Breitling has always been an interesting topic because the brand has had its ups and downs when it comes to how it is viewed by the wider collection community. In other words, it’s one of those bigger brands, and while we don’t necessarily like everything they’ve ever done, we always seem to find something here or there that we think is worthy of attention.
Owing to these ups and downs, as well as the brand’s occasional penchant for making massive flashy pieces, a good number of high quality breitling watches have unfairly taken a hit on the secondary market. This means that if you know what you are looking for, you can buy a large number of watches on the secondary market for relatively little money — all from a long-established heritage brand that is still strong today. We went through our archives and selected models from the brand’s modern history that we particularly liked and thought were worth looking at.
This Super Avenger chronograph is a quintessential example of the rough and rugged pieces from Breitling that we’ve always loved. A 44mm titanium case and matching bracelet with a matte brushed finish, paired with a matte black dial with bright white contrasting indices and red-tipped chronograph seconds hand. This is peak tool watch design at its finest.
Its timing bezel is engraved and also brushed, devoid of the flash that comes with modern ceramic bezel inserts. That said, it is still fitted with a luminous pip to allow for proper timing during low-light situations. It runs the replica watches breitling Caliber 13, which is effectively a reworked Valjoux 7750, but that’s certainly not a bad thing.
We will be the first to admit that we can all sometimes be a bit of a ‘Quartz Snob’ when it comes to the watch industry, but Breitling’s B50 have always been a bit of an exception to the rule. In this instance, the watch’s quartz movement is not a cost-cutting measure in any way, but rather something that unlocks a whole host of features and complications that would not be possible with a mechanical timepiece.
The highly accurate caliber, coupled with a large number of actual complications, all crammed into a proper Swiss-made case – titanium in this case – makes another actual home run. It’s basically an upgraded g-shock, and you never know you’ll need it.