Navitimer 8 - Pros, Cons, and Pics Please
 

Hello all.

As many of you on this forum are aware, our taste in watches changes [almost too] frequently. I never thought I'd be interested in a Breitling, as I typically associate them as too big and gaudy for me. Then last spring I came across the Navitimer 8 and thought they were very nice looking. Fast forward 10 or so months, I'm still intrigued by the Navitimer 8 and I'm looking to get a nice leather strapped watch.

I would like to choose from one of the following:

Blue Dial/Brown Strap

Blue Dial/Blue Strap

Black Dial/Black Strap

Black Dial/Black Strap/Black Steel

Can anyone provide me with actual photos of any of these watches or similar ones? Majority of them online are stock photos.

Anyone have any good/bad experiences with a Navitimer 8? Pros and cons?

I have an Explorer and black Submariner, so I am leaning towards one of the blue dial ones. Are they closer to navy or royal? I originally envisioned getting one to wear with my navy and/or brown suit.

I know this post is now dragging on, but any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

breitling is closer to a navy blue (at least on the pieces i own)... i would steer away from the black steel. blue with blue gives it a unique finish, looks great in most suit applications as well.

Thanks. I'm definitely leaning toward blue. I don't like how dark the brown strap is, but I also feel like I may get sick of the blue strap easily.

Get more than one strap! The leather strap inserts are inexpensive, cool to mix it up. That's what I do with my Breitlings. :cheers:

Good point. I forgot this isn't Rolex we're talking about here.

:chuckle:

I'm not a fan of black steel and you may come to regret it in the future. Because you already have two black watches, I'd go for the blue dial on the brown strap, as the blue strap is a little too much blue, in my opinion, especially if you're going to wear it with a blue suit and a brown suit. You can always change straps at a later point. Brown alligator would dress the watch up considerably.

Bigger issue with black steel is if you scratch it, you are kind of screwed. I believe you have to get the whole watch refinished. You can't just polish it.

This is why I have stayed away from all black steel models.....I liked some of the Bentley ones but could not live with the scratches with normal use on the black that would not be able to be polished.

I was aware of that regarding the black steel, definitely a turn off. I like it but I never really expected to go that direction.

Another slight concern is I'm used to a 39-40mm watch. I'm hoping the 1-2mm difference won't bother me.

So I went with the brown strap/blue dial but unfortunately it came with the white threaded strap, which is not what I wanted at all. I don't like the threads and they will get dirty.

Does anyone know where to get an all brown authentic Breitling 21mm strap? It seems like they are hard to come by, or not even made anymore. I'm open to different types of leather, but do prefer a darker brown.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264159311069

I found that but eBay is always questionable.

21mm straps are still made by Breitling since that's the lug width of the Navi 8 series. Any AD can help you, but expect to pay full retail.

They said they don't make them without the white threads anymore. Such a shame because that really takes away from the watch, in my opinion.

Sorry, I didn't see that you wanted one with the brown thread. I read it wrong and thought you just wanted a 21mm strap.

Hopefully you'll give the straps a chance. Maybe different to what you're used to but I really enjoy mine. The contrast of the stitching against the color of strap pops and I've had several for years and never really had any issues with thread getting dirty/changing color.

You can get any strap you can dream up, complete with tool-less changing spring bars in a quality similar or better than OEM from places like Camille Fournet and ABP, these are both in Paris, but I take it they ship internationally. I have my Navitimer on a custom Camille Fournet and would not go back.
Another option is going with a JLC strap (though these are also often made by Camille Fournet and rebranded). They have several sizes that will fit my Navi and I’m sure they should have something in 21mm too. Same with IWC.

I'm looking at CF now. I like some of their options. Can you post pics of yours? What size did you get?

That is a horrible fake, stay away. All of Breitling leather straps currently come with white stitching. Some of the leather/rubber deployant straps came with stitching that was not white. If you are looking for a customer strap maker in the USA I suggest that you check out Jean-Rousseau, although based in France they have a shop in NYC that will make you anything you want. I have have several made with phenomenal results. The quality is as good if not better than Breitling OEM at about half the cost!

Breitling offered 21mm on there Bentley Barnato model. May be worth calling an AD?
I had one of these watches and it was a beautiful strap.


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Well, crap. Are you positive? I pulled the trigger on it because I just figured it was an older strap when they still made them without the white threads. I checked literally all of his feedback, especially the ones related to Breitling, and they were all positive. :banghead:

I just looked at his feedback and do not see enough Breitling Strap Feedback reviews to feel comfortable with the strap. To the best of my knowledge Breitling did not offer a strap with color coordinated stitching. The past 8-10 years the vast majority of Breitling Straps have been 24, 22 or 20 mm wide at the lug. That strap does not appear to match anything currently offered on the website. In addition the holes that are punched do not appear to be consistently round in appearance. I hope that I am mistaken and that you are thrilled when you receive the strap

If you check out the descriptions on this website, https://www.breitlingsource.com/models/bentley.html, all of the lug widths for the Barnato series are either 24 or 22mm. I do not see any 21mm lug widths but I may be mistaken.

I ended up getting the blue dial/brown strap Navitimer 8 last spring.

I was randomly checking the Breitling site and noticed the Navitimer 8 is now the Aviator 8. When/why did this happen?

The name was changed based on feedback that Kern received. I think it's a good idea since this creates a better identity for this watch.

So just the name was changed? No parts or anything I assume based on the model number being unchanged?

Just the name, that’s it.