Introduced by Breitling this year is the Breitling for Bentley Light Body GMT fitted with an in house B04 self-winding movement. Over the last few years Breitling has been fitting its new models with in house calibers. At Baselworld this year, almost every single watch that this Swiss brand displayed carried one of the ‘B0’ movements. This move is a response to ETA’s announcement that they will be scaling back on the production of movements to non-Swatch watch manufacturers.
The B04 movement is packed with many advantages, which aid in the general day-to-day operation of the watch. The concept for this line of in house movements is that they would be modular in design. Using this modular design, Breitling can incorporate a chronograph module, or a world timer module, or combinations of different complications. The benefit to this type of movement is a much shorter turnaround time for servicing, and it gives the brand a much larger scope for doing very exciting things in the future.
These in house movements also carry a 72 hour power reserve, which is a full day more than watches from Breitling with ETA based movements. As with all Breitling watches, the Breitling for Bentley Light Body GMT is certified by the COSC as a chronometer.
To attain chronometer status, watches undergo a battery of tests lasting for roughly two weeks where the variants in accuracy cannot exceed -4/+6 seconds per day. Breitlings dedication to accuracy is evidenced by the fact that 100% of their watches are chronometer certified – even their quartz watches.
Breitling describes their in house movements as high frequency, but in fact most watches out there feature a rate of 28,800 VpH. It should be noted that other rates in watchmaking start as low as 18,000 VpH, but can go as high as 36,000 VpH. It can be argued that a rate of 28,800 is at the upper end of this scale but it is still quite common.
Breitling for Bentley Light Body GMT gets its name from the usage of titanium as the case material. Breitling normally uses grade 2 titanium for its watches, which is noted for its lighter and stronger than steel properties. As a member of the Breitling for Bentley family, this timepiece is oversized with a 49mm case diameter.
The most distinctive characteristics however, come in the usage of its asymmetrical lugs and classic knurled bezel, reminiscent of the grille on Bentley automobiles. The bezel features a pinion mechanism for the fluid rotation of an internal world timer scale. This powerful watch is water resistant to 100 meters, and it features a textured screw locked crown.
The case back features a transparent sapphire crystal, which reveals the decorated movement. Prior to the era of in house movements from Breitling, it was a rarity to find a model with an exhibition case back. A cambered sapphire crystal, glare-proofed on both sides, protects the dial and defends against scratches. Completing the watch is a thick black GMT rubber strap.
Breitling offers the Breitling for Bentley Light Body GMT in dial options of Royal Ebony (black), and Tungsten (grey). The dial features large, luminous indexes with the lone exception at the 12 position in Arabic numerals. Just below the flange is a 24 hour scale, which is indicated by a bright red arrow head central hand.
Though this is a GMT model, Breitling still equips this timepiece with a chronograph that can time any event up to 12 hours. These indications can be found at the 6 position for the hours, the 3 position for the minutes, and the seconds are displayed using another central hand. The chronograph is operated through two pushers at the 2 and 4 positions on the case. These pushers are angular, and complement the shape and ruggedness of this watch. The counter at the 9 position displays the continuous seconds. The 4:30 position is occupied by a date aperture. All of these elements sit atop the partially skeletonized dial, which offers a glimpse of the powerful ‘motor’ that drives this timepiece.
TAGS: Automatic Watches, Bidirectional Bezel, Breitling for Bentley, Chronographs, COSC, Date, Exhibition Case Back, GMT, Light Body, Mechanical Watches, Men's Watches, Power Reserve, Rubber, Sapphire Crystal, Selfwinding Watches, Skeleton Watch, Swiss Made, Titanium Watches, Water Resistant