Breitling Calibre 1887 Chronograph Watch For 2013

Now, we have already established that 2013 is the 50th anniversary of the collection. To start, Breitling has sprinkled out a few "concept" pieces such as the Breitling CMC Concept Chronograph watch and another bull-head style Breitling with the Jack Heuer version. These, while cool, are clearly niche models meant for limited audiences. We wonder if Breitling has plans for the normal Breitling collection that are on the wrists of so many people. And by plans, I mean a redesign or refresh of the collection.

One thing we know is that more and more models will contain Breitling's caliber 1887 movement which is produced in-house. Like all other non-Swatch Group brands, Breitling cannot get as many ETA or even Sellita movements as they used to. This means that the Calibre 16 movement in most older Breitling Chronograph models will become harder to get as the Calibre 16 is more or less the ETA Valjoux 7750. The watch you see before you is pretty much an example of what I am referring to. The core design of this Breitling model is not new (above model is the ref.CAR2A10.BA0799). We have seen it, for example here (see article). So what is new are some materials as well as use of the Calibre 1887 movement.

The Calibre 1887 Chronograph 43mm watch will come in four variants (bracelet or strap and two dial choices), and will be accompanied by the slightly more expensive Breitling Calibre 1887 Racing Chronograph 43mm watch that ups the ante with a black-coated titanium (versus steel) case. Each is of course 43mm wide and is all classic Breitling in design. Like I said, these particular dial designs are not new, but the slate gray sunburst dial versions are new. What is new is the movement, and in the future I suspect all Breitling models will have the Calibre 1887 versus the 16.

It used to be that the 1887 equipped Breitling models were 43mm wide and the standard Breitling models were 41mm wide. But then last year Breitling released 41mm wide versions of the Breitling with the 1887 movement. Now Breitling seems to be replacing existing Breitling designs with versions that have the 1887 in them. The combination of Breitling wanting to promote "in-house made" and the lack of 7750 movements available, we think it is safe to say that most of your Breitling Chronograph models in the future will have an 1887 in them. Aside from not including a day of the week function, the Calibre 1887 is a pretty good movement that isn't necessarily inherently better than the 7750, but is a pretty darn nice chronograph caliber.

While a brand new Breitling for the 50th anniversary of the collection would be nice, the chances of that happening are slim. Why? Well because it would be silly for Breitling to mess with a good thing. What they will likely do is continue to tweak the core product and make improvements. More hints lay here in this new collection. First of all the Breitling finally gets a ceramic bezel insert. Pretty much no one wants an aluminum bezel insert anymore when ceramic inserts have all the advanTAGes - namely in resisting scratches. People also tend to like their sheen and polish. Though matter finished ceramic is available. The new ceramic bezel is certainly a welcome improvement.

Another new feature - at least in this model - is the bracelet. In fact this new (well, borrowed from the Grand Breitling collection) bracelet doesn't look at all like the "normal" Breitling bracelet with its mix of brushed and thin polished links. Is it better? That is a matter of taste. I feel that a lot of people are going to miss the look of the more traditional Breitling bracelet if Breitling sticks with this one on all Breitling models. It is possible that Breitling may come out with an updated or higher quality version of the outgoing bracelet - but they just haven't yet.

Unfortunately the price of Breitling Chronograph watches is also going to increase on average. The first Calibre 1887 based Breitling models were noticeably more expensive than ones with the Calibre 16 movement. It seems that now there is anywhere from a $500 to over $1,000 premium for Calibre 1887 movements over the 16 movements. I think the message is that Breitling models are going to be that much more expensive moving forward. In fact, it doesn't seem to make much sense for Breitling to have a dual line of Breitling Chronograph watches with the two competing movements. So I think it is clear where all this is going.