REP NAVITIMER GUIDE

[Spatiumtemporis]

Very informative and concise guide! Thank you very much for your effort mate !

Sent from the RWI App

 

[andyr]

So, to sum-up the good post, the best Navitimer is the Navitimer World by BP factory, right?

Did they make different versions? Should we avoid some of the colors?
(Pity they don't say which factory on some TD sites)

It says in the guide that the blue is less accurate and how to spot the BP and JF.

 

[Sommelier]

Alright, got it.
Nearly set on a black World...but would you care to comment on the Montbrillant Datora?

 

[tkingjr]

If the TD doesn't mention the factory I avoid buying it. I have a Seawolf from one of those factories. The watch is a POS. I do have a Montbrillant Datora from JF. It is nice. I am not looking at photos enlarged 50X.

 

[cyblade]

Thanks, i have the JF and noticed the flaws you mentioned. Anyway i think it’s very well done. Also the leather strap.

 

[TingelTangelTom]

So why and because of what, did the Black NT World get rid of its Superrep Status on Omegad's List?

 

[chocolito]

Brilliant stuff chap been looking to buy a Navitimer , but totally confused . Now i know if i want a SUPER REP ( lol) , i need to go for the BP Navitimer World in black . ..Thanks job done much kudos.

 

[Eagl3]

So why and because of what, did the Black NT World get rid of its Superrep Status on Omegad's List?

It was never a superrep in the first place. NWBIG for sure, first class rep for sure, but the flaws make it far too easy to tell it from a gen. Super reps are pretty much visually indistinguishavle from gen even when directly compared side by side. The subdial shape is an instant tell. Crystal yellowing and subdued dial printing are also tells, albeit less immediately visible.

 

[andyr]

Eagl3 is right, but don't let that put you off, as he says its a first class rep and only a Breitling expert who looks at it closely will notice. Also yellowing of the crystals varies, mine isn't really yellow at all, however, it does show up more on the white/silver dial NWs

 

[TingelTangelTom]

Ok, i see.

I nonly noticed the yellow Xtal in comparison with the NT 01 from BP which is not yellow, at least not my Rep.
What can be done against it, which Xtals can be used as a more gen like replacement?

 

[andyr]

Ok, i see.

I nonly noticed the yellow Xtal in comparison with the NT 01 from BP which is not yellow, at least not my Rep.
What can be done against it, which Xtals can be used as a more gen like replacement?

That's a tough one, mate Dave T has done a post on this on RG in the Breitling section. Go give that a read as he's tried a few things without much success.

 

[rocker rocka rocky]

I’ve been meaning to write this for ages as the same questions crop up time and again about rep Navitimers and which one to buy, so this is a quick reference guide to what is available as of today and the main pros and cons of each model. I’m not going to the history of the Navitimer, as that’s freely available on the web and I would recommend going to Breitling Source or the Breitling Museum (this has all of the Navi models listed from 1954 to present), and for all the info on the modern Navis go to Breitling.com. I’m not providing info on any of the quartz models you can get. If I have missed anything or made a mistake please let me know and I’ll update.

Navitimer 01 (2011 – present)

This is probably the most popular and best known Navitimer. It has 3 sub dials, in the 3 position is the 30 minute sub, at 6 is the 12 hour sub and the sub at 9 shows seconds and runs constantly. Date window is between 4 and 5. The large chrono hand is red. The standard 01 comes with a black dial ONLY, with the choice of sticks or Arabic numerals. However, the 01 has been produced in different colours for limited editions, some with transparent casebacks and contrasting subs and datewheel colours. Standard 01 has black datewheel and white font and 01s have the same datewheel colour as the dial. Gen is powered by the inhouse B01 movement. Gen size is 43mm x 14.25mm. A larger 46mm 01 was introduced in 2014 but there is no rep of it.

There is no completely accurate rep of the 01 because the rep has to use the 7750 movement, which has a natural sub dial configuration in the 6, 9, & 12 positions. 6 and 9 subs are fine but the 30 minute sub at 12 is moved to the 3 position by using a transfer plate and gears. This makes the watch thicker overall and raises the dial above the datewheel resulting in a sunken appearance, which is an instant tell. The Breitling inhouse 01 movement also has a different sub dial spacing than the 7750, which moves the sub dials more towards the centre of the dial and leaves a gap to the dial indices, whereas the rep subs butt up to the indices printing and also squash the ‘swiss made’ text. There is only one real 01 rep and that is made by JF. Quality is pretty good and a lot of the old flaws such as the outer slide rule ring and the dial not lining up have been fixed, but indices on the bezel don't reach the dial as they do on the gen, as can be seen below.

Watch Archive are now offering the JF version with a datewheel fix which overcomes the sunken DW tell.

View attachment 92872

Navitimer Classic A23322 (2003 – 2011)

Also shown by the TDs as a Navitimer 01 is the BP version, but this is incorrect, as this is the A23322 Navi classic made from 2003 until 2011 when the 01 replaced it. This is actually a good rep of the A23322 generally and as you can see the datewheel is flush with the dial and the numbers between 1 and 9 are angled at 90 degrees to the others as in the gen. The flaw is that whereas the gen uses the Breitling 23 movement which is based on the 7753 movement and means there is no sunken datewheel, the rep has to use the 7750 and to achieve the flush datewheel does not have the transfer plate and gears, so the 30 minute sub dial at 3 does not work. The big chrono hand and the other subs still work, so it’s a matter of personal choice whether you can live without a working sub at 3. The A23322 is also smaller than the 01 at 41.8mm by 14.6mm and the rep is accurate here as well. These come in black, white and blue dials with Arabic or stick hour markers. The blue colour is not that accurate with the gen blue.

View attachment 92884

Navitimer World (2005 – present)

This is often referred to as GMT in the dealer websites, which is wrong, the GMT is a different model and dealt with below. As you can see the sub dials on the World are in the 6, 9 and 12 configuration which is standard for the 7750 movement so the issue of moving the sub dial at 12 is not present. The gen with the GMT complication uses the B24 movement which is based on the Valjoux 7754, this is basically a 7750 with a GMT complication. Size of this watch is 46mm by 15.6mm in gen form, reps are accurate on this.

There are basically 2 rep options for the World, one made by BP and a version made by JF. Both versions come in black, silver/white and blue dials. The BP blue dial is less accurate than the JF blue dial, as it has a slight green tinge, however, in all other aspects the BP version wins hands down and is the best Navi rep available in terms of accuracy and in black dial form is verging super rep. You can spot the JF version easily because the slide rule does not line up with the dial, the datewheel is more sunken and the font is wrong.

View attachment 92894

On the JF caseback MOSCOW is spelled MDSCUW and NEW YORK is spelled NEW YDRK and O is missing from the end of RIO.JANEIR. Also missing is the serial number between Noumea and Midway. BP is correct. Not much else to say really, its pretty clear cut.

View attachment 92895View attachment 93278

Navitimer GMT (2014 – present)

The biggest of the Navitimer range at a whopping 48mm, this looks like a larger version of the 01 with an additional GMT hand. Sub dials are in the 3, 6, 9 position and date window between 4 and 5, so an obvious difference to the World. This is not a good rep in terms of accuracy, made worse by an open caseback. Slide rule markings on the bezel don’t line up with the dial, date font is wrong and datewheel is badly sunken, Breitling logo is poor etc. One to avoid if you want a quality Breitling Navi rep.

View attachment 92912

Hi Thanks for this informative post, based on this i got biased towards BP rep for navitimer however when watchfinder TD shared the pictures of the BP rep I realised they are no where close to the original, it looked like something from the DHGATE, for example the mode which has numbers with chronograph, the numbers (9,3,6) were cut by the subdials of chronograph which was visible even in the low quality images, also the alignment of the bezel with the number and marking in the dial were total mismatched. Either watchfinder is sending me the wrong image and claiming it to be a BP rep or the BP rep isnt actually that good.

 

[andyr]

Hi Thanks for this informative post, based on this i got biased towards BP rep for navitimer however when watchfinder TD shared the pictures of the BP rep I realised they are no where close to the original, it looked like something from the DHGATE, for example the mode which has numbers with chronograph, the numbers (9,3,6) were cut by the subdials of chronograph which was visible even in the low quality images, also the alignment of the bezel with the number and marking in the dial were total mismatched. Either watchfinder is sending me the wrong image and claiming it to be a BP rep or the BP rep isnt actually that good.

Post the pics mate, this sounds a bit odd and which Navi is this for, the world or the A23322?

 

[rocker rocka rocky]

Post the pics mate, this sounds a bit odd and which Navi is this for, the world or the A23322?

http://slickpic.us/173776420MN
This was shared to me by watchfinder guys when i asked for the BP rep navitimer

 

[andyr]

[video]http://slickpic.us/173776420MN[/video]
This was shared to me by watchfinder guys when i asked for the BP rep navitimer

So there are 28 pics in there of various assorted watches, why did the TD send all of those? The pics of the BP A23322 Navi are fine, don't know what you are worried about. You do realise that the numbers on the bezel and dial do line up its just that the bezel has been turned which it is supposed to do.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[Thatwatchguy]

Great post...can't believe the Navi was not on my radar before reading this!

Anyone pick up the Navi world, any feedback on the ss bracelet quality? I tend to get carried away and go gen bracelet and straps but the gen 453A is particularly expensive!

https://www.intime03.co/breitling/1588-navitimer-gmt-ss-black-bp-1-1-best-edition-a7750-.html

 

[tkingjr]

I have the Navi 01 by JF that uses the 447A bracelet. The only difference is the 447A is 22/20mm instead of 24/20mm. I also looked at the Gen bracelet till I saw the price. I think the JF is nicely done. I don't think BP will disappoint you. Here is a link to the 447A.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hvqmu0fqnf...Louie.pdf?dl=0

 

[andyr]

Great post...can't believe the Navi was not on my radar before reading this!

Anyone pick up the Navi world, any feedback on the ss bracelet quality? I tend to get carried away and go gen bracelet and straps but the gen 453A is particularly expensive!

[video]https://www.intime03.co/breitling/1588-navitimer-gmt-ss-black-bp-1-1-best-edition-a7750-.html[/video]

Thanks Bud. I had 2 BP Navi Worlds, both on bracelet. Great watches, let the white/silver dial go and kept the black which is the best one. Bracelets are good. Some crystals are slightly yellow so show up more with white dial. Stick to black, seeing your other watches I think you'll love it.

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[Tyler29]

andyr : Thank you so much for your tips. I want to buy a Breitling Navitimer World with blue dial and steel bracelet. Thanks God, that I read your post before buying, because I would have taken the JF one from chazingtime... so I have to look after a BP one. You say that I shook take one with black dial , right? Is the blue dial one really so bad from BP? I am totally in love with the blue dial. Now can you recommend me a good TD? I would take intime... Best regards and have a good day!

 

[andyr]

If you like the blue dial just go for it, its a bit off that's all but it didn't stop me buying one. The rest of the watch is great and Ryan at Intime is a great TD.. Enjoy it when you get it.