PARIS — Luxury watchmakers are flying high again, buoyed by a spectacular recovery in sales last year, and the optimism reflected in a flood of new models on show at the Salon de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva this week is also palpable in vintage watch salerooms.

For many, last year marked a full recovery from the global crisis that hit the market in 2008.
In the new watch sector, figures tallied and estimated by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry indicate that the Swiss industry’s export sales for the whole of last year probably reached 16 billion Swiss francs, or $16.5 billion, their second-highest level ever and just short of the record 17 billion francs achieved in 2007, according to Jean-Daniel Pasche, the federation’s president.
In the reseller’s market, the global auction houses also had an impressive year.

For Christie’s, global watch sales in 2010 reached $91.2 million, the highest ever reported by an auction house in the watch category, topping the previous record of $88 million, set by Christie’s in 2007.

“This was quite a spectacular year, proving that watches are as hot as ever,” said Aurel Bacs, international head of watches at Christie’s, in an interview from Geneva.
“Regardless of the state of world economies, watches have increased in popularity among the planet’s population,” Mr. Bacs added.

For Sotheby’s, global sales topped $40 million, nearly doubling the previous year’s total of $20.6 million, in line with what Geoffroy Ader, European head of watches, described as a stellar year for auctions in all categories.
“We were fortunate to catch the interest of collectors from around the globe, with timepieces for every taste and every type of collector,” Mr. Ader said in Geneva.

Smaller, more specialist houses, in contrast, fared less well. Antiquorum ended 2010 with $45.8 million in global watch sales, down nearly 30 percent from $65.2 million in 2009, despite holding the same number of auctions.
“Antiquorum restructured on a global basis in 2010, resulting in a temporary, and expected, downturn in turnover,” said Charles Tearle, a director of Antiquorum New York.

Still, Mr. Tearle said he shared the general optimism about current trends. “Now the restructuring is complete, and we expect to see an increase in global results for 2011,” he said.

Also on the downside, Patrizzi & Co. Auctioneers, the house created by Antiquorum’s former owner, Osvaldo Patrizzi, ended operations in Geneva and New York in late 2010, undone mainly by problems with its online bidding system, a core part of its competitive strategy.

Mr. Patrizzi plans to resume operations in Hong Kong sometime this year, focusing on the Chinese market, said Leo Verhoeven, its chief financial officer.

One brand, Patek Philippe, was overwhelmingly responsible for raising watch sale revenues last year, auction house tallies show.
Christie’s reported that it sold five watches last year that fetched more than $1 million — two more than in 2009 and all of them Patek Philippes.

The highest grossing lot last year was a 1943 Patek Philippe reference 1527, a gold perpetual calendar wristwatch that sold in May at a Christie’s Geneva sale for 6.25 million francs.

Sotheby’s did well in the historic watch category, selling a Cartier desk timepiece dated 1926 for £79,250, or $125,000 — 10 times its estimate — in London in December. It also sold a Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytona stainless steel wristwatch, estimated at 60,000 to 80,000 francs, for 464,500 francs in Geneva in November.

The relatively swift recovery of the watch market demonstrated that the earlier slide reflected more a generalized loss of confidence during the financial crisis than a serious crisis of overvaluation, Mr. Bacs said, explaining that starting in autumn 2008, the global economic downturn dampened sellers’ confidence, with consignors hesitating to part with their timepieces.

“After a difficult fall 2008, marked by Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy and later the Madoff affair, we were faced with serious seller hesitation to consign,” he said. “No one knew how badly things could turn out.”

Despite a difficult second half of 2008, Christie’s managed to end the year with $70.2 million in global watch sales, against Sotheby’s $43 million. The downward trend continued in 2009, with $67.2 million at Christie’s and $20.6 million at Sotheby’s.
“Still, there was never any indication of waning buyer’s interest even during the crisis,” Mr. Bacs said.

While financial markets remained in turmoil, Christie’s managed to obtain the consignment of several important private watch collections, including the “Connoisseur’s Vision” collection secured in the summer of 2009.

“The decision to sell that collection was made by the owner in 2009, based on that year’s half-year results, while the world was traversing a severe financial crisis,” Mr. Bacs said. “The spring of 2009 was a definite turning point in our market.”

The Connoisseur’s Vision collection, sold in a four-part auction starting in autumn 2009 and culminating in the record-breaking sale of the Patek Philippe for $5.7 million last spring, achieved a total of $19 million, making it the most valuable private collection of wristwatches ever sold at auction.

For Christie’s, that consignment, by itself, was a sign of the independence of the watch market from global economic conditions.
“There is correlation between the watch market and the economy — but not necessarily parallel behavior,” Mr. Bacs said. “In some instances, the worse the economy is faring, the better certain markets will do. When confidence is undermined in the financial markets, investors take a closer look at art, watches, diamonds or real estate as an alternative investment class.”

Last year, the highest increase in demand for new watches, according to the Swiss watch industry figures, came from Greater China, with Hong Kong’s share of Swiss watch exports exceeding 2.8 billion francs in 2010 — an increase of about 46 percent compared with 2009 — and mainland China importing watches valued at over 966 million francs, nearly 55 percent more than the previous year.
In the resale market, as reflected in the major auction houses, a similar phenomenon occurred.

“Whatever the impact of the global crisis, we were more than compensated by the demand that came out of China,” said Mr. Bacs, of Christie’s.

For Sotheby’s, too, “the largest growth in demand for auction watches in 2010 came out of Greater China,” Mr. Ader said.
Bidder registrations allow auction houses to assess the geographic provenance of buyers and bidders in a sale.

“Ten years ago, there were no Chinese bidders at watch auctions,” Mr. Bacs noted. “At Christie’s last Geneva auction, of the 800 registered bidders, 50 percent were Asian, and a quarter from mainland China. Our Hong Kong sales have an even a higher percentage.”

Mr. Tearle of Antiquorum reported a similar trend. “We have seen a 20 percent increase in Asian bidders over the last two years,” he said.

To accommodate the increase in Asian participation, Antiquorum held two Hong Kong auctions last year, up from just one in 2009, posting a sales total of $10.3 million in that venue, double its results in the previous year.
This year, Antiquorum plans to add one more Hong Kong sale to its calendar, while also continuing to preview its New York and Geneva sales in Asia.

If economic predictions are accurate, the upward trend in the watch market should continue beyond this year. The retailing and consumer products sectors, including watches and other luxury goods, will remain “strong and steady” in Asia, according to a report issued in December by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which predicts an average 6 percent growth in those Asia-Pacific markets through 2014.

“For many collectors, parking their funds in a fine timepiece is an intelligent choice,” Mr. Bacs said. “With a fine Patek Philippe, an exceptional Rolex, a rare Lange & Söhne, in limited series and good condition, how wrong can you go?”

Nothing says “I love you” on Valentine’s Day, or any other time for that matter, like a luxury Swiss watch. Every man and woman should own at least one very nice watch and in some cases three or four. There are various names that are considered to be distinguishing in the watch industry and while some are more affordable than others the meaning behind a nice watch says a lot. You can’t go wrong with the classics. Below are some men’s and ladies Swiss watches in varying price ranges.

Swiss Blancpain gives men a reason not to worry with the 2011 version of their "Saint Valentin" watch for Valentine's day. The 2011 watch is very classic in style, and even the iconic Blancpain features are subdued. The watch is a triple calendar style with moon phase. Meaning it has an annual calendar complication, the time with a subsidiary seconds dial, and a smiling moon phase indicator.

The watch is mostly white in tone, with a 35mm wide steel case, bezel lined with 49 diamonds, more diamonds on the mother-of-pearl dial, and two hearts. No Valentine's day watch can resist the inclusion of red hearts! The first is used as the hand on the date indicator dial on the watch face, and other other is a bit higher-end on the luxury scale being a heart-shaped ruby located on the bezel at the 12 o'clock position.

Blancpain includes their in-house made Calibre 6763 automatic movement that is visible through the sapphire caseback window. A watch like this feels like a men's model turned femme - which inherently it is. The watch doesn't exclude girliness, but it rather a stately gift for a mature and sophisticated woman (that has a penchant for fine mechanical watches). Blancpain will make only 99 pieces of this 2011 Saint Valentin watch and it should be available early next year. Interestingly enough, it comes in a box that is little locked treasure chest. There is an accompanying white gold heart (wearing a corset) that is opened to reveal the key. Personally I would want a written letter from her saying that whatever is in the box will satisfy her Valentine's day expectations.
For Him:
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner
Unveiled in 1953, the Submariner was the first watch water-resistant to 330 feet. Its combination of unparalleled elegance and spy-friendly versatility appealed to Sean Connery’s James Bond. MSRP $5,175

Omega Speedmaster
The first watch to go to the moon (Buzz Aldrin and his Apollo 11 colleagues were wearing them when they touched down on July 20, 1969). Sporty and sturdy, this automatic chronograph is among the most accurate and affordable you can buy. MSRP $3,000

TAG Heuer Monaco
Issued in 1969, this stainless-steel classic was the first automatic chronograph to feature a water-resistant square case. MSRP $3,195

IWC Portuguese
Developed in 1938 in response to Portuguese tradesmen’s request for an oversized watch with precise, pocket-watch movement, this is IWC’s signature model. Available in every imaginable iteration, from the classic automatic chronograph to a “perpetual calendar” model, which features a moon-phase indicator that varies by only one day every 577 years. MSRP $19,400.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
The Swiss company revolutionized sport watch design when it introduced this model, with its octagonal case and eight visible screws, in 1972. The automatic, stainless-steel Royal Oak is now available with all kinds of bells and whistles, from chronograph to tachymeter, and is a big hit with golfers like Vijay Singh. MSRP $15,700

For Her:

Ladies Rolex Presidents

The Ladies’ Rolex President stands as a representation of one’s accomplishments and status. A prime choice of female politicians, executives, and actresses alike, the President watches are adorned with varying amounts of diamonds which sparkle magnificently on any wrist. Rolex Super President models differ from traditional Ladies’ Presidents with the additional diamonds which are set on the band and lugs, creating a timepiece which makes a bold statement regarding a lady’s refinement and distinction.

La Grande Classique de Longines
Capturing the soul and the style of Longines’ earliest design tradition, La Grande Classique de Longines watches have until today largely retained their original appearance and proportions. Changing expectations and technical advances have now prompted Longines to update their design, not least by introducing a larger case size and offering an even broader choice of subtly refined dial faces. But the slim, sleek La Grande Classique de Longines case profile remains unchanged, as does the cool elegance that gives this collection an appeal as enduring as the classic tradition itself.
L4.191.7.11.6

L4.191.9.11.0

Omega New Constellation
Omega has re-designed its iconic luxury watch line – Constellation collection which was created in 1982 and developed into a milestone in 1995 when super model Cindy Crawford started worked as Omega Ambassador. Constellation collection is one of the world’s most recognizable luxury timepieces with the famous “claws” that look beautiful and firmly hold the sapphire crystal together with the case.

The 2009 Omega Constellation watches are highly anticipated by global Omega fans as there has not been a new Constellation in years. And these fresh Constellation watches with dynamic and contemporary look can live up to expectations of their fans. They fully present new design features and technical innovation while respecting Constellation’s precious heritage. If you like matching his and hers watches Omega also has a men's line of New Constellation watches.

A fine Swiss timepiece is an excellent way to say "I love you" and every time that the timepiece is viewed. Notice all prices are the manufacturer’s suggested retail price ( MSRP). You will find all of these fine Swiss watches at substantially reduced prices at the Luxury Swiss Watch Shop

The zest of the new Breitling watch is the brand’s exclusive, patented magnetic push-piece system concealed inside the case. The system allows to activate the timepiece through the metal case with no direct mechanical contact. Most chronograph watches cannot be activated while diving, but this system provides the Avenger Seawolf Chrono with the total water-resistance and functionality at a record 1,000-meter depth.

The Breitling watch also boasts the brand’s exclusive thermocompensated SuperQuartz TM movement, Breitling 73 calibre. The outstanding COSC-certified mechanism offers the precision ten times greater than the precision provided by common quartz movements. The SuperQuartz TM movement measures times to 1/10 of a second and indicates intermediary times.

The watch provides a range of useful functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date, split-seconds chronograph, and direction memory.

The steel case of the Avenger Seawolf Chrono measures 45.4 mm in diameter and is provided with ultra-resistant carbon coating. The case incorporates a ratcheted unidirectional rotating bezel. The face of the watch is shielded by a convex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides.

The Breitling watch demonstrates a flange with the compass card to be used for memorizing directions above and below water.

The volcano black dial is completed with luminescent hour-markers and hands, including the central direct-drive seconds-hand and split-seconds hand. You will notice the 12-hour chronograph counter at 10 o’clock, while the 1/10-second counter is positioned at 2 o’clock. The date window is found at 4 o’clock.

The Breitling Avenger Seawolf Chrono Blacksteel watch, reviewed by Watches.InfoNIAC.com, is presented on the brand’s signature black Diver Pro rubber strap or Ocean Racer strap with holes. The bold timepiece will be available in a limited number of 2,000 pieces.

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Breitling has unveiled its most recent horologic innovation to the amazement of the watch industry. The new B01 chronograph movement is the luxury watchmaker's first completely in-house manufactured complication. The new features in this movement distinguish it from any other Swiss movement on the market and set a new bench mark for watch-making excellence.
Breitling has always shared a close and essential relationship with aviation, sports, and industry. It is no surprise that the maker of the first wrist chronograph and first fully automatic chronograph would pursue a higher standard of precision in its designer timepieces. By appropriating itself of the entire movement manufacturing process for the B01, Breitling can now oversee every detail of the chronograph's development.

The B01 project has created a revolutionary specialized assembly process that guarantees the integrity of each watch's quality. Movement along the assembly chain is conducted by an ultra sophisticated computer program that monitors and routes each movement throughout the various paths of assembly. The program alternates the movement's components in two phases. The first phase is fully automated and conducted exclusively by precise robotic arms. This ensures a better quality product as these machines have greater precision than a human hand. The second phase directs the components of the movement to a separate facility where partial manual assembly is required. Upon exiting the assembly chain, the movements are sent to the C.O.S.C. for extremely rigorous testing and analyzes.

The caliber B01 is available exclusively in its C.O.S.C certified version, with accompanying documentation to prove its clearance of highly meticulous precision testing. It is considered a high frequency movement at 28,800 vibrations per hour. The new Chronomat B01 features this new movement, and encases it beautifully in stainless steel, steel & gold, or 18k rose gold. This timepiece has been developed with endurance in mind and boasts 500 meters of water resistance. Another feature that has created excitement over this new Breitling movement is an optimized column-wheel device that provides a clean start/stop function without a jump of the hand. The movement is equipped with a 70 hour reserve which is an impressive feat considering its sleek shape. A patented self setting device for the resetting hammers does away with the traditional need to have a watchmaker correct each individual movement.

As the crowning achievement of this great watch manufacturer's 125th anniversary, the caliber B01 ushers in a new era for chronograph movements, and validates Breitling as the world leader in precision time-keeping instruments for professionals.
Get the greatest deals and steals from WatchesOnNet.Com on timepieces, women's, men's, and ladies watches to include Breitling, Movado, and Cartier Watches.
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The difference between a $500 watch and a $50,000 one is often in the movement.

The ground floor of the Roger Dubuis factory, a top-tier manufacturer specializing in artistically extroverted timepieces, comes as a shock. This is one of Geneva's temples of haute horlogerie, a place where you'd expect the loudest sound to be the nearly inaudible cricket-song of a hand file against brass. But in this gigantic room blue- and white-coated technicians tend enormous, sleek machines. The air is redolent of oil and coolant, the ceiling is strung with pipes and conduit, and, here and there, warning signs and bundled cables testify to the huge amounts of electricity being consumed.

It's in a room like this that virtually every watch, from the humblest $100 automatic to the costliest limited-edition mechanical marvel, starts its life. The components are made by supersophisticated industrial robots--computer-guided automatic milling machines and spark-erosion fabricators. Which brings up a question: If this is so, why do watch prices range from less than the cost of a decent lunch to more than that of a comfortable suburban house?

The answer lies one floor up, where those raw parts undergo a dramatic transformation. Here the workers wear blue or white coats, too, but otherwise you've gone back in time. There are no robots, only tools that would be recognized by a watchmaker from a century ago. At one workbench, a woman uses a spinning boxwood disk to polish a delicate sine wave curve into the flanks of tiny brass-gear teeth. Nearby, another woman passes a movement repeatedly under a spinning disk charged with jeweler's rouge. As she does so rows of gleaming parallel stripes appear, like ripples in a frozen pond; these are the famous Geneva stripes, or Côtes de Genève, one of the signature movement decorations of the Genevan school of watch decorating. At yet another workstation, a young man works with painstaking slowness to give a tiny irregular movement bridge a beveled flank so that it catches light like the facet of a diamond. Each stroke is done with the care of a vascular surgeon stitching shut a hair-thin blood vessel.

These are the finisseurs (finishers), and it's their time-consuming, labor-intensive work that holds the answer to the question I posed earlier. The art of movement decoration has been part of watchmaking since the first table clocks were made during the Renaissance. Over the centuries national style developed: the reserved gilt-and–blued steel stolidity of English chronometers; the glitteringly sensuous Genevan approach; the superbly flat dress pocket watches of France, made as thin as possible so as to avoid disrupting the tailored fit of a waistcoat. Whatever the style, the finish of a watch movement was one of the purest expressions of a craftsman's pride, as in most cases nobody but the watchmaker himself even knew it was there.

Which is still the case: An appreciation of finishing is an insider passion even today. But a basic understanding of it can give the nonfanatic a new perspective on the price-value relationship of timepieces. Here are key points to remember.
Respect the robots. A modern CNC cutter or spark- erosion machine can turn out parts that without further finishing can be assembled into high-precision micromachines. The 'bots make possible entry-level mechanical watches from Swatch, Seiko, Citizen, Orient, and Timex of a precision that would have been impossible at such a price point (often less than $500) a few decades ago.
More finishing does not mean more accuracy. Top-grade hand-finishing is really the connoisseur's delight--beauty in the eye of the beholder who knows how to recognize it.

Quality of finish and price tag don't always parallel. If a particular model becomes a collectors' darling (like the stainless steel Rolex Daytona chronograph), or if a brand is just plain hot, price follows suit, even if the watch has little or no hand-finishing.
Precious metals and gemstones change the equation. A machine-finished watch with one or both can cost more than one that is hand-finished. Rarity and peculiar provenance can make a watch expensive regardless of finishing.
Absent those factors, higher price means more finishing. A $10,000 watch, as a rule, has more hand-finishing than a $6,000 one.
At the high end, it's the finisseur. His painstaking work bestows a pedigree price. A $1,000 chronograph with industrial finishing becomes a $25,000 one with hand-finishing.

Above that, complication comes into play. At the very high end, it drives price as much as finishing.
Finally, finishing is a three-tiered cake: basic (robot), machine, and hand. Mechanical watches that sell for less than $1,000 compose the base. They have little or no finish beyond that produced by the robots that manufacture the movement. In the middle ($1,000–$12,000) are mechanical models with varying degrees of machine-executed decorative finish: attractive beveling, blued-finish screws, gleaming countersinks, and engraving. Watches at the upper end of this layer also have some hand-finishing. In the top tier ($12,000 and up) hand-finishing starts to predominate. North of $20,000, you're getting the full-on haute treatment, horology's equivalent of haute couture. A premium-grade movement like Vacheron's caliber 1400, the caliber 215 from Patek, or the caliber 3120 automatic from Audemars Piguet, is a singular object: The hand-finishing means no two are exactly alike.

And the expense is huge. The finest haute horlogerie brands train most of their finisseurs in-house. Just learning how to bevel a flank properly can take anywhere from one to one-and-a-half years. Learning how to black-polish steel to a mirror finish, hand-engrave a rotor, or apply Geneva stripes of just the right depth requires a touch that has to be passed down directly--there are few manuals to go by.

It's fair to ask why a top-notch timepiece is so expensive. But when you multiply the number of hours it takes to hand-finish just one part--more than half a day in some cases--by the number of components in the movement and then by the number of years it takes to learn how to finish a piece of metal the size of a fly antenna, it's easier to see how the price starts to add up. It's the hundreds of hours of human skill concentrated in a cubic centimeter.

Images of this Breiting really do not do it justice. You have wear it appreciate the absolute ease of legibility and well it compliments most any attire. When looking at this watch, you have to understand part of it is Breiting's attempt to create a handsome diving watch unique from the gold standard which is the Rolex Submariner. While the Rolex is handsome watch by all measures, the Breiting arguably takes a more masculine approach with this diving watch from the company that specializes in dead-on reliability for pilots, drivers, and anyone else needing a trusted time keeper and measuring device at their side.

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As investors continue to ponder whether the recovery in markets is sustainable, some may find that this is the time to put their money in an asset class that lasts.

The downturn has hit the luxury watch market hard. Luxury watch exports from Switzerland, where many of the premium brands are manufactured, have seen a decline of 25 percent over the past 9 months and the slump in demand was especially severe for watches made of precious metals.

However, the picture for "retail" luxury watches seems to bear little resemblance with the "collectible" luxury watch markets for brands such as Patek Philippe, Jaeger Le Coultre or Vacheron Constantin.

Sales of luxury collectible watches have been more resilient in the crisis and have shown buoyant demand as old and new investors fled into the prestigious asset class. Auctions held in May by auctioneers like Antiquorum, Sotheby's and Christie's clocked up a total of 90 million francs.

At a recent collectors' wristwatches auction held by auctioneer Antiquorum in Geneva, the sale of a platinum Patek Philippe set a new world record for its kind and sold for 114 000 Swiss francs ($114,000), while other auctions have seen prices for rare time pieces even reach the million dollar mark in the last several years.
Timing your purchase of a collectible watch may be more important than ever. Jon Cox from Kepler Capital Markets says collectible watches may also offer inflation protection as investors may be worried of higher price levels in the future. He adds that in some countries, a Rolex is even considered a currency.

Investors wishing to avoid the volatility of traditional asset classes, such as stocks or commodities, may find watches are a timeless investment. But as with many things in life, this investment is one for the long-term and requires investors’ patience: the value of collectible watches increases with time.

While age for most other asset classes is associated with depreciation and loss of value, a collectible watch investment ticks differently. The older a timepiece is, the more value it usually holds.

A word of caution for those who hope to make a quick profit: the market for collectible watches is very illiquid as these valuable timepieces are either passed on from one generation to the next or can only be bought and resold at auctions.

The return, and hence the retail price of a watch depends on many factors, beyond just the design and the quality.

Many experts cite the emotional value as being one of the most essential characteristics of a watches’ price: how much a luxury watch will fetch often purely depends on how much a buyer is willing to pay.

Tips for investing in collectible watches:
• Reputation is key: Buy a brand with a long history and excellent reputation
• Age does matter: Timepieces’ value increase with its age. Signs of wear and tear show a watch is authentic and has history, while a polishing only reduces a watches’ value
• Rarity drives valuation higher: The fewer time pieces of one series exist, the more it will be able to fetch in an auction
• Quality is King: As with other assets, the quality of the collectible watch, including its movement, are essential to its value

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Continuing to innovate for professional flyers, in the mid-1990s Breitling introduced the Emergency, which features a built-in micro-transmitter that broadcasts on the 121.5 MHz aircraft emergency frequency. This is used as a backup to airborne beacons, and its signal can be picked up within a range of up to 90 nautical miles. The Emergency has been put to the test on several occasions, most famously in rescuing two British pilots who crashed their helicopter in Antarctica.

Breitling has also been at the forefront in advancing the mechanics of the chronograph timepiece. In 1923, it was the first watch manufacturer to introduce an independent push piece for the chronograph, enabling the start and return-to-zero function (previously performed by the winding-crown). Then in 1934, Breitling added a second push piece to the chronograph enabling either cumulative or incremental time recording.

Product Description
Stainless Steel Case & Bracelet, Bi-directional Rotating Bezel, Blue Dial, Luminous Hands & Sticks Hour Markers, Date Window at the 3 o'clock, Chronograph Feature, 2nd Time Zone Feature, Fitted with the "Slide Rule" aka "Navigation Computer" Which Allows to Compute Different Airborne Calculations Such as Fuel Consumption, Climbing Times & Converting Miles Into Nautical Miles or Kilometers, Scratch Resistant Sapphire Crystal, Automatic Chronograph Chronometer Movement, Water Resistant 30 meters / 100FT

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RARE VALJOUX 72 BREITLING NAVITIMER 816 72 CHRONOGRAPH
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BREITLING INTRUDER NEW PLUTON NAVITIMER QUARTZ PLUTON ACADEMY
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Breitling Navitimer 40 mm gold bezel gold numerals mint condition
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BREITLING 2300 NAVITIMER GOLD BAND LINKS X 4
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BREITLING MENS NAVITIMER A23322 AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH WATCH A2332212 B637
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BREITLING NAVITIMER SS ON BRACELET SPECIAL EDITION FOOTBALL A30022 RARE ORIGINAL
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The prestige Swiss brands have engraved their position as the world's number one status symbol, limited to the rich and famous. Some of the mass Swiss brands on the other hand, target a somewhat different demographic and are now the world's largest producer of watches.

Many countries in the world now produce and export high quality watches. Yet, ask people on the street which country makes the best quality watches and 9 times out of 10 the response will be Switzerland. So, how did Switzerland and watches become synonymous with key traits.

The custom of quality and detail has been upheld for over five centuries and would seriously doubt if there is any industry can make this claim in any other industry. Swiss watch making one way or another manages to merge state-of-the-art technology and innovation with creativity and passion and maintain quality standards in the process. The results are obvious as the Swiss can claim the first wristwatch, the first quartz watch, the first water resistant wristwatch, the thinnest wristwatch in the world, the smallest and the most expensive watch in the world.

Brands were in the beginning developed as labels of ownership, an early example would be branding of cattle to point towards ownership. Today, it is what brands do for people that matters, how they define their aspirations, image and status. It is uncertain if any brands manage this better than Longines, Rolex, Breitling, Tissot and dozens of other top Swiss watch brands.
What is a Swiss watch? - and according to Swiss law a watch can only be well thought-out Swiss if it is manufactured in Switzerland, its movement is Swiss and the manufacturer carries out the final examination in Switzerland.

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A wristwatch is for more than just telling time, too. Depending on the watch, you're saying a lot of different things about you. Finely crafted, beautiful wristwatches are an indicator of your taste and sophistication. They're one of the few fashion accessories that a man can use to reveal personal style, especially if he needs to dress appropriately for work. Women can wear wristwatches like jewelry.

A quality wristwatch with sophisticated movements is a good choice. That's because these watches will last a long time. Some fine watches are passed down, generation to generation, and there are lots of stories to tell about them. There are plenty of fine watch makers out there. Breitling is arguably one of the finest, a true work of art and craftsmanship. When we think of Breitling, we will link it with mens watches for professional divers, pilots, and astronauts. This is a brand that has a track record for about 120 years and with a long standing association among many professional sports and aviation.

Founded by Leon in 1884, it has many outstanding achievements under its name. In 1915, the son, Gaston, founded invented the wristwatch chronographs for pilots. Then in 1923, the independent chronograph pushpiece was patented. It registered another patent in 1926 with the 1/10th of a second counter. Their most significant patent thereafter was the wristwatch chronograph with seconds return-to-zero function. This was created by Leon's grandson, Willy. It was in 1952 that they launched their international trademark mens watch - the Navitimer. It was a hot favorite among the pilots around the world then. The reason is this watch has the capability to measure speed as well as fuel consumption levels. Ten years later, 1962, the Cosmonaute was developed. It is a chronograph with a 24 hours dial instead of the usual 12 hours dial. It was tested by astronaut Scott Carpenter when he brought it to for an orbital flight on board Aurora 7. In 1969 the Caliber 11 Chronomat mens watch which has a self-winding movement was produced by the company, Heuer, and Hamilton-Buren. In 1995, the company made an amazing development with the Emergency Mission-526-ST Gents Watch. This is a wristwatch for pilots that has not only chronometric functions but also incorporates a minuscule transistor that is able to send out distress signals with international frequencies during accidents. Indeed this very watch saved 13 lives aboard the raft Mata-Rangi. During the 50th anniversary of the Navitimer, the company created an updated version of the original. If you're looking for a great investment that will instantly tell the world of your taste, class, and sophistication, a valuable Breitling watch might be the perfect choice. The company offers a broad array of fine timepieces for any collector, and there are also fantastic vintage pieces on the market. Take a few moments to see what's out there. You'll be stunned by the beauty and function of these fine wristwatches. Shouldn't your watch be the best? Invest in a Breitling watch and enjoy everything that comes with a beautiful watch.

A great site to begin your search for an affordable Breitling wristwatch is the Swiss Watch Bargains 4U. You will find a large selection of new and used men's and women's watches as well as information on luxury watches and product reviews.

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RARE VALJOUX 72 BREITLING NAVITIMER 816 72 CHRONOGRAPH
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Pre Owned Breitling for Bentley A13362 Stainless Steel Mens Watch
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Breitling Aeromarine Chrono Colt Quartz A53035 Wrist Watch for Men
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Breitling Chronograph For Thunderbirds
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