Breitling Chronomat Vintage Chronomat 808 Manual Wind 18K Gold Case
Here I am offering for sale my beautiful vintage Breitling Chronomat, reference 808 with a silver dial, gold “dauphine” hands and powered by the Venus 175 movement. The Venus is a two register manual wind movement operating with 17 jewels. It has a frequency of 18,000 v.p.h. and a power reserve of 45 hours (when new). The movement is stamped with the letters “WOG”. These represent importation marks, pertaining to the United States. The watch itself has a revolving bezel, operating a tachymeter, similar indeed to that seen in its very close cousin, the Navitimer. This particular watch has the rare advantage of being cased in 18K gold! The watch is in very good condition and really is an absolute beauty.
The case-back shows a few light marks, to be expected of course in a near 60 year old timepiece with the upper surface, dial and crystal belying its age. The signed crown is gold but the pushers themselves are plated. There is some rubbing on the start pusher (which is often the case with vintage gold chronographs of course). The case back exhibits Swiss gold marks for 18 carats, together with a brief engraving –“L.J.K. from K.S.A. ’55-‘67”. Often case-back engravings detract from the watch. In this example I firmly believe that it is a real asset and adds to the charm of this vintage piece. Who was L.J.K.? Why did K.S.A. present L.J.K. with an expensive 18K gold watch in 1967? A real mystery for you to speculate! Incidentally, this tally’s well with the production date of the watch -1966 (deducted from published tables using the serial number engraved on the inside of the case-back). At 37mm in diameter (excluding crown) the watch wears well in this modern age and actual feels even larger, more like a 39 mm (due most likely due to the presence of the rotating bezel).
The watch comes with a quality wooden presentation box, a new brown leather strap, a gilt signed buckle and it goes without saying that it functions exactly as it should and is running well. I do not have any papers or service history.
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