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Breitling majority stake acquired by private equity firm
Today, following widespread speculation that Breitling SA was for sale, beginning in November of last year, we now know the rumors were true and an agreement to sell an 80% majority stake in Breitling – to CVC, one of the world’s leading private equity firms – has been made. CVC Capital Partners specializes in this…
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Breitling Avenger Hurricane Military
Breitling has been in the news a lot lately, with rumors of a potential sale of the company swirling around before and during Baselworld, and then subsequently culminating with the announcement late last month that the majority shares of the family owned company were acquired by Europe’s largest private equity firm. While it is unclear…
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Breitling blue boutique editions
This week, Breitling announced two 100-piece limited editions that are available exclusively at the company’s boutiques worldwide – which includes New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and Orlando. Highlighted by its blue color scheme (blue bezel, dial, strap) the Breitling Chronoliner B04 Boutique Edition, is housed in a 46 mm diameter case and powered by in-house…
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Breitling Superocean Héritage II Hands-On
For the 60th anniversary of the Superocean dive watch collection, Swiss watchmaker Breitling debuted a model refresh at Baselworld 2017. Originally produced in 1957 the Superocean Héritage II Diver is an evolution of the most recent collection, that takes design cues from 1950s model, and which most notably, is now powered by a new movement…
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Lange 1815 Chronograph introduced with a black dial
Originally launched in 2004, the 1815 Chronograph is essentially a Datograph without a date. A model refresh in 2010 saw the 1815 Chronograph receive a new silver dial, without a pulsometer scale, with slightly larger sub-dials, and a redesigned movement that incorporated a larger power reserve of 60-hours and the company’s in-house balance spring (as…
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Breitling Superocean 44 Special
After launching the retro styled Superocean Heritage IIdive watch at Baselworld earlier this year, this week Breitling debuted a modern dive watch – the Superocean 44 Special. Presented in a 44 mm x 14.20 mm case, that weighs 116.7 grams, and is crafted from steel, the contemporary diver’s watch is topped with a unique matte…
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Breguet Marine Équation Marchante 5887 Hands-On
Breguet has a well-deserved position at the highest end of the watch industry. The reputation is based on an incredible history in watchmaking, starting with one of the greatest watchmakers of all-time – Abraham-Louis Breguet over two centuries ago – and continuing to this day. Moreover, the legendary Swiss watch company has continued to show…
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Alpina Startimer Pilot Automatic Hands-On
Swiss watchmaker, Alpina, introduced four new timepieces within their highly affordable Startimer Automatic collection this year at Baselworld. The Startimer collection is made of basic time and date watches, chronographs, and even a manufacture worldtimer. Some of the mechanical collection are powered by in-house movements and others by Sellita movements. The timepieces we are discussing…
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Bréguet Classique 7147 Hands-On
Long renowned for producing luxurious, elegant, and highly complicated timepieces, particularly tourbillons, which the eponymous company founder, Abraham-Louis Breguet, invented – the manufacture Breguet is also very capable of producing uncomplicated masterpieces. Introducing the Bréguet Classique 7147, a simplistic, time-only, wristwatch, with a “Grand Feu” enamel dial that is essentially a complication in itself. Moreover,…
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Blancpain Tribute to Fifty Fathoms MIL-SPEC
Blancpain has a storied history with the Fifty Fathoms line of diving watches dating back to 1953, the same year the Rolex Submariner came out, backed up by an impressive archive of timepieces. However, unlike the Submariner, the original Fifty Fathoms models have been largely replaced by contemporary Bathyscaphe versions. The continuity of the original…
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The Colt Skyracer in “Breitlight” Hands-On
Breitling introduced their ultra-light proprietary Breitlight® case at Baselworld 2016 in the Avenger Hurricane. The case material is a high-tech polymer alloy that has an appearance similar to forged carbon and that is 3.3 times lighter than titanium and 5.8 times lighter than steel. Not to mention, it is said to have an exceptional resistance…
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The two latest Casio G-Shock MR-G timepieces Hands-On
In March, at Baselworld 2017, Casio introduced two new G-Shock MR-G timepieces, both presented in black PVD plated pure titanium cases. The first was the G-Shock MR-G “Aka-Zonae,” which we wrote about here. The second, was a MR-G limited edition with a very special hand hammered bezel and featuring three-way time calibration. Technically speaking, the…