fit like a puzzle piece:

B848783B-BC3B-428A-B25F-CC66EC1B958E.jpeg


Being a Breitling novice, the dial of the watch I posted is so clean and the lume so neat in color as to raise my suspicions, but counter-balanced by two things: the watch’s case is seemingly equally clean, and the T-Swiss-T threw me for a tritium loop. The WUS point mentioned the “T” on replacement dials is a inaccurate.

The WUS article notes that the replacement dial has slightly different twin jets, but unfortunately it does not go on to describe/compare those differences. And, since there could in theory be other differences in jets between dial/year models, for me to compare the OP watch with random examples online might find differences that are not the ones known of the replacement dials.

Nonetheless, inclined to believe this is a replacement dial, and knowing that it flips my inferences about the case itself being suspiciously clean.

To say nothing of the gasket gunk, when reported to have been recently serviced
 
Foo2rama
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Timeline.jpg


This was the chart I was thinking about. I was on mobile so I couldn't easily post it.

It should help to answer some questions.
 
jsducote
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cvalue13 cvalue13
The WUS article notes that the replacement dial has slightly different twin jets, but unfortunately it does not go on to describe/compare those differences. And, since there could in theory be other differences in jets between dial/year models, for me to compare the OP watch with random examples online might find differences that are not the ones known of the replacement dials.
I hate articles that do this. Yes, there could be multiple different jets but when the author knows there are at least 2 variations out there and states it definitively then I say he has an obligation to describe them, if photos do not exist.
 
Servius
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Beautiful dial, gorgeous case… But God, that movement is such a turn off !

I might not understood quite well, but the WUS article states that the modern replacement dial got bigger sub dials, and this dial doesn’t…
 
cristos71
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I had a Cosmonaut with the Venus movement years ago and whilst I loved the aesthetic telling the time at a glance was nigh on impossible so it had to go....

Just looking at the OP's watch at a glance my brain says 10.08...unfortunately the rest of the population of your time-zone knows that it is actually 20.08. For the first few days this is charming, but it doesn't take very long to become quite irritating. My recommendation is unless you really are a Cosmonaut then stick to an 806 Navitimer...the earlier the better and preferably early enough to have the black sub dials
 
cvalue13
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Servius Servius
I might not understood quite well, but the WUS article states that the modern replacement dial got bigger sub dials, and this dial doesn’t…

Although hard to discern unless side by side, the OP watch has the large subdials

The alternative and more sought after version with
Venus 178 movement (and associated dial) has smaller subdials:

7DDA051C-4CCE-4C07-85BF-D4BC420B5841.jpeg
Edited:
 
cvalue13
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cristos71 cristos71
Just looking at the OP's watch at a glance my brain says 10.08...unfortunately the rest of the population of your time-zone knows that it is actually 20.08. For the first few days this is charming, but it doesn't take very long to become quite irritating. My recommendation is unless you really are a Cosmonaut then stick to an 806 Navitimer...the earlier the better and preferably early enough to have the black sub dials

Its fantastic advice for almost anyone, other someone with a fetish for midcentury 24hr pilots watches 😁😁😟😟

9DAE3FE3-4193-49C8-B5B7-678773F060D4.jpeg



(BTW, all three watches above are set to the same time of 8:30AM)
 
cvalue13
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
It should help to answer some questions.

And maybe raise a few dozen others; boy, I’ll have to study
 
Evitzee
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Servius Servius
Beautiful dial, gorgeous case… But God, that movement is such a turn off !

Breitling was not a high end brand in those days, just run of the mill craftsmanship with interesting and novel dials based on the slide rule.
 
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