Hello,

Came across this breitling in NYC, salesman didn't have much info on it. Can anyone identify it?

Thanks,
Greg

 

Do you have any case back details? Breitling made a vast array of models in its heyday, but I am a bit concerned by the logo alone that something is not quite right with that watch.

Edit: just noticed that you got a far more definitive answer from one of the super collectors over on Breitling Source Forums.

 

Yes! hahah they confirmed very quickly. I wish I could get more details as to what makes them think that.

 

Is it a pocket watch with lugs added?

 

QUOTE="Gdw310, post: 807138, member: 35963"]Yes! hahah they confirmed very quickly. I wish I could get more details as to what makes them think that.[/QUOTE]

So what are they thinking?

 

Not them, but him.

You'll find that very few sites allow discussions on fakes, especially proving details on what is specifically wrong. These forums are full of fake sellers and manufactures fishing for information so they can formulate a better pitch when they sell the watch elsewhere or so they can manufacture better fakes. Why does it matter to you anyway? What would you do with that information?

 

That's interesting, I am only curious because I believe it is important to be an informed buyer. It's good to know what to look out for to avoid getting scammed.

 

Well the first rule is to buy the seller. After that, I guess the view would be that you should learn what is right on a correct watch rather than what is wrong on a fake one. As a collector you would usually be interested in a particular reference rather than just a pretty watch dressed in gold. If the latter was the case, you could just buy a fashion watch and avoid the pitfalls altogether.

 

Cool, the latter wasn’t the case.

 

One suggestion when it comes to buying vintage is to look for known references. This means having hi-res pictures of watches that you know are correct so you can compare all the little details.

I've only been into vintage Breitling for a short time, but there are tons of fakes out there that "look" nice, but are useless. In your example, the members probably just recognized that there weren't any known chronographs that matched your picture. So unless you found a prototype example that these people who have been collecting vintage Breitling for +20yrs have never seen . . . .then it's likely it's a fake.

If it's a known example but you aren't sure, then there would be additional questions. Questions like "what's the serial number" because we have a good idea of the range of SN for each type of Breitling chronograph reference. They may ask whether the printing of the font matches, or whether it looks like it's been reprinted. For example, your linked reference seems to have 4 different types of font across the dial. Not necessarily a deal-breaker, but I've found this generally shows a poor reprinting job.

I've found that with a little bit of education, and a lot of patience, you'll find some great deals out there for well known vintage examples. Look over lots of examples and train your eye to see what stands out. Best of luck.

 

Have you checked the Breitling Museum website? http://www.breitling-museum.com/

Few years ago I bought a 1950 Breitling chrono in steel at an auction. When I received it, I realized that dial had been refinished. After I opened the caseback I realized that no a single part of the watch was Breitling. Fortunately, I sent it back to the auction house and they fully refunded me.