Breitling’s Premier line was launched in 1943. Though at its heart a chronograph, the perfect replica Breitling Premier watches marked the first time that a tool watch was given a luxurious persona, akin to that of a dress watch. With it was birthed the idea that a mechanism as functional and indispensable as a chronograph could be elevated to something stylish—an “elegant gentleman’s chronograph,” the brand called it. And it’s a thought that has flourished for the past 80 years.
The Need for Joy
The Premier was a result of the zeitgeist. World War II ended in 1945, and people’s need to see and feel hope, optimism, and happiness was high. In fashion, Dior’s New Look epitomised this via beautiful, opulent silhouettes for women. When it came to 1:1 US Breitling fake watches, the Premier was a strong indicator.
By the 1940s, Breitling had well established its expertise in chronographs. Gaston Breitling and Willy Breitling, son and grandson of founder Léon Breitling, had already innovated with the complication and had made breakthroughs by creating independent pushers for it. But, in 1938, with World War II looming, the brand started focusing on producing precision aircraft instruments. Once the war was over, Willy saw the opportunity to create something different. And so was born the Premier, cast in solid gold or stainless steel, and in sizes ranging from a small and elegant 32mm to a large and sporty 38mm. The cheap Breitling replica watches featured both square and round pushers, alongside beautiful dials with configurations of two or three subdials and detailed indexes. The watches were powered by Venus movements, a manufacture that Willy deeply believed in and favoured. The 1943 Premier Ref. 760 featured a Venus 175 movement, and Ref. 734, a Venus 178.
“We have to go back to what Premier meant as a word,” says Fred Mandelbaum, a vintage watch and chronograph expert and high quality Breitling copy watches’ official brand historian who has written the book Premier Story. “It didn’t mean ‘the first’. It meant having the best of everything. It was rather a signature of high quality, having the best of everything. The best movement, the best materials, lovely details of applied and lumed numerals, beautiful dials in intricate details. And this is what defines that line—the combination of functionality and luxury.”
Legendary Models
After it broke ground as a stylish watch, the Swiss made replica Breitling Premier watches‘ canvas was used to launch several innovative timepieces. First of these was the triple-register, 38mm Ref. 765, made by Breitling’s specialised Huit Aviation division. Subjected to extreme temperatures to test for reliability, it was the watch on which the 1953 AVI was based. Another was the 1945 Ref. 777, with a decidedly luxurious edge, crafted in gold and made available in different combinations of functionalities (tachymeter, telemeter, pulsometer) and dial colours (from white and champagne to copper and salmon and more), or applied or painted indexes or Arabic or Roman numerals.
“They [Ref. 765 and Ref. 777] are very close siblings. The Ref. 765 is very much a pillar of tool top fake Breitling watches and the luxury aspect has a supporting role in it. The Ref. 777 was always more luxury. So, combining those two is what has been Breitling’s chronograph strategy,” explains Mandelbaum.
Another two absolutely standout Premiers are the Duograph and the Datora. In 1943, Breitling offered a split-second or rattrapante complication in its Premier—this was the Duograph. Powered by a Venus movement, the first to be launched were the double-register 36mm Ref. 762, followed by a 38mm Ref, 764. The triple-register Refs. 766 and 791 followed. Featuring beautifully sculpted cases and dials, the Duograph was largely made-to-order and therefore there aren’t too many examples of it. The Datora marks the addition of the full calendar in 1944 and even moonphase to the chronograph complication in 1947.
“It is hard to pick just one iconic Premier model,” says Mandelbaum. “The Refs. 765 and 777 handle different aspects of the strategy, and then the Duograph and Datora have complications on top of those general concepts. Maybe the design language of the 777 is the most elegant of them all, but I am mesmerised by Duographs, the most complicated and hard to achieve of the chronograph. The whole mosaic makes Breitling.”
The Resurgence
While the idea of a style-forward wrist chronograph saw popularity in the 1940s, in the 1950s it hit a slump. “We had an explosion of demand for chronographs after WW II—production numbers rose 20 fold,” says Mandelbaum. “But in the 1950s, new aspects came in—everyone was looking at diver’s watches, and the chronograph in a way lost a bit of its importance, even for Breitling.” In 1964, however, demand rose for a chronograph watch with an attitude—something that was quirky, youthful. And the wholesale replica Breitling Top Time watches, a spin-off of the Premier line, was born.
The Premier line itself didn’t see a resurgence till 2018, when it was relaunched with four steel variations in sizes 40mm-42mm—there was a B01 calibre watch, along with a Calibre 13 (chronograph), Calibre 37 (time only), and Calibre 45 (day-date). Over the last couple of years, the models developed have seen a consolidation of design—there have been more dial colours, use of precious metals, and standardisation of details like twin-register dials, syringe-shaped hands, and use of Arabic numerals. It started with the 2021 models, which had Datora and Duograph models; last year, the line saw the introduction of three tourbillon versions, making them the most expensive offerings by the Swiss brand. It is this lineup that the 2023 Swiss movements super clone Breitling Premier and Top Time watches build upon.
This year, the brand has launched six new references in the Premier line—the B01 Chronograph 42. With five models in steel and one in gold, the 42mm Breitling replica watches for sale feature vintage-Premier details, like a smooth fixed bezel, twin-register dial, and applied Arabic numerals. There is a tachymeter scale and a date window at 6 o’clock. The hour and minute hands are syringe-shaped and filled with Super-LumiNova, and the central seconds hand is tipped red. There are tone-on-tone subdials with chronograph minutes at 3 o’clock and running seconds at 9 o’clock, along with streamlined rectangular pushers. Dial shades include salmon, blue, green, black, and cream in stainless-steel models, and a sixth reference in 18K red gold with a classic cream dial. The watches come on a classic alligator black, gold brown, or brown leather straps, and a seven-row metal bracelet, and are water resistant to 100 metres.
All best quality Breitling fake watches are powered by the in-house Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01. The movement with a column wheel and a vertical clutch debuted in 2009, and is a crown jewel in the brand’s arsenal. Not just COSC-certified (accuracy within -4 and +6 seconds per day), the movement has also passed the brand’s in-house testing, which includes shock testing (approximately 60,000 shocks at 500 G), crown testing (more than 100,000 crown winds), winding of oscillating weight (3,456,000 weight turns), and chronograph pusher testing (approximately 5,840 start-stop-reset engagements). Beating at a frequency of 4Hz, it has a power reserve of 70 hours.
The Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01 used in the new Premiers is a version designed last year—it has a slimmer profile now, in keeping with the style of the watch. “The rotor has been changed from a bi-metal to a monobloc tungsten rotor that achieves the same technical characteristics that are needed to efficiently wind, but is slimmer,” explains Mandelbaum.
If the Premier is a luxurious, high-end, classical line, the Top Time is more in-your-face and younger, created to balance both ends of the spectrum and offer everyone something in the dress chronograph genre. In 2021, the brand unveiled a capsule collection called the Top Time Classic Cars of three pieces, and this year, it has found a more permanent place in Breitling’s universe. “The line was received extremely well,” says Mandelbaum. “It was created as a capsule to test the market, and has come of age and is a part of our core collection now. Plus, it has the best engine money can buy—the B01.”
The 2021 models were 42mm, and powered by the manual-winding Calibre 25. The 2023 models—Top Time B01 Ford Mustang, Top Time B01 Shelby Cobra, and Top Time B01 Chevrolet Corvette are 41mm, and along with the change in the engine, feature design updates to its tachymeter scale, minute markers, and the dial layout with the change in the positions of the hour and minute subdials due to the calibre change. The luxury replica Breitling watches feature contrasting, perforated straps. A new, fourth watch joins this list—the Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird in a red and white colour scheme. The decision to include the Thunderbird came from the easy-going persona of the car. “The cars in the Top Time line were widely used. They were achievable luxury. The Thunderbird is an icon of those years and we thought we needed another car which was perfect for cruising and an easygoing lifestyle,” says Mandelbaum.
The Premier and the Top Time together personify Breitling’s concept of taking defining moments in its heritage and building them into a strong model line. Mandelbaum says that the book Premier Story makes it apparent how the foundation for the idea was laid. “You look at the timeline and you see how quickly an unbranded tool evolves into a branded line. Watching [Willy] Breitling evolve his line is like watching a chessmaster play. He sees future markets evolve, he sees impeccable quality. All these are done over a short period, and by a young boy who was only 19 when he took over the company. Watching someone do something almost a century ago, how he put every step into action, is really impressive.” The results are there for all to see.