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After 10 generations of larger, softer, style-oriented “personal luxury vehicles,” it can be easy for all but the most dedicated Ford fans to forget that the Ford Thunderbird was conceived as a head-to-head competitor for the sporty Chevrolet Corvette. From its debut in 1955 to 1957, the first-generation Thunderbird was more than a match for its General Motors-produced rival on paper, particularly in its fire-breathing supercharged F-Code trim. With trim two-seat proportions and styling inspired by Henry Ford II’s personal Ferrari 212/225 Inter Spyder Barchetta, the original Thunderbird was a massive hit for Ford, and it lives on in enthusiast circles as one of the greatest American cars of the ‘50s. As Breitling looks to expand on the success of 2021’s Top Time Classic Cars collection, then, the Thunderbird is a worthy subject for adaptation. This is far more than a new colorway for an existing design, however. The new best replica Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird watches is the poster child for a substantially revised second generation of Top Time Classic Cars chronographs, featuring in-house movements, more compact proportions, a more focused design philosophy, and an aggressive new price point.

At 41mm-wide, the stainless steel case of the UK top fake Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird watches wears markedly smaller than most of the first-generation Top Time Classic Cars designs. On the whole, this is a clean, classic midcentury sports chronograph design, with a slim polished bezel, tall piston pushers, and simple angular attached lugs. A predominantly polished finish helps to further root this simple layout in the visual style of the original ‘60s Top Time models, while horizontal brushing along the case sides works to slightly break up the visual profile of the case on the wrist. With that said, the 13.8mm-thick overall bulk is still readily apparent in normal wear, although much of this height comes courtesy of the tall beveled sapphire crystal. A second sapphire crystal adorns the display caseback, along with a printed rendition of the classic first-generation Ford Thunderbird emblem. Printed sapphire casebacks are nearly always a point of division in the watch community, but the small dimensions and clean presentation of this element make it far less onerous than many others of the type. 1:1 online Breitling replica watches finishes off the case with a solid 100-meter water resistance rating.

Compared to the rest of the Top Time Classic Cars collection, the Swiss movements copy Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird watches’ dial is a quieter, more reserved affair. Rather than the rich, vibrant colors and detailed brushed finishes of its predecessors, the Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird’s dial is largely simple matte white. While this may remove some of the sporty drama from the layout, it also draws the eye more toward the nuances of the design, and this new model excels at these finer details. At first glance, there’s so much of this design that registers as standard vintage-inspired sports chronograph fare – the simple printed baton indices, the chisel-tipped striped baton hands, the outer tachymeter ring, and the needle-shaped central chronograph seconds hand are all very familiar elements, for example. Once you dig deeper, however, you begin to come across a wealth of thoughtful, quirky design decisions that give the Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird a character all its own.

The most obvious of these choices is the use of color. Without a bold, saturated dial hue to anchor the design visually, each spot of accent color becomes more prominent, and perfect Breitling replica watches uses this principle effectively with a mix of muted brick red and orange to draw attention to chronograph elements. From the tachometer redline-inspired color blocks on the outer tachymeter ring to the matte red length of the central chronograph seconds hand, these warm tones breathe energy into the design while subtly reinforcing the central automotive theme. Breitling balances out these fiery hues with judicious use of turquoise – a color deeply tied to the Thunderbird line as a whole – for the 9 o’clock running seconds hand and the 12 o’clock printed Ford Thunderbird logo. Although uninformed watch fans might see this as a “Tiffany Blue” accent to cash in on the recent popularity of similar colors, this is a markedly different shade of blue in practice, and one that carries nearly seven decades of provenance with the Ford brand. Although the unique rounded-square design of the subdials here is carried over from the first generation of Top Time Classic Cars releases, the lighter, more restrained color palette of the Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird also draws focus towards high quality Breitling fake watches’ unique finishing for these elements. Azurage is a common enough sight for chronograph subdials, but the way Breitling incorporates this familiar finish into the unorthodox shape of the subdials themselves is a delight on the wrist. The gradual shift from harsh squares in the center to a softer form at the subdial edge is an easy detail to overlook, but it’s one that speaks deeply to the care Breitling puts into this apparently simple design. Overall, this dial acts as a handsome visual counterpoint to the wilder Top Time Classic Cars models that comprise the rest of the collection, with a look that smartly echoes the more gentlemanly sporting aesthetic of the ‘50s era that gave birth to the Thunderbird.

Like all new releases in this collection, the 2023 China replica Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird watches is equipped with the in-house B01 automatic chronograph movement. The B01 is a solid contender in its market segment, sporting a 70-hour power reserve at a 28,800 bph beat rate, COSC chronometer certification for accuracy, and a column wheel and vertical clutch chronograph actuation system. Breitling matches this impressive performance with subdued finishing. A mix of simple vertical and arabesque brushing tops the plates and bridges, while the stylized skeleton rotor features a matching vertically brushed look. Breitling finishes the watch with a rich red rally-style leather strap. This splash of color helps to add a sportier presence to the remarkably restrained dial, but it also feels at home with the ‘50s-style red leather interiors that were common in first-generation Thunderbirds.

Although it takes a decidedly subtler approach than many of its stablemates, the new luxury super clone Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird watches takes the Top Time Classic Cars collection forward into a new generation while delivering a compelling tribute to one of the best-loved classic cars of the ‘50s. The Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird is available now through authorized dealers. It’s worth noting, however, that the move to the in-house B01 chronograph movement comes with a steep price increase – starting MSRP for the Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird stands at $8,000 USD as of press time, a full $2,500 more than the Top Time Classic Cars models launched in 2021.

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As a consumer of fine watches, I think watch brands can hit the nail on the head in different ways. This can be in design, movements, historical accuracy, and — most relevant to the watch we will discuss in this article — fit and feel. The luxury replica Breitling Emergency II watches, while undoubtedly very capable, suffered from a size that was just not viable to regular consumers. At 51mm in diameter and almost 22mm thick, you’d either have to be a bodybuilder or a fighter pilot who wears it exclusively on the outside of your flight suit sleeve. To say the Emergency II was a niche product would still be an overstatement. There was virtually no one who could justify such a piece.

The first 43mm top UK Breitling Emergency fake watches (produced between 1995 and 2012 with incremental updates) was truly something that pilots could wear on their bare wrists or over their jackets using the bracelet extension. While still a chunky piece at 16mm thick, thanks to the titanium case and bracelet, it never felt heavy. Pilots aren’t superhumans with gigantic wrists, so mere mortals could wear it and feel like they still have a decently sized “instrument for professionals” (Breitling’s old tagline) on the wrist and not look crazy.

Quartz-powered luxury tools

I don’t think smartwatches should be the focus for luxury watch brands. I also think luxury brands should be cautious when making high quality Breitling replica watches of a noticeably lesser quality than their other models (I’m looking at you, Breitling Endurance). Therefore, if you’re going to make a battery-powered watch, why not have it make sense to have a battery in it?

Not to go on too much of a tangent, but let me talk about Omega’s Speedmaster X-33 Marstimer for a moment. It’s certainly not a watch for everyone, but you cannot say that it doesn’t handle it’s one job with flying colors. Let’s be real; an app on a smartwatch could give us the same information we receive from the Marstimer. However, Omega’s Marstimer refuses to be just that. Essentially, the Marstimer is a vehicle to display information relevant to (and on) Mars and our relationship with the planet. No more, no less. What it does, it does impeccably well. It boasts a brand-new battery-powered movement with no less than 155 components and 15 complications, housed in a titanium case with a matching bracelet.

It’s not what I’d call a “beautiful” watch by any means, but it is a heavy-duty, purpose-built piece of engineering. And for that reason, it is an excellent, admittedly niche watch. And you could argue that this ethos is what made the perfect Breitling Emergency copy watches such an essential and magnificent timepiece. I strongly believe it to be the shining star of all watch lines that the Schneider father-and-son duo created during their ownership of Breitling. I’d even dare to say that the Breitling Emergency is a more enthralling and remarkable watch than the Marstimer. After all, with its main feature, the Breitling Emergency was designed to quite literally save your life. This is a feature that no other watch (to my knowledge) can lay claim to.

The Breitling Emergency

Ultimately, pilots are the professionals that these instruments are for, so the complications are relevant to aviation. The Emergency includes analog time as well as two digital time displays, a 1/100th-second chronograph, second time zone, alarm, and perpetual calendar complications. The best Breitling replica watches also comes with two separate transmitter beacons that can send a distress signal up to roughly 160km away. This is far enough to alert airplanes in the relative vicinity.

The aforementioned 51mm Emergency II sends a signal that will reach satellites, providing a significantly more reliable chance of survival when activated. After unscrewing and pulling out the beacon’s crown, an antenna extends, which transmits a distress signal that will alert local rescue authorities and provide the wearer’s exact location. And this function was no joke. Upon purchasing, customers had to sign a document confirming that they would accept all responsibility for intentional misuse.

What if it were possible to create the “Emergency III” in a very wearable 43mm case with the capabilities of the Emergency II? It would be a huge step forward for Breitling in terms of innovation. Making such an accomplished piece of engineering inside a relatively small case will surely not be a small feat. But it would show that Breitling replica watches wholesale is indeed ready to up its “niche flex” game while also producing a watch — and I know I’m repeating myself — that could literally save your life.

Peace of mind on the wrist

I wore my Breitling Emergency replica watches online on countless motorcycle trips, including when I crossed the Swiss mountain passes to get to Italy. It may sound ridiculous to some, but I won’t lie, it was comforting to know that if I ever somehow lost control of my bike and ended up falling off the road where no one could find me, I would have a backup plan. This backup plan would be on my wrist, assuming my wrist hadn’t left my body! And yes, if this situation did happen, I would show off how my watch saved my life for the rest of my days.

People can debate all they want if Breitling’s Endurance or Swatch’s MoonSwatch are cash grabs or not. I’m in the camp that says if they make people happy and perhaps get new fans into the brands while giving the company more liquidity to make more awesome watches, then why not? As long as Swiss made fake Breitling’s typical high-quality watches remain the overwhelming majority of the brand’s collection, who am I to complain? I would wager that a new Breitling Emergency would be far from anything resembling a cash grab. It will be made for a niche clientele, but a clientele that is undoubtedly there. A clientele that I believe Breitling may not be paying much attention to at the moment.

It would be a watch for hardcore aviation enthusiasts, hobby pilots, or perhaps most commonly, adventurers seeking peace of mind that goes beyond hoping for a signal on their smartphone to call their local rescue service.

Final thoughts

Perhaps the next Emergency is already underway at Breitling… After all, Georges Kern has been on record (most recently, on Scottish Watches Podcast episode 436) for saying that the near future of the brand will be movement-focused. While the thought of mechanical, non-chronograph manufacture movements by the Swiss giant definitely excites me, I sincerely believe there is space for battery-powered movements as well. With the Emergency, the brand has proven that battery-powered movements shouldn’t only be used to make more affordable lookalikes of a mechanical watch. Instead, battery-powered China Breitling super clone watches can also be used in a way that directly befits the functionality and ana-digi layout.

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There is something to any vintage watch, but the best replica Breitling AVI ref. 765 “Lucy Digital” watches has it all. And I mean it. The size, the design, the movement, the twist, the originality, the legibility… and I could go on. It’s the ultimate vintage watch to own.

The analog UK 1:1 fake Breitling AVI ref. 765 watches is quite a popular watch and not so easy to come by. No wonder it became the role model for a re-edition three years ago. Equally, it was no surprise that the release was quite a success. The 15-minute totalizer with lumed indexes is so unique, and the super-cute, tiny syringe hand is a detail that will make you melt.

Staying cool and waiting for a 765 AVI “Lucy Digital”

Despite everything I just said, I never wanted to pull the trigger on either the original or the reissue. The reason was pretty prosaic: I knew another ref. 765 was out there but with a major twist — a date window that is not a date window at all. To explain, 10 out of 10 people and maybe 99 out of 100 people think it is a blurry date hiding in the square window. Only after you press the chronograph’s start pusher and wait for 60 seconds do you realize it’s actually a 15-minute counter.

Let’s start with Lucy

There used to be petty disputes about which brand was the first to present a watch of this style to the French Air Force, with Breguet Type 20 fans fighting for primacy. While Breguet ultimately won the contract thanks to a flyback function, history is not only about fables and rumors, and there are dates to rely on. Breguet presented the Type 20 prototype in 1954 but didn’t start delivering it until 1959. High quality Breitling replica watches not only presented the 765 AVI six years earlier in 1953 but also put it into production in April of that year. To end all the pointless discussions, the 765 AVI was nicknamed “Lucy,” like the remains of the earliest-known woman, the australopithecine dated to about 3.2 million years ago. To learn more about why Lucy was called Lucy, you can read my article on the Top 5 Unusual Watch Nicknames.

Analog vs. Digital

Since I learned that there was China copy Breitling 765 AVI Lucy Digital watches, the analog version always left me stone cold. I have seen it listed and offered online so many times, but not a single time did I even bother to look at the details. It seemed way too boring to me in comparison to the Lucy Digital. To catch the latter, however, is not so easy. There were only a couple of them that resurfaced in the last few years, and you want to be well educated on them before you decide to pull the trigger. You don’t want to end up with an incorrect bezel or hands.

Understanding Breitling 765 AVI Lucy Digital variations

Thanks to the precise archive work by Fred Mandelbaum, we know that there are four different Mks. Each one has a very specific setup, differing only in small details that might slip past the untrained eye.

Breitling 765 AVI Lucy Digital Mk1.1

In March 1953, the first 50 cases were assembled. This was just before Swiss made replica Breitling watches moved its headquarters to Geneva, so the dials are “pre-Geneve.” The fully lumed chrono seconds hand is unique to this execution, and it is combined with the slim, lumed syringe hands that we also see on the Mk1.2.

Breitling 765 AVI Lucy Digital Mk1.2

This was manufactured between late 1953 and 1956 after cheap Breitling fake watches had moved its headquarters to Geneva, so dials have the “Geneve” stamp. The richly lumed central chrono seconds hand was changed to a white hand with a teardrop-shaped lumed tip. As mentioned before, a correct Mk1.2 should have slim, lumed syringe-style hands for hours and minutes. The movements are marked “BOW” for US exports or carry no import code.

Breitling 765 AVI Lucy Digital Mk1.3 and Mk1.4

Mk1.3 was manufactured between 1956 and 1959, and its dials are marked “Geneve” too. The teardrop-shaped lumed chronograph seconds hand is combined with wider lumed syringe hands with a shorter “needle” on the hour hand. The movements are marked “WOG” for US exports, or they carry no import code.

And here comes Fred again, who helped me understand why my 765 Lucy Digital is a Mk1.4. The bezel on the Mk1.3 has 126 small beads, as do the Mk1.1 and Mk1.2. In 1960, perfect Breitling super clone watches fitted the 765 Lucy Digital with a similarly configured Mk1.4 bezel, but it “only” has 96 larger beads. There is a Lucy Digital listed on Chrono24 at the moment for a beefy €23K tag, but it’s fitted with a 765 Mk2 bezel. From the top, it might appear to be correct, but upon closer inspection of its coin edge, we see that it doesn’t belong to Lucy Digital at all. Be careful.

In love with the digital 15

Back to the design. Honestly, the idea of the digital minute counter blew my mind. I’ve always wondered why there weren’t more replica Breitling watches for men like that. I find reading a chronograph minute counter a bit tricky sometimes, especially if I don’t have much time or my attention needs to be somewhere else. For example, think of trying to read the elapsed time quickly while driving and keeping full attention on the traffic ahead. In such a situation, you will hardly find a more legible solution to ensure quick and precise time reading.

Best in class

Let’s dig deeper into why I claimed that the 765 Lucy Digital is the ultimate grail material. First of all, it’s the epic 40mm diameter for a watch from the mid-’50s. If you are used to strapping on decent 36mm vintage chronographs, you will see and feel the difference instantly. The sharp, beveled lugs give the Breitling fake watches store a pretty contemporary and sporty look. The airy dial provides a lot of space for oversized Arabic numerals for the hours. Especially when aged into sandy yellow tones, the dial makes for spectacular visuals. It’s only the orange-brown rust that biting into the tips of the snow-white hands that reminds you that this is a 60-something-year-old watch.

If you’ve never worn a 765 AVI before, the bezel might come as a surprise too. Besides the individualistic font to mark the 12 hours, it is quite sensational to use. When you rotate it with your fingers, you can feel how it always jumps off the secured position and clicks into another one when it reaches the next hour. This is a small but important detail that you won’t find on your Heuer Autavia. Details that matter would also include tiny screws on the side of the bezel, which you want to be original. The same applies to the specific crown with an angled inner side to glide freely around the beaded bezel.

Successful strap exercise

I hate thick leather straps, and that’s what you often get when you order a strap that’s 22mm wide. Straps of that size also don’t taper much, and they often bother me on the wrist. After instantly falling in love with the smooth and thin strap that I got for my Gallet Filmeter, I approached Jan from Watchstrapheaven again. I asked if he still had that soft leather, but this time, I asked to add boxed stitching and make it a hair thicker.

At first, I was a bit surprised by the contrasting lining that Jan put on the inside, but very soon, I found it to be an amazing detail. Notice also that dramatic tapering is down to 15mm. I was unsure what it would look like, but I decided to go for it anyway. I feared it might look comical with the best quality Breitling replica watches’ diameter and lug spacing, but the result is just perfect, both visually and practically. This strap is light and soft. It looks vintage, but apparently, the leather is fresh, and it looks original.

Last thoughts

It took me five years to find the right Breitling 765 AVI Lucy Digital. It’s strange to say it aloud, but it kind of ended the vintage Breitling pursuit for me. I got a calming and satisfying feeling that the search came to an end. Now I feel that I got the best of the vintage Breitling fake watches shop site out there, but we shall see how long that lasts… For now, I am so overwhelmed by this unique take on a chronograph, its majestic looks, and perfect wearability. Happy hunting!