Expert Breitling Guide: 9 Ways To Authenticate

Last Updated on April 12, 2024 by Ch David

Wondering to authenticate a Breitling Navitimer? Just want to check yours?

In this guide, we’ll teach you everything about spotting fake Breitlings.

How to check if your Breitling is real

To check if your Breitling is real, look at the date wheel. All replica date wheels have a sunken look, making the overall look of the numbers thicker than the original.

Speaking of which, all authentic Breitling watches are always flawless.

1. Date wheel

• Fake: Date wheel on the fake Breitling Navitimer is sunken, making it look like a hole in the dial.
  • Effect: This results in a thicker overall appearance and raises the dial above the sunken date wheel, especially when moving the sub-dial from 12 to 3 o’clock.
  • Cause: This flaw stems from the replica mechanism not fitting the Navitimer case as perfectly as the genuine one.
• Authentic: Genuine Breitling Navitimer has the date wheel patch closer to the dial window, avoiding a sunken or “pothole” appearance.

Let’s look at another comparison:

• Fake: Date wheel on fake Breitling Navitimer is too deep, making date text less legible.
• Authentic: Date wheel in genuine watch is closer to the dial window, making the text easier to read.

Breitling is a respectable brand in the watch industry, so know that an authentic watch has to be flawless.

Get the expert's opinion: Let us legit check your Breitling.

2. Sub-dials

• Fake: Sub-dials push up to the margin indices, a flaw not seen in genuine watches.
• Meaning: Replica Breitling Navitimer watches often have misplaced sub-dials that touch the margin indices.
• Authentic: Genuine watch has evenly placed sub-dials that don’t merge with the margin indices.

3. Thickness

• Fake: Overall look of the fake watch is too big and chunky.
• Authentic: Genuine watch has a thinner and smaller profile from top to bottom.

Official case thickness specs for specific Breitlign models can be found online.

4. Ruler marks

• Fake: Markers on the white bezel are too far from the dial and not touching the edge as they should.
• Authentic: Markers on the genuine watch are at the edge of the bezel and appear connected to the marks on the black dial.

Detailed look:

Focus Area: Edge between the white bezel and the black dial.

• Fake: Markers are too far from the edge of the white bezel.
• Authentic: Markers on the genuine watch are precisely at the edge of the white bezel.

A quick mention:

• The steps we’ve written so far are the BEST ways to authenticate this item
• The next few steps are still reliable methods…
• … but they apply to non-top-versions of replicas available for this item

If in doubt, we recommend double-checking the steps we’ve explained above this line.

5. Logo

• Fake: Typically misses two fine details:
  1. Anchor tip and wings touch each other.
  2. Inner lines extend to the end of the wingspan.
• Authentic:
  1. Slight gap between the tip of the anchor and wings.
  2. Inner lines defining the wings do not reach the end of the wingspan.

6. Bezel

Focus Area: Placement of “10” on both the white and black bezels.

• Fake: The pointy end of the arrow below and above the red “10” is misaligned, not sitting perfectly in front of each other.
• Authentic: Arrows and numbers are perfectly aligned, facing each other properly without any tilt or misplacement.

7. SWISS MADE

• Fake: The text is too wide and appears squashed by the sub-dial.
• Authentic: The inscription is smaller and boxier, fitting comfortably without any squashing from the sub-dial.

8. Date window

• Fake: The date window is improperly spaced between the numbers “5” and “4.”
• Authentic: The date wheel is exactly centered between the numbers “5” and “4.”

Reference point: The continuous line on the dial and the distance to the bottom margin of the date window to easily spot the flaw.

9. Clasp

• Fake: The squared “B” logo is too thick and fits too deep into the metal.
  • The “Breitling” text is also too thick.
• Authentic: The “B” logo and “Breitling” text are thinner on the genuine watch.

Shortlist: Check your Breitling’s authenticity in 30 seconds

1. Check the date wheel positioning: Inspect the date window alignment on your watch, as many replica pieces often have their date window sunken too deep into the main dial, creating an illusion of a hole.
2. Examine sub-dial placement: Scrutinize the sub-dials of your watch closely, because counterfeit Breitling Navitimer watches frequently have their sub-dials touching the design elements on the main dial.
3. Inspect watch thickness: Verify the overall thickness of the watch, as fake Breitling watches tend to have cases that are excessively thick when compared to authentic ones.
4. Evaluate bezel ruler marks: Look at the ruler marks printed on the bezel of the watch. In most cases, counterfeit watches have shorter marks on the bezel, whereas genuine pieces should have marks touching the edge of the bezel.
5. Check dial logo: Examine the logo on the watch’s dial, focusing on the wing details. Replica watches often have improperly detailed wings with details that may touch, contrary to the authentic design.
6. Review bezel details: Scrutinize the details on the watch’s bezel, as replica Breitling Navitimer watches commonly feature misaligned elements.
7. Inspect “SWISS MADE” text: Look at the “SWISS MADE” text on the dial. Counterfeit Breitling Navitimers often have this text too wide or “squashed” by the sub-dial at 6 o’clock.
8. Examine date window placement: Verify the placement of the date window, ensuring it is positioned evenly between the hour numbers “5” and “4,” at a consistent distance from the continuous line on the main dial.
9. Check clasp engraving: Scrutinize the text engraved on the clasp of your watch, as fake watches frequently have inscriptions that are overly thick.

We have created a concise 60-second guide for verifying the authenticity of your Breitling Navitimer watch.

Presented below are the key 9 indicators.

Expert Breitling authentication

If you require assistance in authenticating your Breitling Navitimer watch, rest assured, we’re here to assist you.

• Provide us with high-quality photographs of your Breitling watch.
• We will promptly respond within 48 hours with our assessment.
• Our response will include a detailed report explaining whether we believe your Breitling watch is genuine or a counterfeit.

This concludes our guide on distinguishing between fake and authentic Breitling Navitimer watches.

Need our opinion in regards to the authenticity of your watch? It’s a service we provide.

Alternatively, we have free authentication resources for watches: written guides and video tutorials.

Thank you for reading this,

Ch Alex