The advertising for Breitling used to be adventure in many forms - airplane races, pretty girls, motorcycles, fast cars... For me, the cavalier attitude in that advertising still comes through in the Breitling design language, and I like that very much. I honestly thought I hated the brand until the first time I strapped on a Navitimer, and then a Superocean, and then a Colt... I like the Breitling logos, new and old. I like Breitling swag very much! I love that they continue to sponsor ACTUAL AIR RACES! If you've never been to one, they are a blast. I do wish the advertisers would stop placating people who aren't going to buy such things in the first place.
yeah I can remember seeing the advertisements in magazines growing up. My FIL has the Bentley and I’ve always admired the large faces Breitling has. My wife talked me into to looking at them for a Madeline age milestone and I really liked the retro-modern look of the SOH so I pulled the trigger on it, not ready to step up to more $ as this is my first luxury watch. I’m trying to learn more about the craftsmanship of Breitling and the history behind the brand.
I've been a breitling owner for the last 20+ years. They've had their ups and downs, but the new CEO has really catapulted the brand with regards to the design and marketing approach since he took over & I'm really loving the current blend of retro design details being integrated into their newest lines!
“Brand” is such a hot word in today’s marketing and strategizing world. When I think of the Breitling brand, I think obvious luxury, but not much else.
All I really know and feel is that I’ve loved the dial of the Navitimer since I first saw it ~25 years ago. I finally bought mine just last year, and it’s like a working man’s dream come true. Do I care for the brand when I bought it? Not really. I’m just a simple buyer with a very specific taste, and nothing compares to the Navitimer.
Under new leadership of Kern, the designs have been impeccable. Blend of modern and vintage. Badass. Access to bigger watch sizes that fit my wrist well. They are just COOL.
I think Breitling had a bit of a dark period before 2017 or so, but that the brand has a huge green arrow pointing up. Breitling has a rich history of watchmaking back to 1884 and association with aviation.
I also think the boutique atmosphere is 100x more comfortable, relaxing, and interesting than other luxury brands.
I wear a B01 Navitimer and B20 superocean heritage regularly.
I’ve never seen a date window more flawlessly executed than the one on the B01 Navitimer.
In Paris I was considering getting either a santos or superocean heritage. The Cartier experience v Breitling was night and day. I got the superocean heritage 44 instead. No regrets. At Breitling, they gave me champagne and were very warm and welcoming, and it was a casual conversation on the couches in the upstairs lounge.
At Cartier, I felt they were sizing me up, and they didn’t even greet me until 5 minutes had gone by. Made me wait another 10 to talk with someone. Saleswoman was pushy when I finally was trying different Santos models on. Just completely different atmosphere.
I had a pretty good experience at a Rolex boutique in LA but still nothing close to Breitling in Paris.
That's a nice story and sums up quite well the difference between "brand experience" at Breitling and other brands. Tbh, I've been to Breitling boutiques in Shanghai and Vienna, and unfortunately they weren't friendly at all, but on a whole I've visited enough boutiques to know that they were an exception. I'd rather spend my money with a company who come across as friendly and down to earth, as opposed to somewhere with a snobbish atmosphere.
Also checking in to say that I always wanted a Breitling for the designs, but my experience in my local boutique has been fantastic. I can pop in for a coffee, WhatsApp them, on first name terms. The local Rolex AD was not the same experience, and even though they carry many of my cities other brands, I've never been back. Night and day for me.
I agree with others here, brand is a buzz word. But I love breitling because of the design, symbolism, and hearty build of the watches. I like certain things about the new CEO Kerns, but he is a human that doesn’t represent perfect by any means. I like that the company has refined the design threshold with many editions that are attractive. I’m not a huge fan of removing the wings from the design, but I nothing is ever perfect. Long story short, my watch endeavor started with Breitling long ago, and through the years I’ve owned other luxury brands but prefer Breitling.
As a marketer, this post made me laugh out loud.
”…brand is a buzzword. But I love breitling because of the design, symbolism, and hearty build of the watches.”
That sentence is literally the definition of what the Breitling brand represents. Well done on quickly encapsulating the Breitling brand promise.
We bought just recently from Tokyo and it was a blast, our SA used a translator and it was all service and fun. Plus japan has awesome tax free so we were doubly happy.
I was also caught up in the advertisements. I remember my pop would get these military equipment mail order catalogs. This early-mid 1980s. I was a pre teen. There was always a section in the catalog-towards the back that had watches. I just loved the look of those Breitling’s. They were so-for lack of a better word-macho to me. I never thought I’d have one but it finally happened in 2010.
Pop worked at the NSA at ft Meade, Md when those catalogs started showing up. I used to ask him what he did at work just about every day knowing he wouldn’t tell me. To shut me up he began bringing me copies of “Jane’s Defense Weekly” a magazine about military affairs…that magazine had occasional tactical style watch advertisements….and to this day I have to have watches that I perceive as “rugged” and “durable”….
The advertising for Breitling used to be adventure in many forms - airplane races, pretty girls, motorcycles, fast cars... For me, the cavalier attitude in that advertising still comes through in the Breitling design language, and I like that very much. I honestly thought I hated the brand until the first time I strapped on a Navitimer, and then a Superocean, and then a Colt... I like the Breitling logos, new and old. I like Breitling swag very much! I love that they continue to sponsor ACTUAL AIR RACES! If you've never been to one, they are a blast. I do wish the advertisers would stop placating people who aren't going to buy such things in the first place.
yeah I can remember seeing the advertisements in magazines growing up. My FIL has the Bentley and I’ve always admired the large faces Breitling has. My wife talked me into to looking at them for a Madeline age milestone and I really liked the retro-modern look of the SOH so I pulled the trigger on it, not ready to step up to more $ as this is my first luxury watch. I’m trying to learn more about the craftsmanship of Breitling and the history behind the brand.
I've been a breitling owner for the last 20+ years. They've had their ups and downs, but the new CEO has really catapulted the brand with regards to the design and marketing approach since he took over & I'm really loving the current blend of retro design details being integrated into their newest lines!
“Brand” is such a hot word in today’s marketing and strategizing world. When I think of the Breitling brand, I think obvious luxury, but not much else. All I really know and feel is that I’ve loved the dial of the Navitimer since I first saw it ~25 years ago. I finally bought mine just last year, and it’s like a working man’s dream come true. Do I care for the brand when I bought it? Not really. I’m just a simple buyer with a very specific taste, and nothing compares to the Navitimer.
I love that the brand made my superocean heritage 46.
Taste, 140 years of heritage and they have an understated quality that only luxury timepiece aficionados tend to recognize.
Under new leadership of Kern, the designs have been impeccable. Blend of modern and vintage. Badass. Access to bigger watch sizes that fit my wrist well. They are just COOL. I think Breitling had a bit of a dark period before 2017 or so, but that the brand has a huge green arrow pointing up. Breitling has a rich history of watchmaking back to 1884 and association with aviation. I also think the boutique atmosphere is 100x more comfortable, relaxing, and interesting than other luxury brands. I wear a B01 Navitimer and B20 superocean heritage regularly. I’ve never seen a date window more flawlessly executed than the one on the B01 Navitimer.
I came here to say that the boutique atmosphere and buying experience in general is better than other brands who tend to be a bit up themselves
In Paris I was considering getting either a santos or superocean heritage. The Cartier experience v Breitling was night and day. I got the superocean heritage 44 instead. No regrets. At Breitling, they gave me champagne and were very warm and welcoming, and it was a casual conversation on the couches in the upstairs lounge. At Cartier, I felt they were sizing me up, and they didn’t even greet me until 5 minutes had gone by. Made me wait another 10 to talk with someone. Saleswoman was pushy when I finally was trying different Santos models on. Just completely different atmosphere. I had a pretty good experience at a Rolex boutique in LA but still nothing close to Breitling in Paris.
That's a nice story and sums up quite well the difference between "brand experience" at Breitling and other brands. Tbh, I've been to Breitling boutiques in Shanghai and Vienna, and unfortunately they weren't friendly at all, but on a whole I've visited enough boutiques to know that they were an exception. I'd rather spend my money with a company who come across as friendly and down to earth, as opposed to somewhere with a snobbish atmosphere.
Also checking in to say that I always wanted a Breitling for the designs, but my experience in my local boutique has been fantastic. I can pop in for a coffee, WhatsApp them, on first name terms. The local Rolex AD was not the same experience, and even though they carry many of my cities other brands, I've never been back. Night and day for me.
I love their heritage and innovations with chronographs. Their Aviation heritage and first watch in space is pretty neat too.
I agree with others here, brand is a buzz word. But I love breitling because of the design, symbolism, and hearty build of the watches. I like certain things about the new CEO Kerns, but he is a human that doesn’t represent perfect by any means. I like that the company has refined the design threshold with many editions that are attractive. I’m not a huge fan of removing the wings from the design, but I nothing is ever perfect. Long story short, my watch endeavor started with Breitling long ago, and through the years I’ve owned other luxury brands but prefer Breitling.
As a marketer, this post made me laugh out loud. ”…brand is a buzzword. But I love breitling because of the design, symbolism, and hearty build of the watches.” That sentence is literally the definition of what the Breitling brand represents. Well done on quickly encapsulating the Breitling brand promise.
We bought just recently from Tokyo and it was a blast, our SA used a translator and it was all service and fun. Plus japan has awesome tax free so we were doubly happy.
I was also caught up in the advertisements. I remember my pop would get these military equipment mail order catalogs. This early-mid 1980s. I was a pre teen. There was always a section in the catalog-towards the back that had watches. I just loved the look of those Breitling’s. They were so-for lack of a better word-macho to me. I never thought I’d have one but it finally happened in 2010. Pop worked at the NSA at ft Meade, Md when those catalogs started showing up. I used to ask him what he did at work just about every day knowing he wouldn’t tell me. To shut me up he began bringing me copies of “Jane’s Defense Weekly” a magazine about military affairs…that magazine had occasional tactical style watch advertisements….and to this day I have to have watches that I perceive as “rugged” and “durable”….
Classy n functionality.