Navitimer quality alternative?

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golfjunky
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Re: Navitimer quality alternative?

Post by golfjunky »

Sounds good, good luck.
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Re: Navitimer quality alternative?

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

@chriswt - great news about your chat with Jonathan @ P&C. I bought my first, of several, watches from him three years ago (I used to work in the same Serviced Office building where he's based) and am hoping to get to see him sometime in the next couple of weeks to discuss the potential for another one.

Real bummer of news about your Girlfriend's dog but 'family' must come first.

I'm sure you'll be able to sort something out though, even if it means waiting a while for the (Sinn?) Navitimer.

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robert75
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Re: Navitimer quality alternative?

Post by robert75 »

TG3N wrote:
robert75 wrote:That being said it has the same movement as the Sinn navitimer which is actually more like 2500 and can be had on a discount if you look for closer to 2k. There is also the Ollech & Wajs Aviation chronograph that is a hand wind and is probably as close as you will come to a new old stock navitimer and comes in about 2.5k

If you like the design but not the price of the Breitling I would go for a Sinn or Aviation both having every right to stand along side the Breitling for historical reasons unlike some cheap knock off you will probably end up wanting to sell.
All good points :thumbup:

The Breitling proposition relies heavily upon their Brand cachet. On a general point, witness how much more they charge than Tudor for their Chonographs, even though both the Breitling & Tudor are underpinned by the same, shared B01 Chronograph movement. I know there's more to a watch than just the movement within, but I don't see any great quality differential in a wider sense, so I know where my money would go.

The Ollech & Wajs Aviation was also in my thinking, but I wasn't sure if a current version of that was still made today, as I know they ceased trading, reincarnated, were bought-over etc several times since. I think I'm right in saying they gobbled-up the Breitling Navitimer parts/spares stock & tooling at time of bankruptcy to build their Navitimer/Aviation, whereas Sinn had the rights to the dial design, plus a few complete Breitling-branded Navitimer watches that they then put their Sinn-branded dial on.
Ollech & Wajs watches are still being sold including Aviation watches by an American AD. I am not sure what you mean by ceased trading/reincarnated. You used to be able to buy direct from them until a few years ago when one of the partnership passed away. The only thing I am aware of that has ended their direct purchase is age which is quite understandable.
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Re: Navitimer quality alternative?

Post by TG3N »

The original Ollech & Wajs company ceased trading in the 1980's.

Wajs then formed a new company (Ollech having since passed away in the interim) in the 1990's - this was a new legal entity after a gap of a decade or so. However, Wajs retained the rights to the O&W brand name & logo, and started using them again, as well as continuing his Aviation (Navitimer).

It was this company that was then bought-over by a Frenchman, who runs the company today.

Of course, aside from a very few remaining spares, all the actual Breitling Navitimer parts have long since been used up, so their Aviation watches are now produced in the Navitimer style with Valjoux etc. movements.

In fairness, that interrupted, fractured history is not dissimilar to a lot of other watch brands.
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