New arrival: Breitling B50 Cockpit

[andrewcregan]

I have fancied trying one of these for some time. Breitling have been one of my favoured brands over the years, and working in Aviation they continue to appeal.
This was kindly delivered by a fellow TZer yesterday, and I took advantage of the great light at 30,000 feet as I flew home (BMI Embraer 145 G-RJXD, operated on behalf of Loganair) this evening.
A few photos for your perusal.....






I have found that the black dial can vary nicely in colour. From black, to dark and light grey, and surprisingly blue too.
It wears smaller than anticipated, but as you know this often isn’t obvious in photos. The weight is kept down nicely too with the titanium head and bracelet.

[Matt68]

Looks a nice piece of kit Andrew, from a fellow aviation and Breitling fan.

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[Arcam]

I keep looking at these, had a B55 that was nothing but trouble, the B50s does not have the BT connection option and is better for it.

Nice looking watch

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[Possu]

Looks great Andrew! Brushed titanium is a nice touch, way better than all polished stainless for sure.

[MartynJC (UK)]

I keep looking at these, had a B55 that was nothing but trouble, the B50s does not have the BT connection option and is better for it.

Nice looking watch

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I’m afraid to say same experience with my B55. It’s back with Breitling but I’m pushing for a full refund under consumer rights law for faulty goods as it’s already been repaired once under warranty. I’ve lost faith in these more exotic quartz modules.

Martyn

[Arcam]

I’m afraid to say same experience with my B55. It’s back with Breitling but I’m pushing for a full refund under consumer rights law for faulty goods as it’s already been repaired once under warranty. I’ve lost faith in these more exotic quartz modules.

Martyn

I got a full refund from my AD Martyn, hope you get the same. BUK and BS support was very poor.

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[wits]

Love it
Let me know when ur bored of it

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[magirus]

One of the Breitlings I like, so much nicer than the models with the tabs on the bezels.

[manganr]

Welcome to the B50 club Andrew. Breitling at it's very best!

[andrewcregan]

Thanks for the kind comments gents.
Here is a photo from earlier today, out and about. Anyone spot the clue that the photo was taken in Manchester?

[Sweepinghand]

It looks awesome

I have the B-1 a heavier item
But I was so close to buying that watch!!!!!

Enjoy

[ach5]

Glad to see you’re still enjoying Breitling Andrew; another great buy there!

Is it too soon to say how you’re finding it?

When these were first released there was all sorts of conjecture here about the absurdity of needing to charge it - hows that working out?

I have to say I love this watch. Too big for my wrist though.

Only one reservation - the applied Breitling wings logo is too high and too “shoe horned in” IMHO.

[andrewcregan]

^^^^ Hi Adrian, great to see you on here.
I took a close up photo of the area for you (iPhone as usual!)



I only got the watch on Friday, so can’t go into too much detail, but I would say that it’s a watch that could form a great single watch ‘collection’.
Charging is dead easy, and I believe that a single charge can last up to 6 months. Pretty certain that it would vary on illumination and functions used.

[ach5]

Cheers Andrew :-)

So doesn’t need a daily charge then? For some reason that’s what I thought it needed. Heavy use might need weekly charges, maybe? - still not too bad.

[Arcam]

Cheers Andrew :-)

So doesn’t need a daily charge then? For some reason that’s what I thought it needed. Heavy use might need weekly charges, maybe? - still not too bad.

I think monthly + would be nearer the mark.

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[Cat7]

Thanks Andrew, appreciate the recommendation and the advice

[Matt London]

Congratulations! Great choice.

I bought a blue face one of these a few weeks ago. It’s an absolutely cracking watch. So light and easy to wear. I sometimes forget that I have it on. I have been reminded that I do have it on when I see people looking at it. It’s happened quite a bit. Getting noticed is not my thing anyway and it makes me quite wary walking through moped infested Islington. But that’s a different story!

I will have to post some pictures of mine, when I get some decent light. That and the pictures of the other eight or so Ana-Digi watches I have.

[Griswold]

Breitling does AnaDigi really well and that B50 does look good. New in house superquartz movement and an incredible set of features built in too, what's not to like. Enjoy.

[andrewcregan]

Thanks again for the kind comments.
These graphs should answer the battery recharging question.




As suspected, it varies dependent on use.

[wileeeeeey]

What a cool watch. Not your everyday, really like it.

[tz-uk73]

Very nice Andrew. I've had a b50 night mission before and really enjoyed it for 18 months or so. They are a striking watch with some very useful functions and features. Super comfortable too. A true grab and go watch with that distinctly breitling look.

[Matt London]

My favourite ‘Top Tip’ is to hold the crown in to select the backlight luminosity.

4/4 is like a torch!

[andrewcregan]

My favourite ‘Top Tip’ is to hold the crown in to select the backlight luminosity.

4/4 is like a torch!

Your wish is my command!

[GIB984]

I love these and give myself a good kicking every evening before bed for not buying Andy's (Big Chopper) night mission version on the mesh.

[ach5]

Your wish is my command!

FANTASTIC photo!

I have an incoming that will give your B50 a run for its money on a technical level Andrew, but as you well know I have a major soft spot for Breitlings and I think the B50 has nicer styling.

[Matt London]

And here’s a quick shot of mine!


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[andrewcregan]

^^^^ Fantastic. Is that a black or blue dial?
I’m really struggling to rotate my collection, since this B50 got welded to my wrist.

[Matt London]

Cheers 🍻.It’s the Blue dial. It’s very dull in London today so not the best for pictures.

I am struggling with rotation too. Despite it’s size it’s so easy to wear!

[mycroft]

Oh goody, a Breitling thread .

This looks absolutely awesome, Andrew. As I’ve documented in other threads I had a go at the Breitling ana/digit thing by buying an Aerospace Avantage - which in retrospect was a serious mistake. It felt dinky & unsubstantial and I just couldn’t get on with it. I also hated all the crown twiddling.

This, on the other hand, looks as if it could be right up my street. Actually, the Night Mission version might be even more tempting...

Damn you - life is complicated enough already!

Simon

[andrewcregan]

A cheeky caseback shot



Classic Breitling.

[ach5]

^ Breitling always did make a good case back.

[Chinnock]

This post made me make a cheeky offer on eBay. What a fantastic bit of kit. Bloody awesome!




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[andrewcregan]

^^^^ Congratulations my friend. Welcome to the club

Unfortunately mine appears to have a tiny fault, and it’s going into the AD today, and back to BUK.
Thankfully it is still in warranty.

[Chinnock]

^^^^ Congratulations my friend. Welcome to the club

Unfortunately mine appears to have a tiny fault, and it’s going into the AD today, and back to BUK.
Thankfully it is still in warranty.

Anything I should look out for? Heard something about the crown unwinding if turned more anti-clockwise than clockwise!


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[andrewcregan]

Anything I should look out for? Heard something about the crown unwinding if turned more anti-clockwise than clockwise!

It is possibly crown related.
As you know, you turn the crown to change the display. I had noticed that the display occasionally changed on its own. Thought that it may be my wrist rubbing on the crown, but closer scrutiny rules that out. It sometimes does it a couple of times an hour, and earlier today it changed about 6 times in one second! Hence, off it goes!

[Chinnock]

It is possibly crown related.
As you know, you turn the crown to change the display. I had noticed that the display occasionally changed on its own. Thought that it may be my wrist rubbing on the crown, but closer scrutiny rules that out. It sometimes does it a couple of times an hour, and earlier today it changed about 6 times in one second! Hence, off it goes!

I think there is / was a recall regarding the crown, if it helps save some pennies.


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[Matt London]

^^^^ Congratulations my friend. Welcome to the club

Unfortunately mine appears to have a tiny fault, and it’s going into the AD today, and back to BUK.
Thankfully it is still in warranty.

Sorry to hear that. What’s the problem?

[Matt London]

This post made me make a cheeky offer on eBay. What a fantastic bit of kit. Bloody awesome!




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Nearly forgot the congrats! 👍

[Matt London]

I just discovered the picture on my phone. I took this a day or two after picking up my B50. It better shows the colour of the face.

I thought it was worth adding it to the thread for anyone doing a search.

I hope you get yours back soonest Andrew.





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[andrewcregan]

I just discovered the picture on my phone. I took this a day or two after picking up my B50. It better shows the colour of the face.

I thought it was worth adding it to the thread for anyone doing a search.

I hope you get yours back soonest Andrew.

Almost an exact match to your jeans Matt. Very useful to add another version to the thread.

Thanks Matt.
My watch arrived at BUK today, so I don’t expect to see it until the very end of May, at the earliest.
The official estimate is the beginning of July, but like most watch companies, Breitling try to expedite warranty work.

[andrewcregan]

Well the watch has arrived back from Breitling UK service



The watch was returned in the newer style Breitling service case, which is the first time that I have seen one.




Old version (left) and new version (right).



As the watch went in via my local AD, there was no mention of what was done to the watch.
Out of curiosity I decided to phone the BUK service centre direct, after finding them very helpful and friendly in the past. I was not disappointed, as the lady in service couldn’t do enough to help me out. Cutting a long story short, no fault could be replicated, so the watch got a firmware update, went through Quality Control, and then back to me (rather impressively in about 3 weeks!)
I have now broken my rotation of recent arrivals, and shall wear the B50 for some time, to ensure that the fault has indeed been fixed.

[Possu]

Result! The new service case looks nice. Reading about BUK makes me envious. We don't have a proper Service Center over here and thus we need to use the Swedish one. There's nothing really wrong with the Swedish SC, but it's not quite up to your very high standards. Or at least that was the case six years ago when I last used them.

[Chinnock]

Good to hear of the fast turnaround and great customer service. These really are rather exceptional watches in my opinion. Shame I need to pay for two special incomings otherwise mine would still be on my wrist.

Enjoy!

[andrewcregan]

Out and about with the B50 today



Love it!

[Cat7]

I feel I should add mine to this thread only got it today but I can see what all the raving is about. Didn't think I'd be that taken with it after not bonding with my Chronospace Military, how wrong I was!


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[andrewcregan]

^^^^ Congratulations Paul.
Great to see another one of these stunning watches within the TZ community.
I am sure that you will get the same pleasure from it as I do. Enjoy.

[ryanb741]

They are nice, only thing that drove me bonkers with mine (and actually my Aerospace Evo as well) was that the minute hand (and seconds hand in the case of the b50) wouldn’t line up with the markers. Apparently it’s a ‘quirk of the movement’. Shame as the watch is amazing although you do need a Phd in astrophysics to work out how to use all the functions :)


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[Chinnock]

B50 - ssshhh, don’t tell everyone.

[Matt London]

I am glad to see you have yours back in good time Andrew.

I have mine on a cheapo ebay strap today. I don’t like the white stitching (I didn’t think I would) but have a plain green one on the way.



Getting the bracelet of is a bloomin chore! I cannot seem to grip the Breitling spring bars with my Bergeon tool. I tried some after market 24mm bars for the bracelet but they were a touch too long. I now have some 23mm ones to try.





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[Estoril-5]

I am glad to see you have yours back in good time Andrew.

I have mine on a cheapo ebay strap today. I don’t like the white stitching (I didn’t think I would) but have a plain green one on the way.



Getting the bracelet of is a bloomin chore! I cannot seem to grip the Breitling spring bars with my Bergeon tool. I tried some after market 24mm bars for the bracelet but they were a touch too long. I now have some 23mm ones to try.





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How do you find the strap comfort and quality wise?

Do you have a link to the eBay seller?

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