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Best Rep to Gen Match

C

CrossCountry23

Do not accept unsolicited offers
13/12/23
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Hello All,

I'm looking to purchase a Breitling Rep.I chose Breitling because they have watches that are 10K or less, i'm not trying to flash that as it doesn't fit my lifestyle. My deciding factor is the best 1:1 rep to gen match. I have no preference for Models. I browsed through the forums. Found some useful resources (i.e. "Who makes the best guide" Spreadsheet, "Community guide to best Breitling replicas" albeit dated). Which Model would be the best choice, by best I am concerned with aesthetics primarily, I don't want the watch to be an easy tell that it is a rep. I understand this might be a difficult question, however I would appreciate your insights.


For Navitimers, I came this recent post

Which factory is good for a navitimer ?​


Very resourceful. User: BIONONE, said KOR came after GF and that the KOR manufactured reps don't suffer from the sunken date. However, from my understand and research they are Asian 7750s. Don't Asian 7750s by design have a sunken date issue?

If BIONONE is right and KORs do not have the sunken date. My next question which color is truest to the gen. I visited Jtime, I noticed he sells the KOR manufactured Breitlings.

Navitimer Chronograph 41mm SS/RG KOR 1:1 Best Edition Black Dial White Inner Bezel on SS Bracelet A7750
Navitimer Chronograph 41mm SS/RG KOR 1:1 Best Edition White Dial White Inner Bezel on SS Bracelet A7750
Navitimer Chronograph 41mm SS KOR 1:1 Best Edition Black Dial White Inner Bezel on SS Bracelet A7750
Navitimer Chronograph 41mm SS KOR 1:1 Best Edition White Dial White Inner Bezel on SS Bracelet A7750
 
BIONONE

BIONONE

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To answer your question regarding the sunken date - the native 7750 with the natural sub dial layout of 6, 9, 12 whereas the small second runs @9 does not suffer from a sunken date problem as the gears necessary for the date change are in their initial position.

Looking at the Navitimer 01 made by JF back in the day they remodeled the 7750 to have a different sub dial layout resulting in a new sub dial at 3 o‘clock compromising the date wheel position. It had to be recessed to make the new sub dial work when using the chronograph. In addition to that the sub dial spacing (towards the border of the minute chapter) was not correct compared to the gen B01 layout.

There were some modders who performed a tricky operation where the date disk was raised above the sub dials inner workings leading to eliminating their function.

The same was done directly by the factory with the old style navitimers made by BP - the date was super crisp (the font was also immaculate) and extremely flush without a shadow cast onto it by the dial. Look wise it was awesome but with faux sub dials besides the small second of course.

In addition to the faux sub dials the BP second hand was lacking the crispness of the anchor at the bottom of the „B“ which made its replacement necessary if your were after looks.

Then there was the (almost) legendary Navitimer World 46mm by BP in black (which was supposedly the best rep to gen match) also with the native sub dial layout of the 7750 with the correct date appearance and also crisp details on the dial and even bi-color luminova (green and blue).
Unfortunately it is no longer in production.

This lead to KOR after GF being the best manufacturer to date who is making the newer 41mm Navitimer without the winged B logo and with the 6, 9, 12 sub dial layout and awesome details in the overall finish.
The date with this is also crisp as seen on the Navitimer World with correct font and nice printing.

The bracelet comes with edges that would benefit from a slight repolish and an ultra sonic cleaning to get rid of the polishing residue from the factory. The included leather strap is also decent (not comparable to a genuine calf skin leather strap but good enough and definitely better than alls the fake croc stock straps). The clasp is of the newer style which i dont like but that is a question of taste.

Other factories are not worth mentioning in my opinion. All of the remaining navitimers come with open case backs with fake decorations which increase their already huge thickness and look aweful.
Included with them is always a sunken date and even worse - with incorrect date font.

Make sure to ask your TD if the KOR navitimer is in stock before ordering - i had trouble with some TDs stating KOR stopped production (which is often an excuse if the TD has no good relation to a specific factory).

Luckily CTime.io was abled to get me one. Others will too!
 
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BIONONE

BIONONE

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Oh and not to forget your second question regarding the dial color:

I chose black - the genuine counterpart got a bit of a sunray finish that shimmers in deep gray metallic hues. The rep doesn‘t have that. It is more comparable to a Navitimer B01. As there are so many different dial finishes i don’t really care - nobody would notice. Especially not on a discontinued reference.

In this regard i would say the white dial with its silversih champagne shine comes closer to the gen but then you would have to like the rose gold accents on the dial which boils down to personal taste - again.

The videos at trustytime really help to get a better idea of the KOR line up:

 
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C

CrossCountry23

Do not accept unsolicited offers
13/12/23
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Personally, I don't have a strong preference for color, so your information on the black dial not having the sunray finish is good to know. So the white dial with its silversih champagne shine coming closer to the genuine version works - already checking out the videos at trustytime to get a better understanding.
'm curious if there are any other replicas you would recommend that are known for being a true match to the genuine version that I could look into?
 
C

CrossCountry23

Do not accept unsolicited offers
13/12/23
9
1
3
BIONONE said:
Oh and not to forget your second question regarding the dial color:

I chose black - the genuine counterpart got a bit of a sunray finish that shimmers in deep gray metallic hues. The rep doesn‘t have that. It is more comparable to a Navitimer B01. As there are so many different dial finishes i don’t really care - nobody would notice. Especially not on a discontinued reference.

In this regard i would say the white dial with its silversih champagne shine comes closer to the gen but then you would have to like the rose gold accents on the dial which boils down to personal taste - again.

The videos at trustytime really help to get a better idea of the KOR line up:

Click to expand...
How can one clean the bracelet and remove the polishing?
 
BIONONE

BIONONE

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CrossCountry23 said:
How can one clean the bracelet and remove the polishing?
Click to expand...
it is really not a big deal - just remove the bracelet from the case and carefully pins it under running water with some dish soap. Make sure to clean and dry it properly after.

If you got an ultra sonic cleaner - it will work even better.

After the procedure make sure to tighten the screws so they don't get lost while wearing the watch.

You can also skip all this and just enjoy the bracelet out of the box - this is just some OCD type of maintenance for the geeks ;)

Sharp edges wear off after a couple of month - not dramatic.
 
Rx4Time

Rx4Time

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mrsullivan said:
They're good indeed 😍

Click to expand...
I concur...I'm not biased or anything.... ;)

PXL_20221122_134549332769627976b32fe96.jpg
 
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