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REPAIR & SERVICE
Breitling Navitimer Ref. 806
Gray & Sons Jewelers, located in Miami Beach, Florida is an independent watch service center, repairing Breitling Navitimer Ref. 806 watches since 1980.
Breitling Navitimer Ref. 806, a true classic.
Vintage watches have an energy of their own, an aura that comes from the long time relationship with their owner.
And after this time together, sharing ups and downs, experiences, joys, and failures they are still always by our side, becoming a trusted friend and appreciating in value.
I have seen many examples of this great symbiotic relationship, but none as interesting and worth writing like this one.
I received an email asking about our professional experience with vintage watches, in specific Breiling.
From my response, I received a phone call from the customer and I was able to better explain our 40+ year history, our Swiss-trained watchmakers, our jewelers on-site, our multimillion Dollar parts inventory and also I was able to understand a bit more what the customer was looking for and what were his goals and expectations.
This would have been one more service center call, till I explained how interesting and valuable his Breitling Navitimer was, that it was important to keep the original parts and do not polish or detail the watch to keep its value that was only going to increase.
It was also important to service the movement to make sure that the parts were in good shape, lubricated so they do not wear rubbing against each other, and clean of old oils.
We immediately developed a great relationship and trust, this was when he told me his great story about his magnificent timepiece.
As he said, this watch meant a lot to him. While he was stationed in Germany in 1960, he decided to indulge himself with the watch the British Royal Air Force used during WW2, which helped them to be successful in so many missions.
He paid $36 for this watch, and even though it seems like a very small amount of money, keep in mind that at the time, his salary as a Lieutenant was $222 a month. So this was an important decision and a lot of money for him.
An investment that proved to be right as it clearly shows after 60 years of continues use, including two tours as a medevac helicopter pilot in Vietnam, the watch is still at his wrist, handsome looking and showing age, but still there, as a loyal friend.
Harsh environments such as Vietnam’s jungle humidity or flying helicopters carrying wounded patients to US hospitals in Japan in the mid-sixties were no match for this robust and well-built watch.
At the time, airplanes and helicopters did not have computer-based systems as modern aircraft do today, so the stopwatch function was used frequently while flying to calculate fly paths and to calculate approaches to airfields when there was bad weather. Breitling proved many times over to be a world-class product for airplane pilots and when looking at it, many memories come to life, memories that show in the wrinkles of his face and the scratches on the case and crystal.
Breitling Repair Services
What a story!
Breitling Navitimer, the most iconic pilot watch of all times.
Commonly considered by collectors and manufacturers as the most famous pilot watch in modern history.
Designed specifically to target aircraft pilots, its name is a combination of the words “navigation” and “timer”, with an exciting and distinctive feature: its flight-specific slide rule bezel which allows pilots to calculate average speed, fuel consumption, and climbing speeds. In the beginning, it was not sold commercially but its success made Breitling create a commercial production model available to the general public, this version was an instant success.
Originally designed and developed around 1952, and constantly improved till the Ref 806 movement came out, that was the final product launched in 1956 and is in production till today with very limited changes.
It is always a great privilege to work on such a beautiful vintage watch.
Our Swiss watchmakers took the job with great passion, as we love these intricate movements and appreciate the watch enthusiasts that wear them. A watch like this is a source of infinite pleasure.
Every movement is different and it creates a different challenge. At Gray & Sons, we make it personal to bring every timepiece back to its original splendor, as we have enjoyed doing it for over forty years.
Our watchmakers are specialists in Swiss simple or complicated movements. They have trained for years getting to know all the parts and how to better correct and prevent malfunctions and regulate the accuracy of timekeeping.
This vintage and limited production timepiece from a well recognized Swiss manufacturer is always a great opportunity for our watchmakers to show the quality of their workmanship.
So the process begins, the master watchmaker in charge of this job will disassemble the movement to the barest parts. Then, using a multi-stage process to remove dirt and old dried lubricants will bring this great movement back to its best performance, to work as originally designed.
No shortcuts are used, we, at Gray & Sons, only do this the old fashioned way of the antique watchmakers, time-consuming, maybe, but we will make sure that it will keep time as it is designed to.
The movement is put together again to start working on the regulation, timekeeping accuracy, power reserve, and synchronization of all the parts involved for this magnificent movement to keep time.
Gaskets are replaced and tested. Then the watch will be re-cased, and for the final checks, two specialists, separately, will test the power reserve of the movement manually and mechanically
The watch is almost ready to be shipped back and as a final stage, we will have another associate check everything all over again with new eyes and have these final tests done once more before we ship it back to the owner.
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Breitling Navitimer
Stainless steel case with leather strap on a tang buckle. Circa 1958.
Detailed Description
Brand: Breitling
Model: Navitimer.
Reference: 806.
Movement: Venus 178.
Case: Round 40mm diameter with Solid Back. 13 mm thick.
Bezel: Beaded bezel, made for gripping with a leather glove whilst making in-flight calculations
Hands: Luminous, syringe-style hands.
Screw-in Crown: NO.
Dial: Black Dial with baton markers, with flight-specific slide rule bezel and three white subdials. Twin Jet Breitling logo.
Date: NO.
Crystal: Plastic.
Case back: Solid.
Movement: Manual, with 17 jewels.
Complications: Chronograph.
Water Resistance: No .
Bracelet: Leather Strap.
Clasp: Tang style, non-original.
Manufactured: Breitling - Made in Switzerland
MSRP: Vintage watch, non-available.
A brief story about Gray & Sons Inspired Jewelers and Watch Experts
For over 40 years, the focus of this family-owned and operated business has been selling meticulously restored & like-new condition Certified Preowned Watches and one-of-a-kind estate jewelry pieces .
We are always acquiring new watches and jewelry pieces , so please check our website frequently or sign up for our free monthly catalog , it will give you a good sense of market values and what is trending in our industry and it's free!!
If you have an item that you are interested in selling, we can help sell your piece too!
We have sales specialists that are fluent in Spanish, French, Polish, and Russian. We have six in-house Swiss-trained watchmakers to handle all your watch repairs and service issues.
TIP of the day: It is good to know that the more common service calls we get at the shop are due to winding the watch while wearing it, which causes an extreme bending force in the crown, stem, and automatic mechanism forcing and unnecessary repair out of warranty, and second to that, while winding it out of the wrist, dropping the watch to the floor, which in case of hard floors would be a disaster. We always recommend winding the watch on top of a desk or table.
If you have a watch that is not working as it once did, send it to us . You will be amazed at your “as new looking” watch.
Our Miami Beach boutique showroom is located across from the world-renowned Bal Harbour Shops. If you are ever in the area please stop by , we would love to meet you and show you our store.
Hope this brief intro to our company makes you feel reassured that you are dealing with a reputable, long-standing and honest company. Your watch will be in good hands.
#1 Specialist on Breitling and all BRANDS vintage timepieces
You have a special watch, you care and love it.
Make sure you take it to a watchmaker that will love the job he does for your very special watch.
Visit Gray and Sons Jewelers we are a one-stop source, buy, sell, consign or repair, for all your luxury watch and high-end jewelry needs throughout Florida, especially in Miami, Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Sunny Isles, and Fort Lauderdale.
Gray and Sons Jewelers has an excellent reputation with many customers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Texas, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Chicago.
Don’t hesitate to contact Gray and Sons customer service and have a look at the helpful FAQ on the website www.grayansons.com . We will exceed your expectations.
OUR EXPERIENCE
OVER 150 YEARS OF COMBINED WATCHMAKING AND JEWELRY/CASE AND BRACELET REPAIR EXPERIENCE!
How to Repair Your Watch with Gray & Sons Jewelers
We offer our watch repair services locally in South Florida (Miami, Miami Beach, Surfside, Bal Harbour, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach), nationally as well as internationally with our Easy Ship Box Option.
Local Repairs
Come visit our showroom and let us evaluate your watch. Our Swiss-trained watchmakers are among the best in the United States and we just happen to be located on Miami Beach. We will provide you an estimate before beginning any work.
National Repairs
To accommodate customers across the United States who complete repairs with us, we devised the Easy Ship Box as the fastest and most convenient way to send sensitive luxury items. This allows you to receive our state of the art services anywhere in the country, so you never compromise on the care your watch rightfully deserves.
