Giving back to this community, a quick review of the GF 43mm. I don't have a gen to compare to, but I think most people I meet have never seen a gen either.
Looks: 10/10
I think it looks absolutely awesome. Not only does it look really good on its own, with no obvious visual flaws, I've also crosschecked with gen pix and this GF looks pretty much spot on IMO. Breitling design is solid. It has very shiny metal pieces with nice mix of brushed areas, and the dial is pretty understated with the matte finish though still very crisp looking. The blue is a nice shade. I absolutely love the red second hand, which isn't in all of the Avenger variants. At 43 mm (according to spec), the bezel without color makes it wear relatively smaller despite the desirable chunky look.
Build Quality: 7/10
I'm not expecting a masterpiece here, so I'm definitely above satisfied despite some flaws. Again, the positive is that I think the build, like case shape, bezel, and bracelet, *looks* the part so I'm pretty comfortable with wearing it outside. Bracelet adjustment was same as gen. But for transparency, these are the issues I've found so far:
1. The watch crown looks great, but using it gives me pause. Both the screwing action and the stem feels off and doesn't give me confidence of any longevity.
2. Half the bezel doesn't sit tightly, has a spongy action when I press down. This isn't a bit deal TBH. The bezel click action is super crisp and very satisfying.
3. The biggest issue I'm having is the clasp where it's very difficult to unclasp the small cap.
Bracelet rattles a bit. Movement is pretty noisy winding on the wrist. Nothing too crazy.
I would recommend this. It's reasonable value. It's running at +8s/d (QC was showing +0/d lol). I rotate watches a lot so good enough for me.
