Gen Breitling Strap

[andreww]

My genuine Breitling strap finally arrived yesterday and I couldn’t be happier. I picked this one up on ebay for a mere $50 Canadian ($45 U.S.), and because he was local, the gentleman hand delivered it to my office. As promised, I am going to do a side by side comparison with the strap that I consider to be the best replica strap available, the Bob Breitling strap. But, first lets take a look at the gen!

Comparison

Thickness.

There really is no comparison here. The Bob strap has a nice thickness to it, but it measures just over 2mm at the sidewall. The Breitling sidewall is almost 5mm. In my opinion this is the biggest flaw of the Bob strap. Anybody who has even tried on a Breitling would probably notice this lack of leather. The hump in the center of the strap is very good on the Bob strap however, and this is where the actual thickeness of the strap lies.

Stitching

Breitling straps are renown for the heavy white stitching that borders their straps. The Bob strap seems to have replicated this nicely, although I always felt that the stiching was a little to “outboard” as compared to the gen. The thread seems to be of about the same thickness and quality, but on closer inspection I found that the actual stitch size is still much smaller than that of the gen.

Quality

Although my gen strap is not new, and has obviously been worn for a bit, it still fits tightly. By this I mean that the loops that hold the excess strap do so snugly. The Bob straps outer loop seems to have already stretched slightly, despite light wear, and no longer stays in place. Quality of the leather on the Breitling is obviously far better. Although the Bob strap is calf, in my opinion it really doesn’t have that leather feel.

Buckle

Of course the gen strap has a gen buckle, but I’m really not keen on it. The angle of the pin makes securing the strap to a snug fit (and removing the strap as well) very difficult. Definitely, the design of Bobs buckle is far superior.

Markings

Obviously having a gen strap means you get the benefit of all the marking on the inside of the strap. Although the Bob is a replica strap, it does not replicate markings.

Bottom line

The Bob strap is great, and in my opinion still the best Breitling rep strap available. But if you want that perfect look, keep your eyes open. These straps occasionally pop up for a decent price!

[whateveraddy]

Great review and a beautiful watch.