I bought this Breitling 806 Navitimer the other day knowing it was probably not right, where right means the way it left the factory. The case is a from the mid '50s by its serial number and by the 120 bead bezel. Almost certainly a watch with this serial number and bezel would have left the factory with an all black dial and slightly different hands. These 806 Navitimers were originally made for the AOPA or Aircraft Owners & Pilot's Association. They were tool watches with a functioning slide rule and obviously a 12 hour counting chronograph. As tools, they were refined over the years to make them more functional. One of the ongoing refinements were attempts to make the dial more readable. This dial which came into use a couple of years later than the '55-'56 production date of this watch had more readable white chronograph sub-dials.
Who knows if the original dial got wet or simply faded but or the owner simply decided he wanted the new more readable dial. Anyway, it got upgraded.
I usually go only for original watches but I love the look of this watch the way it is now. I like the look of this early, 120 bead bezel case much better than I like the knurled bezel case that came out in the '60s. but I like this dial a whole lot better than the all black version. I will never call it original and if one of the few experts who knows the Navitimer well enough let's me know it isn't right, I will just tell them that I know, but I think this is how Breitling should have made the watch in the first place.
Who knows if the original dial got wet or simply faded but or the owner simply decided he wanted the new more readable dial. Anyway, it got upgraded.
I usually go only for original watches but I love the look of this watch the way it is now. I like the look of this early, 120 bead bezel case much better than I like the knurled bezel case that came out in the '60s. but I like this dial a whole lot better than the all black version. I will never call it original and if one of the few experts who knows the Navitimer well enough let's me know it isn't right, I will just tell them that I know, but I think this is how Breitling should have made the watch in the first place.
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