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Jean-Michel Review : Navitimer 806 vs Navitimer 50th Anniversary

How to compare 2 watches which are not comparable ….

Note about the pictures : you can click on all the pictures to have a larger size image

I’ll try to compare in this review two Navitimers, but 38 years separate those two. Comparing a vintage piece to a modern one is quite a chalenge and might be considered as a "crime" to vintage lovers of the famous Navitimer "806"

All the pictures of this article have been taken with the Navitimer 806 on aligator brown strap and the 50th Anniversary on black leather strap, something which might be usefull for readers not used to look to these two watches. My Navitimer 806 was manufactured in 1965 and the Navitimer 50th Anniversary in 2002. You can have a look at the Navitimer history and different generations here.

Both watches have a stainless steel case, measuring 41 mm in diameter : from a top view and for an untrained eye, they look pretty similar. Breitling perfectly succeeded to make an "hommage" version of the 806 with the 50th anniversary.

Navitimer "50th Anniversary"	vs.	Navitimer "806"

The case of the 806 is brush finished on almost all the surface except the upper lugs, the upside edge of the bezel, outer rim of the back, and the push pieces.

The 50th anniversary is all brush finish except the upside edge of the bezel and the pushpieces, a finish greatly appreciated when the watch is exposed to light, avoiding any strong light reflection.

The bezels of the two watches are turning both sides, in order to use the sliderule, both have 60 grooves machined on the edges, but it must be noticed here that the bezel of the 806 turns very easely and the one of the 50th Ann. needs quite an effort due to the O rings for waterproofing.

The main difference between the two watches is immedialty noticable when comparing the thickness : 12 mm including the domed plexiglass crystal for the 806 and 15 mm for the 50th Ann. (including the domed sapphire crystal)

Side view of the two watches crown side	.	Side view of the two watches opposite side

Without the crystals the thickness difference is even greater : the 806 is 10 mm and the 50th Ann. is 14 mm. This of course is noticable wearing the watches, the 806 can not be considered as a "thick" watch.

Looking at the two watches on the side brings the attention to the construction of the movements :

The 806 is equipped with the famous Venus 178, an integrated chronograph movement with crown wheel : crown and pushers are on the same level

The 50th Ann. is equipped with movement Breitling type 41 : based on ETA 2892A2 + Chrono module by Breitling Chronomètrie, its modular construction is immediatly noticable by the pushers higher than the crown.

Both watches have a thick (4mm) crown , the 806 one is slightly larger (7mm diam compared to 6 mm), both manipulations are very easy (they are not screwed down crown), winding is effortless but the noise of winding is by far lowder on the ancestor.

The two pushpieces of the chronographs are very comparable, but their action is fairly different : the newer model feels like pushing in rubber, when the 806 pushers "tick" more franckly : this is due to the construction of the movements (I have always prefered the feeling of crown wheel chronographs) but also to the waterproof pushers of the 50th anniversary.

Crown and pushers of the Navitimer 50th Anniversary	.	Crown and pushers of the Navitimer 806

The back of the watches are very different :

The 806 has a pressure fitted back, engraved only with "stainless steel", the "B", "Breitling" and the reference number of the watch : "806"

The 50th anniversary edition has a screwed-on back with the following engravings : "Chronographe Navitimer certifié Chronomètre, manufacturé en suisse testé 3 bars" , "50th Anniversary 1952-2002" , the reference number : "A41322" and the serial number "59XXX" and the two plane logo.

The 50th Anniversary Navitimer offers a 3 bars waterproof case (30 meters), thus allowing the user to take a bath or swim with his Navitimer (but not diving or snorkeling), The 806 offers absolutly NO waterproofing at all.

On the 806, apart from the totalizers slightly depressed with concentric circles in the middle, the entire dial is flat, unlike the 50th Ann. with the raised outer scale of the slide rule (again for waterproofing reasons)

Dials and slide rule offer the same functionnality (see the Slide rule part of the site here) but the 50th Anniversary offers the date function, which is not the case of the 806 : the first Navitimer with date is the 7806 (read the excellent Dominique review here).

Dial detail of the Navitimer 50th Annniversary	.	Dial detail of the Navitimer 806

Note that the subdial layout is different, both are in the tricompax configuration , but the small second is on the left for the 806 and on the right for the 50th Anniversary. Both watches have the minute and hour subregisters on 30 minutes and 12 hours.

Luminous material is tritium for the 806 (see the aging of the material on my 806) and Luminova for the 50th Anniversary. Afer 38 years the luminescence of the tritium is completly gone. Luminova offers a strong luminescence in the first part of the night, but decreases rapidly with time.

The two Navitimers have the famous two planes logo on the dial, silver paint on the 806, gold paint on the 50th Anniversary. Special notice about dial marking on the 50th Anniversary : no mention of "swiss made", this is not common on Breitling watches but perfectly normal.

Hands are painted in white for the 806 and in bare polished metal for the 50th Anniversary. White hands offer a better reading under any lightning conditions.

Leather straps are identical on both watches (22 mm wide interlug), on the watches pictures, the 50th Anniversary is equiped with the Breitling black strap, and the 806 get a Sirtoli Aligator strap (see the link section here)

Let us detail now the "engines" of the two Navitimers, it is actually their main differences (apart the waterproof).

And I can’t resist to show you some detailled pictures of the Venus 178 to start the part of this review dedicated to the movements.

The 806 is drived with the Venus 178. It is a lever movement, manual wind with an integrated chronograph mechanism with crown wheel and carrying arm.17 jewels, 18.000 bph. 1/5 second, 30 minutes and 12 hours register, power reserve of 41 hours.

This movement devellopped in the late 40’s from the Venus 175 is very sought after by collectors. It has a very good reputation of durability and keeps excellent time : my 806 is far within the Chronometer specifications. The Venus 178 has been used by Breitling in a number of watches including the Cosmonaute, AVI, Copilot, some top-time … but was not very commonly used by other brands.

The 50th Anniversary is drived with the ETA 2892A2 + Chrono module by Breitling Chronomètri . The ETA movement is bought as an unfinished movement by Breitling who modify it and add the chrono module. It is a lever movement automatic wind with the modular chrono module cam activated. 38 jewels, 28.800 bph. 1/5 second, 30 minutes and 12 hours register and date, power reserve of 42 hours.

As all new Breitling from 1999 on, this watch is a chronometer and has kept excellent time this last year. It is still in the Chronometer specifications. The ETA 2892A2 is very commonly used by Breitling but also by many watch manufacturers.

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So it was in fact (perhaps) possible to compare theses two Navitimers even if nearly 40 years separate their manufacturing date, just an aditionnal proof that Breitling keep the Navitimer tradition alive.

The 50th Anniversary Navitimer is the shameless grand daugther of the 806 myth, probably not as desirable as its ancestor but for sure a real and superb Navitimer. The main difference between theses two watches are :

– One is a myth, if you want to buy one you will need to go for a real hunt, scan on-line auctions sites, visit vintage watch shops, try to track and avoid restaured or non fully authentic details. This might be a long hunt, it took me 3 years to find the one I really wanted and fitting the budget ! But be sure that when you will have found YOUR 806 it will be one of your vintage’s favourite ! As all vintage watches it will need more care than a recent one, it will be more fragile, subject to scratches on the crystal, and of course be carefull to avoid water.

– The other is an excellent modern watch, finding one might be as simple as pushing the door of the chosest Breitling authorized dealer (if you want to locate one visit the official Breitling Website) rationally speaking it will offer more than its ancestor : a minimum waterproof feature (even if it is not recommanded to use the Navitimer underwater due to its 3 atm rating only), the date, a sapphire crystal, a modern are reliable movement, the Breitling guarentee for 2 years … If you are not "hooked" by vintage watches it is certainly an excellent choice.

It is very difficult to compare prices of theses two watches, one is available from any authorised dealer, the other is of course only available as second hand. A mint 806 can reach or even exceed the price of a new 50th Anniversary, but a good unrestaured 806 like mine can be found for less … Prices of the 806 increase every year on the market so the situation might change : the 806 is one of the most sought after vintage Breitling.

Both offer a unique and distinctive look, a fantastic quality, keep excellent time, both are Navitimers : a myth born in 1952 and surely still alive !

I hope www.navitimer.net will help you to find your Navitimer, do not hesitate to mail me if you have any questions and of course visit the BEST Internet forum on the web : you will meet a real nest of Breitling experts who will help you a lot as they help me : http://www/watchuseek.com/breitling/