Navitimer 01 or Transocean chronograph?

[koevoet]

I am looking at getting my hands on a new watch in the next few months.Already have a Rolex Sea Dweller ( 2008, last of the non fatboys!). The watch is not a fashion purchase but in effect a memorial / personal reminder. Our father passed away recently and so my Sister and I intend to buy a watch each, She is after a Ladies Rolex,myself,and now the crux of the Post a Brietling ( maybe!!). Torn between the Navitimer and the Superocean Chrono . I know very little about Breitling, but I am after a Pilots watch. The Rolex covers my current career the Pilots watch an earlier life milestone. I know this will be a personal choice but any wise words regards depreciation , reliability etc . I love the leather strap but believe they fail more frequently than one would like and are silly money to replace !
I do like the Rolex GMT bimetallic but is that just too similar to the SD ( I know , it's different but the Rolex gene is strong)
Your thoughts?
Any ideas as to what discounts UK AD's are doing?

[Fredwatch]

Wow, what a coincident! I'm also deciding between a Navitimer 01 LE and a Transocean Chronograph LE. Besides, I also need to decide between black and silver/white dial. Want to hear from all who have hand on (or wrist on) experience.

My initial thought is the TOC's dial is cleaner and simpler than that of Navitimer. Since I'm not a pilot so I may lean a bit toward the TOC for now. But the Nav is just an iconic model for Breitling.

[koevoet]

I like the black dial for both watches, I do like the clean uncluttered lines of the transocean Chrono, the leather strap also looks very classy, but I gather the replacements are a good few hundred pounds and I am not prepared to keep forking out if that's the case.

[GolfPunk]

Navitimer all day long, timeless and classy

[TB72]

I take it your not a fan of the Ocean Classic bracelet for the Tansocean? If you are OK wiith it one option would be to buy the Tansocean on a Ocean Classic bracelet and also buy a leather strap which you could use more sparingly.

[ayecarumba]

Koevoet and FredWatch,

Koevoet: my sincerest sympathies on the passing of your father. What a nice way to honor your father's memory with a watch you can see and wear every day that can become an heirloom if you wish.

As a double Breitling owner my initial thoughts were with the Navitimer 01. It is a classic in the Breitling lineup and their definitive "pilots watch." I also love the gold raised applied Breitling "wings" logo at the 12 o'clock position. The leather straps are very nice but I hate that you can't get 'em near water and they will get dingy over time and need to be replaced. Both my Bs live on metal bracelets.

But then I took another look at the TOC. It is sharp. I have seen the mesh bracelets and tried them on and they look SHARP. Like nothing else I have ever tried or worn. I also like the sapphire display case back that allows you to see the 01 movement. And, for whatever reason, the TOC is 3X more water resistant than the Navitimer (100m vs 3 bar/99ft). So that means you could at least wear your TOC to the pool or beach and take a swim. Not gonna happen with the Nav. Having been in that position, trust me, it is a pain to have to leave your watch on the beach and I really appreciate a watch that can handle being around water for that reason. I'm not a huge fan of the "B" logo on the TOC, but I understand this is a heritage piece from the 50s when B logos were reminiscent of this type.

The TOC is a limited edition piece so who knows how long it will be around? Breitling can be very fickle and a model that is here today can be out of production tomorrow with little or no warning. That isn't the case with the Navitimer which will ALWAYS be in production.

So, I've come round and believe I would recommend the TOC to you both. Should you decide the Nav is the one you desire, it will always be around.

Finally, not being in the UK I would recc contacting Chris (ID: "TheGMTmaster") from the UK. He has worked in the biz (albeit Rolex) and may be able to provide you with some pointers on good dealers in the UK.

In the USA, negotiating 20-25% discounts off retail were the norm for my B purchases, both from ADs.

Best wishes whatever you decide and post some pics!

Cheers,

--Paul

[koevoet]

Ayecarumba, thanks very much for your input. I too was a tad underwhelmed by the depth rating of the Nav, you could barely take that out in the rain, seeing as how I live in Scotland that needs to be a serious consideration!
Like you I have looked at the mesh bracelet on the Transocean , the old style B is not as nice as the gold wings but as you say, this is a heritage piece. There is really something about the clean lines of the TO that appeals and it loses the sense of work that both my Seadweller and the Nav imply. It does exude a sense of elegant timelessness. Bug bear is I have small wrists( although the SD is starting to look small after trying these watches on). Anyway, thanks again, the issue if depth rating may change things, but I suspect holidays and swimming etc would be the preserve of the SD . I don't see me taking 2 nice watches overseas. Once decisions are made I will post the out come ( although I did see a lovely bi metal GMT 2 in the AD.....)

[timlaw]

hi. I have a navi D23322 and it is a classic and a favourite in my collection. the 01le is even nicer but the silver dial TOC on the bracelet is stunning "in the flesh". e mail Aziza at Banks Lyon she was excellent when I bought my LE avenger code yellow giving a price other AD's could not match, including a breitling pen and providing quick and friendly service.

[koevoet]

Cheers Timelaw, will do, be hanging fire for a couple of months though.

[Cru Jones]

a tough one for sure. i'm drawn to the TOC for its cleaner lines, but, i like the pedigree of the navitimer.

re: straps/bracelets, i quite like the TOC on mesh. navitimer has to be on a strap.

[ayecarumba]

Originally Posted by koevoet

Ayecarumba, thanks very much for your input.
...Bug bear is I have small wrists( although the SD is starting to look small after trying these watches on). Anyway, thanks again, the issue if depth rating may change things, but I suspect holidays and swimming etc would be the preserve of the SD . I don't see me taking 2 nice watches overseas. Once decisions are made I will post the out come ( although I did see a lovely bi metal GMT 2 in the AD.....)

My pleasure Koevoets...thanks for letting me tag along on the expedition. I have small wrists too (7 1/4") and the Breitlings all look fine. You may choose to wear on the inside of your wrist if that is an issue and you're ok with that....yeah, I used to think I'd never take more than 1 watch on vacation....that was years ago! Gotta have 1 for the beach and for dress up with the missus!

Best wishes, looking forward to the pics!

--Paul

[Fredwatch]

Originally Posted by koevoet

.... Bug bear is I have small wrists( although the SD is starting to look small after trying these watches on). Anyway, thanks again, the issue if depth rating may change things, but I suspect holidays and swimming etc would be the preserve of the SD . I don't see me taking 2 nice watches overseas. Once decisions are made I will post the out come ( although I did see a lovely bi metal GMT 2 in the AD.....)

I have an even small wrist of 6.5” and I wear the Blackbird looking fine to me. I tried the TOC the past Saturday at an AD. If it looks fine on my wrist, it will do so you a 7”+ wrist. Don’t worry.

[koevoet]

Will start looking more seriously in the New Year, get some wrist testing at the AD's in the meantime..thanks for the advice Chaps! The game is afoot!