REP NAVITIMER GUIDE

[Nanook65]

I just got the A23322 Navi classic and it just showed up brand new from Mary. I haven't had a chance to take pics yet, but I will and I will post some. It is a very nice watch. I was well aware that the subdial @ 3 is frozen and knew about the smaller size too. If there was a good rep of the Navitimer 01 I would buy it, but since there isn't, I think this is a pretty good alternative. I think I would prefer the bigger size and I know I would prefer a working subdial @3 but for now this is going to have to do.

 

[P1EMO]

Question: why there's no Navi B01 in 46mm since there's the 43 one? Actually should be exactly the same watch..

In 46 there's only the "World" one and not either with leather choice

Sent from my Mi MIX 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Brescia91]

Hi everyone,

first off all thanks andyr - great !

Im looking for a Breitling Navitimer 8 Automatic with bracelet or leather band.
Does anyone were to buy good reps of this modell

Thanks everyone

 

[Thesystem3]

Really good to know about the gap in the date wheel spacing. I was always wondering about that and saw it was a problem on most reps. Same with the font on the dates

 

[champsclary]

Is this still applicable to this date? and not outdated? Can anybody tell what's the flaws of this navitimer rep?https://www.[[Redacted due to phish...=product/product&path=205_221&product_id=5586
is this rep good?

 

[Bedum]

Not an expert but here’s what I see:

-it’s a 42 mm watch vs the gen 43mm
- it’s thicker, at least 2mm
- rose plated gold is not going to last long on the case back
- the three small quadrants are far less centered than the Gen
- sunken date well, this is known due to the 7750 movement

hope this helps!

 

[BreitFlyer]

I have had this watch for about 3 years now. Initially had to send it back as the rotor came loose and therefore the watch was very noisy whenever I moved my arm. Other than that and a sunken datewheel it's a very nice watch. The only other thing is the rotating bezel numbers don't 100% line up when you line up the 60 at the top. In comparison I have also owned the BP Navitimer world, which is supposed to be more of a super rep and it lines up perfect with no sunken datewheel.

Oh and the chrono hand is temperamental. But I don't really use it!

But it's a beautiful watch to look at.

 

[Thesystem3]

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

Hey Andy, any word or do you know any info on who’s currently cloning the Navitimer 1 Automatic 38? Really excited for someone to get their hands on it

 

[silver7447]

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

andyr I can't seem to find Watch Archive on RWI, are they still a reputable dealer? Otherwise, I'm interested in the best rep with all functional sub-dials. Thanks for such a great guide!

 

[chocman02]

Hi everyone,

Im trying to find the BP Navitimer A23322 (i can live with the non functioning subdial) but all i can seem to find are the ZFs and these OXF models:

https://puretimewatch.io/navitimer-01-ss-oxf-best-edition-black-white-dial-on-ss-bracelet-a7750.html

Are the OXF the same as BP? Any good themselves? Can anyone link me to a BP model for sale?

Appreciate any help

 

[Bedum]

BP does the Navitimer 01 with an A7750 movement: https://www.intime05.co/breitling/2...ral-markers-on-black-leather-strap-a7750.html

 

[chocman02]

Thanks so much! What is the consensus on the BP blue? I love it but if the rep is wsy off gen's hue i may go the black....

 

[Dhakajzhdb99]

Hi guys,

First time poster here. I've spent quite some time reading through this post and a number of posts on the forum over the last ~24 hours or so. What led me here is actually that I'm not a huge watch guy, but for sentimental reasons am toying with the idea of buying a Navitimer GMT (The real GMT model). Before I spend a considerable sum of money on a gen watch I wanted to be sure I would get the wear out of it that I want, which led me to do a bit of research and ended here.

I had a few questions that I was hoping someone with the knowledge of the replica market can help with? In short:

1. Is it still the case that no-one makes a good replica of the Navitimer GMT? I have noticed on a few replica sites that GMT is listed however as I read in this guide this is mistakenly listed
2. Assuming the above answer is no, what is widely considered the best rep navitimer model? In the first post it reads that the closest to real is the Navitimer World - Black Face - from BP. Would that still be the case currently?

Many thanks in advance,

 

[andyr]

Hi bud, the Breitling gmt v world situation has got both more and less confusing recently depending how you look at it. When i wrote this there was the 48mm GMT with sub dials at 3, 6 and 9 and the 46mm World with subs at 6, 9 and 12. Since then the 48mm GMT has been discontinued (the rep of this was poor), and the 46mm World has been renamed GMT. So now by default the TDs actually have the correct description.
You are correct in saying the BP black dial 46mm GMT on the TD sites is the best Navi rep, it really is very good and you will be delighted with it. The white/silver dial is also very good, i have had both. Just make sure when ordering and checking the qc pics that you are being sold the BP version and not the JF version, which is inferior.

 

[Dhakajzhdb99]

Many thanks for sharing, much appreciated. I think I will go ahead with the black dial.

From reading many posts it seems frowned upon to ask advice on purchase but is there a preferred trader for this particular model? I've looked around and noticed the "In-Time" guys seem good but any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks again,

 

[andyr]

All the TDs are on here because they have been tried and tested by members and admin. Some members prefer a particular TD over others but it really is a matter of personal choice. Choose some TDs and review their feedback and just go with what you feel, there's no right or wrong choice.

 

[Dhakajzhdb99]

Thanks Andy, much appreciated. Will do some more research and order soon.

 

[Bedum]

Intime or Puretime are safe bets.

 

[jazzmazz]

Just found this beautiful thread, thanks andyr your guide was very helpful. There's no doubt, the world (actually called gmt) version is the best navi rep available

here it is, with black dial :
https://www.intime05.co/breitling/1588-navitimer-gmt-ss-black-bp-1-1-best-edition-a7750-.html

Beautiful. I'd just put a black leather strap on it...

 

[Mufasa112]

it is really a shame that there is no rep of the Navitimer Chronograph 41 yet. as the interest in Breitling just isnt there anymore the chance of a 41 rep comes close to 0