REP NAVITIMER GUIDE

[Raddave]

and back to 0 for post whoring

 

[Smoke2much]

Hi,

I bought Classic A23322 (2003 – 2011) in 2010 from Ruby, a TD that I think is no longer active. I'm not sure what factory it came from, but I suspect it was BP. The looks were great with a few flaws: date was sunken, AR coating not so impressive and outer bezel "teeth" were too rough ruining selves of some of my jackets. Everything worked, for 8years, as it should have, but water seems to heave entered it and the bezel got stacked, and power reserve went down (also causing trouble to start the watch after longer rest). Also the crown fell off, so I replaced it with one without logo.
Then I decided to go for a new one and got JF Nav01 from Ryan. That one has much finer bezel and the AR is fantastic - like there's no glass at all! However, apart from other already mentioned flaws, sub-dials have metallic shine (rather than mother of pearl), which bothers me. Inner dial markings are also metallic, while text under logo and "Swiss Made" are pale white (I have a black dial) - not sure if that's the way it should be?
One other thing: I cannot reset chrono stop watch with lower pusher, which was working fine on the old one! I can start and stop it with the upper one, while the lower seems to restart it when it's stopped, rather than resetting it!? Is this a known drawback or it's just my copy that has this kind of flaw?
Having mixed feelings about it, I also bought Superocean II Noob that seems to be a super-Rep. AR coating is not as transparent as on 01 JF and has slight bluish film, which is the only thing I'm not so sure about! Perhaps someone with a knowledge of the Gen can confirm if it's "normal"?

 

[andyr]

Hi,

I bought Classic A23322 (2003 – 2011) in 2010 from Ruby, a TD that I think is no longer active. I'm not sure what factory it came from, but I suspect it was BP. The looks were great with a few flaws: date was sunken, AR coating not so impressive and outer bezel "teeth" were too rough ruining selves of some of my jackets. Everything worked, for 8years, as it should have, but water seems to heave entered it and the bezel got stacked, and power reserve went down (also causing trouble to start the watch after longer rest). Also the crown fell off, so I replaced it with one without logo.
Then I decided to go for a new one and got JF Nav01 from Ryan. That one has much finer bezel and the AR is fantastic - like there's no glass at all! However, apart from other already mentioned flaws, sub-dials have metallic shine (rather than mother of pearl), which bothers me. Inner dial markings are also metallic, while text under logo and "Swiss Made" are pale white (I have a black dial) - not sure if that's the way it should be?
One other thing: I cannot reset chrono stop watch with lower pusher, which was working fine on the old one! I can start and stop it with the upper one, while the lower seems to restart it when it's stopped, rather than resetting it!? Is this a known drawback or it's just my copy that has this kind of flaw?
Having mixed feelings about it, I also bought Superocean II Noob that seems to be a super-Rep. AR coating is not as transparent as on 01 JF and has slight bluish film, which is the only thing I'm not so sure about! Perhaps someone with a knowledge of the Gen can confirm if it's "normal"?

Regarding the chrono, I think its just your copy. Also not sure its BP, or its the older version, as they only intro'd the A23322 in the last few years. Are your dates from 1 to 9 angled differently to the rest? Blue tinge to the AR is normal for Breitlings, my gen has the same.

 

[Smoke2much]

Thank you Andyr,
Do you have gen Navitimer or some other Breitling? I wonder if gen AB0120 should have metallic shine to markings and also the sundials?
The old one was really beautiful, except for lack of AR and somewhat rough bezel. I never bothered with orientation of dates, so I'm not sure... Also can't check it right now - I will check as soon as I'm back home. Oh, and the red marks on that one faded quite a bit in those 8 years...

 

[andyr]

Thank you Andyr,
Do you have gen Navitimer or some other Breitling? I wonder if gen AB0120 should have metallic shine to markings and also the sundials?
The old one was really beautiful, except for lack of AR and somewhat rough bezel. I never bothered with orientation of dates, so I'm not sure... Also can't check it right now - I will check as soon as I'm back home. Oh, and the red marks on that one faded quite a bit in those 8 years...

I have a gen Superocean Heritage 46 mate.

 

[RasAlGhul007]

andyr Thanks for the very clear, concise, accurate, and informative post. I have been struggling for a few days now as to what the differences between all of the Rep Navitimers were, if any at all.
Seems like Navi World is the best choice with Navi 01 as the next best choice if you can live without a 30min sub dial.

 

[andyr]

Not quite right there mate. You're spot on with the Navi World from BP, but the Navi 01 without the 30 minute sub is actually a Navi Classic, A23322. Its also made by BP. JF do make a Navi 01 but it has a sunken datewheel and wrongly spaced sub dials. Confusing I know but have another read of the guide and it may become clearer.

 

[CosmoKat]

Awesome review dude. Thank you

 

[Isaiahfifty3]

My navitimer 01 looks great and if you are like most people you wont notice the spacing issues or the sunken date wheel. It was my first rep purchase. The band looks fine but its def some sort of plstic material.

 

[Tommy544]

Isaiahfifty3 Hi, did you buy the 01 model made by JF? If so, can you please recommend me a dealer you bought it from? From what I've read online, JF stopped the production of their 01 and dealers seem to be out of stock.

 

[tabamoura]

I ordered a World JF and had to substitute by the BP cause nobody had the JF. I'm happy with the BP version though. The blue is not exactly the same but I like the color better than the Gen

 

[Tommy544]

That's too bad. I really can't get over the fact that the minutes subdial on BP does not work. Function has precedence over some tiny details being slightly wrong for me. I guess I'll have to wait if someone will come up with some new Navitimer model.

 

[Katarsis]

Will a gen bracelet fit on a Navitimer world from BP?

is it possible to get crystal with 2xAR to it?

I'm also on the lookout for a gen dial.

All the best

 

[tabamoura]

That's too bad. I really can't get over the fact that the minutes subdial on BP does not work. Function has precedence over some tiny details being slightly wrong for me. I guess I'll have to wait if someone will come up with some new Navitimer model.

My Chrono is fully functional. What BP model has a non-working minute subdial?

 

[andyr]

If you read the guide that is the subject of this sticky it will tell you.

 

[eta2893]

andyr So to sum up, no one can still rep navitimers perfectly and BP are still on top of the game?

 

[emperorjewane]

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

Quick question mate.

I was looking to purchase a black (crocodile strap) Breitling Navitimer a23322, in 42mm size. However, the only reps I find are of the Navitimer 01 in 43mm such as this one:

http://chazingtime04.co/products/navitimer-01-bp-maker-11-ss-black-dial-black-leather-strap-a7750


Do TD's not make a a23322 version?

 

[andyr]

Quick question mate.

I was looking to purchase a black (crocodile strap) Breitling Navitimer a23322, in 42mm size. However, the only reps I find are of the Navitimer 01 in 43mm such as this one:

http://chazingtime04.co/products/nav...er-strap-a7750


Do TD's not make a a23322 version?

TDs don't make them Bud, they buy from the factories. This an A23322 made by BP and is the one you want, the TDs wrongly name them as 01, you can see the serial number A23322 on the caseback in the pictures. This is also an old picture from when they first came out, as it has the wrong subdial hand at the 9 o clock position, which has since been corrected, but just check this on the QC pics when you get them. They should all be the same. Great watch this.

 

[corinth]

what I also realized is the Navitimer World sold on Puretime has the "Swiss Made" missing, which is a quite obvious lack compared to the gen. Anybody knows where I can find the BP version mentioned above in the guide?

 

[andyr]

what I also realized is the Navitimer World sold on Puretime has the "Swiss Made" missing, which is a quite obvious lack compared to the gen. Anybody knows where I can find the BP version mentioned above in the guide?

Breitling have dropped the 'World' name and now call everything GMT on their updated site. The original Navi World didn't have Swiss Made on it so its not a tell at all. Also Breitling have a history of sometimes putting Swiss Made on and sometimes not. Try any of the TDs for a BP Navi World, but make sure its the BP version not JF.