The slide rule on a Navitimer has to actually work, which is a check nobody expects.
Founded 1884Grenchen5 weighted checks
Breitling's signature is the Navitimer's circular slide rule, and it is a functional instrument rather than a decoration. The bezel rotates and the scales on it align with the scales on the dial so that calculations can actually be performed. A counterfeit whose bezel turns but whose scales do not line up has failed a check that takes ten seconds.
The maison also certifies almost its entire mechanical output as chronometers through COSC, and modern watches carry that marking on the dial. A dial claiming chronometer certification on a movement that is not certified is a straightforward inconsistency.
Beyond that, the reads are engraving depth on the caseback, dial printing at magnification, and the density of a dial that carries a great deal of text.
Breitling engraves a reference and serial on the caseback, deeply and evenly. Modern production also marks the dial with chronometer certification where the movement is COSC-certified, and that marking should agree with the reference's specification.
The maison keeps service records and its service network will inspect a watch. No public serial lookup exists.
Papers and a warranty card accompany modern production. As always, they travel separately from watches.
Ordered by how much each one settles. The decisive checks are the ones worth your first five minutes; the supporting ones only matter once those are clean.
On a Navitimer, the rotating outer bezel and the fixed inner scale form a working circular slide rule. Turn the bezel and check that the scales align at the index and that the graduations correspond correctly. A bezel that rotates without the scales meaning anything is decisive.
Breitling dials carry a great deal of small text and fine graduations, all of which must be sharp at magnification with even spacing. High text density is expensive to print well, which is why counterfeits show pooling, bleeding and drift on exactly these dials.
Deep, even engraving with sharp edges. Shallow or laser-printed serials are the ordinary counterfeit failure.
Hands return to exactly zero on reset and the pushers have a crisp defined action. Drift on reset is a movement failure.
Solid links, machined clasp with a definite action, end links that meet the case with no gap. Hollow links and a stamped folded clasp are failures on modern production.
Breitling's dial complexity is its best defence. A Navitimer dial is one of the densest in watchmaking and reproducing it at print quality that survives a loupe is genuinely difficult, so counterfeits are usually caught on the dial before anything else.
The slide rule check is the fastest and least known: a working instrument is a functional requirement that a decorative copy cannot meet.
Each of these is checked differently. The ones with their own page have enough that is specific to them to be worth reading separately.
The rider-tab bezel, where the tabs must be functional shapes rather than studs.
Read within the checks aboveThe dive line, where the bezel action and lume application carry the read.
Read within the checks aboveA dress chronograph where dial printing is the whole check.
Read within the checks aboveAuthenticity and value are separate questions, and answering the first is usually a step towards the second. These are broad ranges for honest, unrestored condition — an orientation, never an appraisal.
| Line | Resale as share of retail | What moves it most |
|---|---|---|
| Navitimer | 40 – 60% | Reference, dial originality |
| Vintage Navitimer | Often above original retail | Originality and reference |
| Chronomat | 35 – 55% | Generation and bracelet |
| Superocean, Premier | 30 – 50% | Condition and configuration |
Broad international ranges for honest, serviced watches.
Lovenhall WatchThe checks tell you how it was made. The instrument tells you what it appears to be, and roughly what its kind fetches.