Restoration of a Breitling Chronograph - Heirloom in Trouble!
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This time I restore a Breitling Chronograph from the Breitling Chronomat Collection. The model is the Breitling Chronometre Longitude and it is based on a Valjoux 7750 series movement with an additional GMT hand.
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Watch Cleaning Regime
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The Breitling in this video belongs to an international businessman called Will Hickey whose wife Joanne purchased the watch new in Sydney whilst on Holiday in the year 2000. This Breitling served Will well for ten years but then, after a move to Cyprus, he went swimming wearing the watch with the crown unscrewed and the watch suffered an ingress of water. His local watchmaker had just retired so the watch went into its original box and into a cupboard, for a decade! Recently Will's son Ben has shown an interest in the watch and so Will turned to me to see if it could be saved!
Music:
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Title: No.5 The Day I Met Her
Artist: Eshter Abrami
Source: KZhead Audio Library
Fantastic video, wonderful workmanship and a very special watch!!!
Thank you for someone finally posting about a Breitling. As a Breitling owner, I get tired of "Rolex this" and "Rolex that."
i would love to get my hands on one but there was always something that stoped me from buying one :D ... broken computer, broken car, broken phone ... another broken car :D some day i get one :)
Exactly! Rolex’ are like tanks with a nice paint job. They are amazingly durable and reliable watches. But for me I prefer the “off brands”. And I mean off brands to anyone who’s not into watches. They only tend to know of Rolex., Tag, or Seiko. I prefer brands such as Breitling, Longines, A. longe, the older Elgin wristwatches, etc.
I had a Omega Seamaster 1970's with Battery, geeting battries was not easy, but still wanted a Scuba Divers watch Automatic, Ended up with a ''Shark''
@@Bloodbound89 I love my Breitling. Its not my most expensive watch by any means, but it is my favourite. I really like my IWC daily beater, but the Breitling still feels special when i put it on !
@@hulldanfanNot often to hear or see anything related to IWC on these channels and since you mentioned it I thought I'd impart something concerning IWC. I learned a surprising fact a few day's ago that you may or may not know. It surprised the heck out of me. In a surprisingly good way. They were founded by an American and the company was based out of Boston Massachusetts ( just a few miles south of me ) prior to the relocation and sale of the company. America of that time was not known for exceptional wrist watches, more so for pocket watches. I understand it's Just inconsequential fluff you may already know. But noticed IWC in your post and it gave me the excuse to blather on about essentially nothing at all. Except a small pop of patriotic pride. That a respected luxury watch brand is up there competing toe to toe with the European power houses. With the current climate of taking cheap shot's at America and the divisive negativity permitting most everything. This tid bit of information brightened my day. Thanking you for letting me share.
Im totally amazed at the level of skill you have.the expertise, precision and passion you have for what you do is inspiring
It never ceases to amaze me the complexity of a mechanical movement and the amazing engineering involved to create such a movement. Great video 👍
After a hard day at the NHS coal face it’s a relaxing pleasure to watch an expert at work 👌
I have watched many of these repair videos from different technicians. I believe this is one of the most complicated watches I have seen. Magnificent work.
BIG respect for good watchmakers. You're brilliant at it! 👍
When I graduated NCO school my mum found a restored gmt as a gift. Since I was a load master it came in handy. My LT was jealous 😅
I lost one of these in the early 90s on a strap before I bought my current watch. Never again on leather strap. Deployment or not. Loved it. Same model as this. Black on black. Great work.
Magnificent video and what's more soothing is listening to the Queen's and now the King's English.
Absolutely great video and real craftsmanship. Always plenty to learn when watching Richard’s content.
Your videos are entertaining, educational and soothing, Richard. I really enjoy them! 😊
As always, another great video. Being a Breitling Fanboy, what an amazing restoration, and even more special knowing where it's going to land. You are representing the watch repair industry with respect and professionalism. Be well.
What a great restoration of a great watch that was in dire need of service to bring it not only back to life but back to its original glory. A lot of parts there and masterfully handled to completion. Excellent job there. Kudos
Mate! I’ve had to watch 3 times because your voice puts me to sleep. So calming and soothing at bedtime. Brilliantly done restoring this fine timepiece!
Thank you for such an interesting & informative video. I had no idea as to how complex such a beautiful watch could be.
Nice to see you again. Great job, informative as usual. Thanks Richard.
Excellent..You make it look so simple. Mechanical marvels, I love the look of a Breitling.
You sir are amazing. I've watched many other movements being serviced but the 7750 is incredible. When I buy one I'll never complain about the service cost!
Thank you for another outstanding video Richard. Been away , but back now. Kind wishes, Tony from Scandinavia.
Here's a way to stop small pieces from launching across the room. A black veil like widows wear. Material with very fine thread and many holes. Almost invisible. The portable tape recorders I used to work on had small parts and springs. I would lay some of that veil material over the whole work space. Slide my hands under it and work on the device. I could easily see through the veil. But when parts flew they stayed on the bench.
Thank you for this fantastic video, it was a real pleasure to see how this watch works, and I was amazed how many parts makes this beauty a perfect piece of art. I inherited this same type of watch from my beloved Dad, and I keep it mostly in it's original box, wearing it only on vvery special occasions. Sometimes I remove it from the box, wind it up and let the watch take me down memory lane. And watching your video brought back beautiful memories too. Thank you
Richard I appreciate you. After watching your videos for years I mustered the courage to replace two of my Seikos mineral crystals with sapphire and I so glad I did. Thank you for sharing with us all.
Very nice to see the inner workings of the Cronomat. As I write this, on my wrist is a slightly older Cronomat, purchased in the mid 90s from a dealer in Dubai. I've had it back at Breitling for a full overhaul, and it's working and looking great.
Writing as I'm watching: 1st thing I think I've noticed is that the chrono central hand lost its tube, that remained on the hand post, and this is why I never ever use leavers before to remove the central second hand with the Bergeon 30670-6: I have had my share of detached hands on 7750 based watches before... And never happened again with that tool, since it grabs the tube directly (I also sharpened its jaws a bit). Also I prefer to remove the counterbalance as 1st thing, so that it's not wobbly when I remove the movement from the case and put it on the movement pad for the hands. I agree to remove the balance as soon as comfortable to do, but I prefer to take out its jewels while it's still in place and screwed to the main place. Of course I keep the balance and its jewels separated from those of the main plate that often are slightly different. That movement holder is no good... I have a relatively cheap black plastic from AF Swiss for this movement and works more than fine, I'd suggest it :) Ok, now I'm at 10:34 and I had seen well at the beginning :) About the mainspring, what I normally do is to position it with the lit plate up on my little staking tool (or any other flat hard surface) and with my nails push on the barrel gears down, so that the maximum lift of the lit, when it detaches from the barrel walls, is that of the part of the arbor protruding from below the barrel, at that point I fit a scalpel blade between the lit and the barrel, so that the lit doesn't bring the rest with it, and lift the lit. About cleaning, as I don't have a professional cleaner but just a 60W ultrasonic machine, I first clean them, one by one, with a small brush with slightly diluted degreaser, then (in movement with old oil like this) pass each jewel with sharpened peg wood and the gear pivots with pithwood. Then put them in the ultrasonic with the very same degreaser, then rinsed in clean water in the ultrasonic, and finally passed into small bath of isopropyl alcohol again in the ultrasonic, so that there's no more residual water and soap or grease. It would have been nice to see the timegrapher result after the final assembly... Bye, Alessandro
Beautiful work. I was mesmerized by this. Thank you for sharing
Great work Richard 👏👏and what a Wonderful movement. It just seemed to have real substance to each component.
Glad to see you continuing your art;
FINALLY! A voice that doesn't drive me crazy. Well spoken :)
What supperb skills,craftsmanship, excellent to watch thank you.
One of the best well spent time productive knowledgeable and satisfying video on KZhead for me thanks for sharing your expertise sir
Good grief Richard, I service my own ETA 2824 watches but I wouldn’t even attempt the 7750, talk about complicated, you make it look so easy though. Well done. It looks amazing.
Setting the upper automatic framework on these 7750s is the most challenging part of the build in my opinion. Setup of the day and date advance wheels on the calendar side so the date and day change over simultaneously can be tricky. Lovely movements. Thanks for the vid. Alway well done on your part Richard.
Absolutely superbly executed and instructive video. Your narration, patience, attention to detail and skill are inspirational! Thank you once again Richard. And wishing you continued success with your lovely Major dive watch, and I'll look out for the Desert Rat! 💯 👍
Hi Federico! Such a nice comment to receive! Desert Rat uses a Valjoux 7753 and will be pretty special for sure .... Thanks for such great feedback. Richard
Love seeing a great watch returned to operation, especially after so many years. I thought water ingress and long times in the drawer would be a rust nightmare.
Stunning workmanship.......
Amazing work and quality, appreciate watching the video
Fornunately, only a little bit of pool water has seeped in. Obviously, sea water would have caused a major disaster. (pun intented) 😉
I couldn’t heard it right,, did he said he accidentally pushed the chrono pushers?
What a beautiful watch. Fantastic work my friend.
Always enjoy your videos!
Absolutely fascinating.....I was already hooked prior to watching this .....
Great video and very hearty congratulations on a 100K. kind regards
Absolutely awesome and beautiful.
Thank you for another very interesting and informative watch restoration
Thanks so much @minicooper2572. Good to hear from you! Richard
Brilliant! That is indeed an achingly gorgeous chronograph. Glad to see it so wonderfully restored to working order.
Hi Ron... I like your description 'achingly gorgeous'... That is just it I think. I really warmed to this watch as I did thr work. Tjanks for the feedback. Richard
Fantastic. Loved it
Great restoration as always Sir! 😊
Hi @Daud76 ! Good to hear from you and thanks for the feedback. Richard
@@richardperrettwatchmaker Hello Richard. My pleasure. Hope you are well, my friend.
Amazing Job!
Such a great work. 👏👏
Excellent, watching/learning. Thank you
Wow..BCE case with an incredible face. Have never seen this dial before. Love it
Amazing video I have the Chronomat 44 it truly is a beautiful watch. Fantastic skills 👏
Excellent work. 👍
Incredible number of parts in this watch
Great video. Thanks.
Thanks Richard lovely video 👍
Thanks James! Richard
I have the A20048 yellow dial, and i love it. My first real watch. Thank you for this video!
Hi @fb7997 ... i just loooked up that reference and it's a very striking watch! I love this Chronomat models, tempted to get one for myself! Richard
Mee too! Im looking for a second one. Maybe an older one in good condition, something like D 13050.1 with 18k bezel. Blue or Black dial😊
Another great video. I’m fond of Breitling and enjoyed this very much.
Thanks so much Thomas! Richard
Nice, very nice work ❤
I want to thank you and also blame you for my new found watch addiction. 😂 after watching you the algorithm decided to show me Seiko mods and Casioak mods which led me down a rabbit hole of an appreciation for the movements and an understanding why so many people love them. Not saying those are anywhere near the same skill you have but definitely let me get my foot in the door and get comfortable taking them apart and fixing them for friends and family.
Excellent, I’ve always wanted to see a mainspring “escape.”
beautiful work my friend
Thank you so much @yogeshanjan4784 ! Richard
Amazing Talent !!!!
Great stuff…Sea Wolf is badass, on my list big time , thanks for making it👊
Hi John .... My pleasure! And thanks for taking a moment to leave a comment. Sea Wolf info here .... www.majorwatches.co.uk/seawolf/ Richard
Amazing craftsmanship. I'm amazed on how you remember where & how to put those teeny-tiny parts back? Great job!👍 I hope you could fix my watch too.😊
Hi, Richard. Nice work and nice video. I was just curious. How interchangeable are parts between ETA and Selitta?
Beautiful work!…👏👏👏
Perfect Job.
Very nice job.
Lovely!
Masterful rebuild
So nice work Mr.Richard, and what a nice watch ! Chronograph are not easy to work on, but see you is look so simple. Thank you also for the nice comments and explanations it’s always interesting ! Best regard and have a nice week ! ✨👌
Hi Alain ... Good to hear from you sir! Yes chronographs are more challenging and partly exist I sometimes feel because watchmakers enjoyed working on them as much as folks really needed a stop watch with their watch. Hoping all is good with you. Richard
@@richardperrettwatchmaker Thank you ! Yes everything is fine, two big watch challenge on the run, one concern an Omega cal.505 and the other is a Certina 23-35, so I surely fine what’s wrong, it’s always a watchmaker challenge to find problems ! 😂😂
I love your videos. Thank you ！
thanks for sharing your expertise on another interesting movement....servicing a 775 series is not in my reach yet but I have learned a lot from your videos.
Hi @pipodorologio1648 ! Thanks for taking a moment to give this feedback its nice to know that my work is helpful to folks! Richard
speechless look at Mr. RP in dealing with this Breitling complexity. Salute.
I love your videos, and great skill. Question, what were those coordinates for in this particular video? Is that where you made this video or something? Looks beautiful there.
I wanted one of these 20 yrs ago... still want one
Iam not really a fan of breitling but this is mesmerising. I love it
Enjoyed that. Thank you.
My pleasure @culturevulture3382! Thanks for taking a moment to say so ... much appreciated. Richard
Wow, just wow!!!
Nice work...do you know why my eta 2834 jeeps getting magnetised after been demagnatised three times...is it better to replace balance spring full unit.. thanks
Nice one Richard! Loved that you said every watch you work on has a little problem! Tell us about it!
Hi Boyd ... sure. The secret is to make sure that by the end of the work there are no problems and to do this despite the things that will often go wrong along the way and stuff always goes wrone along the way. Perseverence is the thing despite the difficulties! Good to hear from you! Richard
@@richardperrettwatchmaker Thanks Richard, top words!
Brilliant video. Just wondering how much a service like that would cost.
My favorite brand of watch. Hope one day I can have my own
Hi @Gordo101978.. I love to look of these watches too and having worked on this one would like ly own Breitling too! Thanks for sharing. Richard
What was with the GPS coordinates in Clynnog Fawr?
I must have missed the timegrapher reading? I like to see the lines of top and bottom lines.
Brillant, mate!
Hi, Richard. Is it challeging to work with something so little after being mechanic of things so big and heavy such as tanks? Thanks for this awesome video, Major!
top work rich as usual
Nice job loved the video.
Потрясающая работа !
Love your posts 👍
Thanks so much @billsalt2206 ! And thanks for taking a moment to say so sir! Richard
Theirs only 3 watch makers I follow, the other 2 are The Nekkid Watch maker and another guy called Theo. You are so informative and hopefully in a couple of years can service my Spring Drive. 👍
Interesting. This looks like a Chronomat Longitude with a black face. I had one of those and bizarrely I got water in it twice, both times diving. Each time I had it cleaned and rebuilt at some expense (and time). At the time I was an international businessman and wanted the GMT hand: subsequently I became a commercial pilot (unlikely, I know but true) and the watch accuracy was awful. Ultimately Brietling advised me that vibration on the flight deck from the Turboprop I was flying was responsible. I thought that insane for an apparent pilot watch brand and sold the watch. These days I fly a jet aircraft internationally. But I wear Tudor which behaves flawlessly both in the water and at 40,000’.
Are there torque specs for the screws on the movement parts etc? If so how are you measuring that? By feel or some sort of specialized torque drive?
I don’t know why but I love watching watch servicing videos. I could never do this as I’m 70 and my eyesight has eroded the past 5 years or do but I love mechanical things,I’m a retired airline mechanic.
Hi Maurice .... I have much respect for engineers working on aircraft. Not much room for error in that discipline for sure! Very pleased you liked this video and thank you so much for taking a moment to say so. Richard
God job Man. Thank you
Very nice watch. Love the lume! What mistakes were you talking about?
Question. I just recently acquired a breitling chrono and the crown on the stem was gold plated but has since faded. Does the entire movement have to be dismantled in order to remove the stem and have it gold plated again? Thank you!
Really, really nice program on a spectacular watch--well done! I loved the mainspring plastic bag hack. You must have known that was potential trouble from good old experience. Nothing like earning back tuition from things that have gone wrong.
Hi Paul... Good to hear from you! Thanks for the feedback on this little film. Yes, I didn't like the way the mainspring barrel lid would not let go of the arbor. There seemed to be too much risk it would drag the spring out andhence the caution. Pleased you like the watch as I think these are great. Richard
Damn, a chrono and GMT?? That's pretty sweet. I'll have to hunt one of these down on the used market. I was unaware ETA made this movement with a gmt feature. Bang up job, Richard, as usual.
Hey @R0CC0_ the Valjoux variant with GMT is the 7754 calibre. These are so cool. Search for Breitling Chronometre Longitude and you will get these in the results. Hope this is helpful and thanks for the feedback. Richard
@@richardperrettwatchmakerThe Chopard Millie Miglia GMT chronograph has a 7754 as its base.