Comparison 2007 GT vs 2006 GT

[rogerthat]

Comparison betwen 2 Rep models and some Gen knowledge mixed in, but NO PICTURES.

I owe both, with the same white dial.

Both are correct and different watches sold on retail.

I have handled both gens as well. Both are still made by Breitling, it has been stated before the new model replaced the old, that is inaccurate.

Hope this is helpful even without an pictures.

For those who don't know the GT is the 44.8 MM version of the larger Bentley.

Many small wrists are not going to look good with the 48 or 49 MM other Bentley models.

Both are excellent reps with A7750 movements, sapphire crystal, etc...

Weight between Gen and Rep seems exact or at least indestinguishable as is the size measures of the face/bezel, etc...

These reps have a very quality feel and can easily pass for Gens, to anyone but the most informed.

Dial printing is very detailed and spot on, bracelet has gen feel after a little oil and same quicks, like difficult to remove clasp.

2006 Model:

This is the GT model from Breitling.

Came with quoted "light AR" from dealer, but in fact is sold without any AR at all.

I sent my crystal off to Cheiftang and now have a true double AR coat on this.

Caseback has accurate wings and special edition engraved

Case and Bracelet is shiny on all links, as is Gen.

2007 Model:

This is the GT Racing Model (Dealers call this brushed version, but true name should be GT Racing)

Also listed as having 'light AR" and guess what it does! This version does come with AR, however it is not as good as the AR coat on Cheiftangs run or the HBB or Steelfish. It likely is a one sided AR coat.

Caseback has the Bentley GT car engraved/embossed on the caseback, same as Gen.

Side of case and Bracelet has outer portion brushed and middle 3 links shiny, I believe same as Gen.

Differences between Models:

other than those stated above, there are no differences they are the exact watch.

Same as Gen/Retail too, other than listed above the Gens are exact on these 2 models.

Quality Differences between Reps:

2007 caseback is amazing! 2006 version looks good but engraving should be deeper and cleaner to pass off as Gen. plus Swilzerland issue that has been pointed out previously.

2007 model with car looks exactly like Gen. Maybe the best or close to the best engraved rep caseback I have seen.

2007 bracelet has slightly better engravings, same as EVO / Steelfish newest version.

The 2006 version engravings on the bracelet were not quite as good, but not bad.

DateFont: strangley enough on the 2007 they darkened and thickened the date ever so slightly compared to 2006, but they did not make the same change to the date?

Crown: the 2007 version has a slightly larger B logo on the crown, which is as Gen, but very hard to notice either way.

The dials, hands, lume, size, pushers, etc.. are all identical between the 2 models.

Flaws of both watches are:

Date/Day font is a bright Red and should be a Dark Red. If you know PMS colors or want to google them, this is a difference between 485 on the Rep and 187 on the Gens. The Gen color is not Black as some say and sometimes appears in certain gen photos, it is a dark red. This is also a flaw on all Bentley models to my knowledge. Flying B Gen does have Black datefont.

Breitling's official catalog images are brighter red than the actual watches, which is likely the reason the rep factory messed this up, not sure why they have not been able to correct it though.

OPINION OF FLAW: personally this is the biggest flaw, a watch fan would never know the correct shade but a Breitling AD would in theory spot this right away.

White Rehault is larger on rep than on gen, more noticable on zoomed photos than in real life, but still a flaw that is true of all Bentley models.

OPINION OF FLAW: not a big deal, I have the White dial and it makes this size difference very difficult to spot.

This may be a bigger deal on the Blue, Black, Red or Green ; but on the White no big deal.

AR is discussed above. Both Gens have 2 sided AR coating.

OPINION OF FLAW: worth fixing by getting the crsytal coated with the help of Cheiftang or others on this and other forums that are offering AR runs. Gen Breitlings are known for their strong AR and a rep without can be easy to spot.

The darker the dial the more obvious AR or lack thereof will be, so again the White dial will hide this more than others. On my white dials, the one with double sided AR (courtesy of Cheiftang) the dial looks crisper as a result of the AR and the reflection coming off the watch is a deeper, richer blue than the other watch which only has the single AR, but you do have to look very close to see the differences.

Overall minor flaw to have only single sided AR on White Dial, could be major flaw on other dials.

Side inner bezel botton does not function (same as on all Bentley reps)

OPINION OF FLAW: Opinions on this vary. Personally I don't care and consider this minor, here's why.

There is a side button, when depressed and the bezel is moved at the same time the inner dial bezel should rotate along with the outer dial bezel. It does not do anything on the Rep.

Sounds bad, but almost no one knows what it is supposed to do or what the button is for, most assume it is some sort of HEV valve and if someone asked me on my watch, that is surely what I would say.

I does not look like it should function on the rep or gen, so that fact that it doesn't is no big deal.

You would have to be very familair with the Gen to know how to use this feature.

Gens cost about $7K, so you don't run into Gen owners often that want to test out your inner bezel feature!

Recessed Date: gen with swiss movement does have a less recessed date.

Fault on all Bentley models and for the most part fault with any A7750 rep.

OPINION OF FLAW: for us rep collectors, this is obviously so I am biased, not sure how those unfamiliar with reps would view the recessed date, likely they would never notice.

Lume on dial is weak on the rep, but not much stronger on the Gen. Could be improved by having rep relumed, but given the lack of lume on this Gen, it is likely not worth the effort.

OPINION OF FLAW: no big deal, not worth the extra expense unless you are a perfectionist

Lume color on hands is a little too green on Rep, not very noticable though. Some pictures of Gen look white, but in person the hand lume does have a green hint to them on the Gens, just not quite as green as the gen.

Lume on rep hands is close to gen, not bad, but not great and again the Gen is not known for having much lume to speak of anyway,

OPINION OF FLAW: no big deal, again if you are a profectionist you can have this changed with a relume color too. Also Worth Noting: If you are a perfectionist, by the Gen.

Overall great watches with just a few flaws and an overall great quality build and gen feel.

In my opinion easily passes for Gen by your average Joe and casual watch fans.

One note of caution: the entire Bentley line is offered in Reps of some terrible quality levels.

Walking around Canal Street or Times Square in NYC and you will see many, I also see many people wearing these bad reps. This hurts the overall impression when seeing this watch, as there are definitely more reps than gens. Hopefully the Bentley watches don't become the next Rolex, where everyone assumes fake/rep first. Of course the reps offered by our dealers are not what I am referring to, I am talking about the sub $100 reps, and there are plenty of those for Bentleys.

Size: if the 44.8 size is still too bog. There is also a Bentley Mark VI model that has a similar look and only 42 MM. Has seconds at 3 but I am not sure if it will ever be repped, hour markers are made from Mother of Pearl which is unique.

Last thought I swear: all of the cheapo reps I have seen for the Bentley line are the larger sizes like the 30's chrono not the smaller GT.

Cheers,

M

[ChronoKing]

Great review M. I think the white rehault ring is a dealbreaker for most 'in the know' potential buyers who want anything but a white face. This is the 2nd most obvious flaw on the coloured faces (besides a lack of A/R). I spoke to Josh about this, and he thought it was do to the movement thickness

[dangerman]

Great to read your review.

I don't have a Bentley but was very impressed when I saw one on someones wrist.

Great presence even from a distance.

The Bentley really deserves more attention than it gets.

[uber2k]

now tell us how to use the bezel and all these little numbers

(no, really, i have no clue )

[rogerthat]

I am not sure either exactly how to use it...

Believe you read it in conjuction with the chrono running.

It is a variable tachometer, which enables one to measure average speed regardless of the time elapsed, the distance covered or the speed reached.

-M