mezzanine Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 *check the bottom of the page for follow-up post The comments on this one are going to be relatively brief- I think that people are relatively familiar with the watch by now, it's problems with the off-center pearls, and it's overall specs including the seconds @3 and Big Date function. I like it. It's an aggressive looking, stealthy, Breitling that has good wrist presence. The AR looks to be better than the Evo's...at least the earlier Evo's- there's been talk that the more recent ones have got better quality AR. I find that the watch is growing on me. A lot depends on whether you're able to tolerate the off-center pearl. Hopefully your watch won't have this problem. I saw a picture of mine before shipping, and didn't notice anything wrong...but go figure. I've noticed that there hasn't been much in the way of pics of the actual rep once obtained by members, so I snapped a few pics of the watch on genuine gator. I'd considered putting it on gen black rubber, and still might try that combo out. Initially, I didn't like the grey leather with the black face. But after a while, with the brushed case sort of muting the black dial a bit, I think it blends reasonably well. I think the folks with gen Breitling black gator straps are going to be pleased. This one might be for sale soon, as I'm having to deal with a potential scam on a recent watch transaction from a member of another board and may need to free up some cash... After having a modded Evo with a case brushed to match the Blackbird's in apparance, the two watches have a similar feel and basic construction. I think I like the Blackbird a little better, all things being equal, from a dial standpoint. The larger Breitling logo and the Big Date give a nice focus, and after having so many reps with a seconds @9 movement, having something a little different is nice. The dial markers look better constructed and finished than the Evo reps, but the Evo dial has the advantage of texture, with it's concentric circles. The face of the watch looks wider on the Blackbird. I think it's partially due to the sub-dial layout, but also because of the brushed bezel that integrates into a brushed case that gives it additional focus and presence. The case has the same engraving of the serial number at the lug at 6 o'clock- which appears similar to that on the Steelfish SuperOcean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellomen Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Not really my cup of tea as i'm not a huge Breitling fan... but i am impressed with the watch and the strap matches very nicely!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzanine Posted November 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Figured I'd include a couple of snaps of DuDro's new swiss BCE that I took for comparison purposes, as well as a SFSO- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b16a2 Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Nice review Mezzanine! It looks very well built, certainly a dead ringer for the real deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtd Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 I tried the Blackbird this weekend @ the AD..... not really that nice of a model... the bracelet (ss) was very very light compared to any standard breit models... Just a big dissapointment for this watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryaku Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 What a beauty, i think i like it even more than the Evo. I hope they might release soon a ss bracelet though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dario33 Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Very sharp -- high on my want list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shultz Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 (edited) Nice review and very good pics. thanks for sharing! Actually the Blackbird is #1 on my list at this time but I am bit confused when I compared the pics of our dealers: I noticed different case back engravings and now I am confused whether the ar and other features would be different as well. The Zigmeister gave his o.k. to the movement but I really wan to make sure to get a nice watch. I mean it is not even cheap for a rep, am I right? Edited November 30, 2007 by shultz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzanine Posted November 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 You're right that it's still a pricey watch. I was curious about the Blackbird, being that I've noticed a progression between the quality of the various releases of 'super-rep' as time moves forward. It's difficult to compare between radically different designs. But the unique thing about the Blackbird is it's similarity to the Evolution that has already been replicated. As a result, it's more realistic to test my theory about whether the reps are improving. If the case is essentially supposed to be equal, there might be clues about where things are improved, and where they're weaker. I am fortunate to have owned the ultimate BCE that was the first truly well done Breitling rep in a couple of years. I also owned the classic, Breitling Chrono Avenger Titanium that is still much sought after. The owners of that watch should be in immediate contact with chieftang or Jakub about getting their crystal AR coated. Although the 'legend' of the watch is that it has excellent AR...by today's standards, it's probably not up to uPO standards. I will admit, I would consider getting this treatment even if I was still an owner of a BCE. I don't know about the more recent release, but the more common one suffers from poor quality double AR. It's not necessary, but if I had one from a year ago and it had a few scratches, I would be in line for the high quality aftermarket. Anyways, I'm convinced that the next frontier for replica watch manufacturing is going to be with dial quality. I think a lot of the appeal of the SFSO is the quality of the dial. It's one of the first times that rep makers have been able to capture the appearance of a detailed genuine dial. As the ability to replicate complex/detailed dials increases, I think we'll see the next step as far as obvious improvement in rep quality. I've seen a glimpse of how good it can be, with the dial used on my MBW AP ROO that changes colour. This is the feature that I think most separates the Blackbird from the BCE. The dial quality is higher. It can look graphite under certain angles and lights, and generally has a high-quality finish. Under certain angles, I'm not going to lie, I thought that the BCE dials could look almost cardboardish. The hands on the Blackbird look very thin and a little foil-ish, but are clean and wider than those of the BCE. The person who asked about the alignment of the screw on the 12 o'clock rider tab, you're correct, the screw aligns with the pearl. So they're 'correct' in terms of being aligned with each other- just not in relation to the middle of the rider!?! This may be of concern to those that were hoping it was just a matter of the pearl. That's the thing- if you think it's something that's going to bug you, I wouldn't suggest getting it. For me, and this is only personal preference, but having collected these watches for a while now, I have a relative balance in my mind between the 'finish' of the watch and the fidelity to the original. I find that if the finish of the watch is gen-like, then perfect fidelity is less significant. Everyone has their pet issues, though- and I know how something that bugs one person won't bug another, but on some other problem, it's the opposite. There is an improvement in minor engraving, the stuff that doesn't even necessarily look like engraving but almost stamp like, which I first noticed on the SFSO...but there are far better reviews for this type of stuff. I really like the design of the Blackbird/Evo chrono pushers- they're screw down, but it fits with the propeller-like design of the pusher layout and shows the tight machining of the rep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Red Baron Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 @mezzanine: that BCE (DuDro's) looks great, do you know from whom he purchased it? I've found most of the dealers are out of the ultimate version 2, the model that includes the little tick mark below the '10' on the upper chrono. I've been told the earlier version has a very nice dial and is equally high-quality, but I'm concerned about buying an older model. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shultz Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 (edited) I am fortunate to have owned the ultimate BCE that was the first truly well done Breitling rep in a couple of years. I also owned the classic, Breitling Chrono Avenger Titanium that is still much sought after. Thanks for that extensive information. I am owning the ultimate BCE and the early Ti Avenger chrono and the SFSO as well. Probably you have seen some pics here or over on the dark side or TRC. I modded the Ti Avenger with gen hand set, gen dial, swiss 7750 and (please note ) a gen Breitling DW! My BCE has been modded as well with a gen dial (arabic numerals) and movement swap and re-luming by The Zigmeister. My SFSO has been serviced and super-lumed by zig and this watch is the most outstanding rep I think. I took it with me for diving an it is actually water proof at least 100 Meters/ 10 atm. By viewing the Blackbird pics (except of that peral alignment thing) I second your opinion. It looks like one of the most serious out-of-the-box reps currently and I assume a good quality as well because most of the major issues of the BCE (as "base") seem to be sorted out. I think I am ready to order it. To be honest I am not that sad that the ss bracelet is not yet released because I have got a gen rubber strap in stock and that combo looks really straight I hope I receive my baby before x-mas time. Of course I will write a short reviews with pics asap! Edited November 30, 2007 by shultz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 This photo just made want to buy one of these! Great shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchurch Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Looks like a great watch. I was waiting to get myself a Christmas gift and wanted to pick up a SFSO but I am thinking this might be a better choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest watchbuff Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Nice watch, but it looks alot like a Breitling B-2 except for the date window. How much for this rep again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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