Breitling Bentley 6.75

[DKRanger22]

So recently, I have been bitten by the Breitling bug. I've long considered Breitlings (in general) a bit garish, with many references being so large in diameter, many having large, blocky numbers/fonts, etc. But as time marches on, I find my opinion softening, and as of late, I find myself becoming more attracted to certain references. In particular, I am really gravitating towards the Navitimer and the Bentley 6.75. Generally speaking, I see plenty of love for the Navitimer, but not much so for the Bentley series of watches. Is there a reason for that? I suppose some find them a bit gimmicky, and to be honest, I could care less about the connection with the luxury car line - I simply enjoy the look of this model. Curious to know thoughts from the Breitling faithful and hopefully, owners of either reference.

[DKRanger22]

And the Bentley for comprising.

[56scooter]

The top picture appears to be a 46mm Navitimer, the classic Breitling in the XL size! I have one and I love it. The bottom is a 6.75 which IMHO is also very nice, I had one, sold it to finance another purchase and regret getting rid of it. If you are only going to have one Breitling in your collection then I would choose the Navitimer, a true classic in every respect. Just be sure to check out the 43mm "standard" version! Good Luck on your decision.

[DKRanger22]

Appreciate the feedback, Scooter! Both are beautiful references. I'm lucky in that I have two Breitling dealers about ~2 miles away from each other in my area (the larger dealer just took on the Breitling lineup, so the smaller one fears they may soon lose the rights). Nevertheless, there's a good competitive scenario going on at the moment: they quoted me 25% off list price without any haggling as the opening offer. Both stores had the exact Navitimer pictured above. I'm a bigger guy (6'4", 250 lbs), so the large size looks appropriate on me. I would need to find the Bentley used, as it is an older model. The smaller store had a used one with a black dial a few months back (that is the piece that actually started this new desire for a Breitling in the first place), but it since sold.

From a technical perspective, are there any major differences between the two references? I also tried on the Super Ocean Heritage II during my visit, and that one also has me thinking!

[breitlings]

I haven't owned one, but have been told they are a much finer finished watch than a normal breitling Chronomat. One is an inhouse the other is a 2894 with a DD big date (similar to a Blackbird big date).

Another high end breitling are the chronowerks line, which are very finely finished movements that also perform better than normal.