importr Posted January 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks Andreww For me, the worst part of the Navi rep (apart from sunken date) is the rep dial. It was terrible on the Fighters and terrible on the tricompax. What the rep dial makers need to know is that the dial should have a fine base coating of silver. To which a starburst brushing is done. Then the fine top coat of blue/black/whatever is applied, which forms the outline for the slide rule markings. The exception to this is the silver dial, which would then have black numerals printed over. This gives the dial that metallic starburst effect which is clearly evident on Pete's pics above. The same metallic sheen is present on some newer reps: blue Navi World, Abyss, bronze Legende.... but was missing on the blue Steelfish and obviously missing on the Navitimer rep - which had a flat black base coating followed by a white/silver screen print for the slide rule markings. When compared to gen, it was like night and day. Splitting hairs? Maybe, but it's the sum of such details which determine how much of a super rep a watch will be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polexpete Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks Andreww and well said but i guess its economics, they want to be able to use one movement for all reps. Guess its why the case changed so fast. As for the dials you can't beat a gen, Importr is right, the effect on the gen blue dial is amazing. But its the same with most reps the dial is the biggest letdown. I always try and use gen dials if possible.. Cheers P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 I was on Breitling.com and noticed that the 2004 7753 Tricompax is now gone. So I am guessing that if we do ever see a decent rep it will be of the uglier B01 version with the ugly white on black date and the applied wings. Still a nice watch, but a big step bacwards from the 7753 IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 Yay - it's twin brother ! I see yours is a later model case....did you need to trim the dial? i have (2) old skool tricompax arabic Navis...one is black, the other white...my black one is in a case similar to Pete's pix of his with the ss bracelet...the white one is in a case similar to Importr's tricompax franken in this post...i never noticed the difference in cases of these models...i think you spotted the differences in the bezel edges, right? soooo -- this means we have 2 slightly different old skool cases that fit eta movements...interesting, huh? how can you tell the difference in cases?...is it the difference in the bezel edging?...i now have (2) old skool tricompax Navis - both arabic, one black, one white...definitely a slight difference in cases...one has more pointed bezel edges, the other more flat (the area between the round drilled edge cuts)...the lugs are also slightly different in shape - especially noticeable on the lug flat ends...one is more rectangular (thinner), the other more square shaped (thicker) -- when viewed looking at the lug tops, dial side, straight on - one if thinner if that makes sense...both Navis have similar dials with aligned sliderules (one is almost perfect, the other only off ever so slightly...case thicknesses and engraving similar - but i haven't looped it to see...both seem to be low-beat by ear - one with engraved look rotor, the other plain...lastly, one has a more raised middle section of pie-pan on the subdials - ever so slightly, tho...but the rest of the dial details look similar...but probably diff...but damn close... any insights are helpful and appreciate...planned to research pete's post and andrewws guide again to sort it out...getting old...lol... i modded the black tri-compax by adding double ar and a 4.5 eta dw...the dw is sunken, but much less than the current bunch...and the eta 4.5 makes a big difference...definitely interested in the franken mod that Importr did - but may try to hunt down an a7753 and try that with a gen dial and eta 7750 dw...thinking this combo might work, too...but all in good time and when monies permit... for now - planning to complete my Fighter with eta7750, gen breitling 7750 dw...but need to hunt down the right gen old Navi dial...most i've seen are marked up from lousy storage...my Fighter case is different from these 2 tricompax cases, too...it has a bevel edge on the top of the lugs...its similar to Importr's rep Fighter in his terrific reference post of his rep Fighter and his gen Fighter...interesting how all these cases are slightly different - especially since they are earlier (v1'ish cases)...none of my Navis are the new models...all 3 are old skool cases... R- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importr Posted January 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I could tell that it was a later case not from the case horns (well spotted, HackR) but from the colouring and printing on the slide rule. The early slide rules have a lighter, almost pearl background. The late ones are creamy. Both are wrong however, as the gen slide rule is silver, but appears white in some photos. The early rep slide rule printing is a touch thinner or finer than the late model too. Not to mention the late version being slightly off, as we know. My two v1 Navi's (i have another one lying around in need of TLC) have very slight differences in bezel milling. The franken one has slightly rounded 'teeth' whereas the other one has flatter teeth. I put this down to poor manufacturing tolerances. Early gen Navi's (Old Navitimer) had bezels with flatter teeth than the Calibre 23 & 50th Anniversary models, and the Fighter has very pronounced bezel teeth - the sharpest of the three. As for the pie pan sub dials - as far as I'm aware, all of the Navitimers up to 2005/6 had a dished centre with guilloche. Later cal.23 Navi's had flat pie pans with guilloche.....I'm not sure if Breitling have reintroduced the dished centre since? The edge between dial & subdial is very discernable here, whereas the earlier dished subdials blend into the dial. Apologies if my ramblings are rhetorical, and old news. I'm stealthily typing while supposedly working!! My old v2? Fighter rep...which had a more accurate dial than the black version: creamy dial & dished sub dials with guilloche.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 @Importr...after i typed the above, i, too, was chalking up the difference in my v1s bezels to manufacturing worksmanship...the cases are similar, but definitely finished differently...lug horns, edge beveling, etc...dials are much closer to each other than different...both are low beat - but one has the decorated rotor, the other plain...who knows - it could have been changed over time...i'll take some pix when i get a chance...are both your v1s with the decorated "engraved/stickered" rotor?...my Fighter case is also like yours - much better and refined bezel milling and lug detailing...the lug beveling is more pronounced then the v1 Navis, but a lot less than the gen, of course...my subdials are the same as yours - with the white arabic dial's center slightly more pronounced/raised... all good stuff!... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monito1975 Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 What a beautiful watch, enjoy it and wear it well l Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drury Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I've always wanted a Navitimer ... but I guess the amount of work involved has also always put me off. Used gen is probably going to be the route for me on this one. Lovely watches, all of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aitcharGMT Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 Did anyone actually put the A7753 in the Navitimer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceilistor Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 Absolutely stunning watch!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSTEEL Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 4 hours ago, ceilistor said: Absolutely stunning watch!!! And how exactly do you know this? The photo hosting sites links have all expired lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aitcharGMT Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 42 minutes ago, SSTEEL said: And how exactly do you know this? The photo hosting sites links have all expired lol Lol he wants his post count up! And about the new a7753 did any one put it in the Navi? :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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