Breitling is certainly a respected watch brand, often named amongst the likes of Rolex and Omega. But is Breitling also a luxury watch brand?
Breitling has established itself as a luxury watch brand by expertly crafting innovative watches with high-quality materials. A Breitling watch does not lack in quality or exotic materials, and the Breitling name is highly respected.
There are a few factors to keep in mind when it comes to classing a watch as a luxury watch. In this article, we’ll go over all these factors and explain why Breitling is, in fact, a luxury watch brand.
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Is Breitling A Luxury Watch Brand?
The term ‘luxury’ has a different meaning for everyone, and when it comes to classing watches as such, we need to look at several factors. A watch isn’t simply a luxury watch because it’s expensive.
Instead, we need to look at the movement used to power the watch, the materials used, the manufacturing process, and how the brand has positioned itself.
If we just look at the price of a watch, a brand like TAG Heuer would be a luxury watch brand. But looking at these other factors, most people come to agree that while TAG Heuer makes excellent watches, they aren’t quite ‘luxury watches’.
But how does Breitling fare? Let’s take a look!
The Movement
Arguably one of the most important factors is the movement used to power the watch. For most watch enthusiasts, if a watch does not contain an in-house-made movement, the watch simply isn’t a luxury watch.
Ever since 2009, every Breitling watch contains a movement that’s been made by Breitling. Some older models may still contain an ETA movement, but all recent models contain an in-house movement.
ETA is one of the largest movement suppliers in the world, and they used to deliver their movements to Breitling as well. However, in 2009, Breitling explored the option to manufacture its own movement.
Manufacturing your own movement is extremely expensive, but it gives the watchmaker much more control. It’s their own in-house process and product, allowing the brand to give much better care to the watch.
The Brand’s Name, The Exclusivity, And The Price
The Breitling name is a widely respected name, synonymous with luxurious timepieces. It’s safe to say that people, both newcomers to the watch world and veterans alike, will agree that a Breitling watch is a luxury timepiece.
The general consensus about a brand isn’t the only important factor, but a brand has a hard time establishing itself as a luxury brand if most people don’t see it as such.
The same goes for the price and exclusivity. Items are typically classed as luxury items because they’re restricted in some capacity. With luxury watches, the entry barrier is typically the price. With an average price of about $4000-$5000 per watch, not everyone is able to afford a Breitling watch.
This creates a certain sense of scarcity, upping the luxury feel and appeal of the watch.
The Materials Used
Aside from the way watches are perceived, there’s also value found in the materials used to actually make the watch. Cheaper watches are typically mass-manufactured with lower-end or cheaper materials.
In the case of Breitling, that’s not true. Breitling only makes use of the highest quality materials. 18K gold, platinum, and titanium are no rare sights in Breitling watches.
Furthermore, Breitling makes use of 316L antimagnetic stainless steel. This is the industry standard for stainless steel when it comes to luxury timepieces. The only exception is Rolex, which uses 904L stainless steel.
Last up, the watch’s face is covered by a sapphire crystal. This is once again the industry standard for luxury timepieces, and it’s the most durable and scratch-resistant option out there. A sapphire crystal can only be scratched by diamonds, ensuring that you’ll never find scratches on your watch’s face.
The Manufacturing Process
An in-house manufacturing process, which includes assembling the watches by hand, guarantees that every watch is up to the brand’s quality standards. Mass-manufacturing machines tend to let faulty timepieces slide, but Swiss watchmaking experts do not.
And although this may not be as important of a factor for some, Breitling does meet these criteria. All Breitling watches are assembled by hand by expert Swiss watchmakers.
Are Breitling Watches A Good Investment?
A Breitling watch typically does not hold its value that well. Breitling watches normally depreciate by 10-20% per year and settle at about 50% of their original value. This makes a Breitling watch not such a great monetary investment.
Like most watches, Breitling watches aren’t the best at holding their value. This makes it not such a great investment, as most Breitling watches will depreciate between 10% and 50% during the first few years. So unless you have a limited or highly sought-after model, your Breitling watch will likely not be a good investment.
But even though Breitling watches aren’t great as a monetary investment, they are a fantastic investment in yourself. A Breitling watch is of fantastic quality and will easily last you your whole life if you take proper care of it. Having it serviced every few years will prolong its lifetime considerably.
This makes a Breitling watch a fantastic investment in yourself. You’ll have a high-quality timepiece for your entire life, and you could even pass it on as an heirloom when you get older. They may not hold their monetary value all that well, but they hold emotional value like no other.
Are Breitling Watches Worth The Money?
Breitling watches are exceptional luxury watches. They look fantastic and are of incredible quality. It’s safe to say that, if you have the expendable money for it, a Breitling watch is worth the money.
Of course, whether or not a $4000 watch is worth it is mostly up to you. If you don’t think a watch should ever cost $4000, then it doesn’t matter how great the quality is, as it’s not worth it to you.
But if we’re purely speaking about what the market has to offer, Breitling offers some of the best value for your money.
There is one important thing to note, though: a watch is never worth going into debt over. We wrote an extensive article about how much you should spend on your watch, which you can find here. The gist of it is that you should not get into financial trouble for a watch.
Only purchase a luxury watch if you can actually afford it. You’d think that goes without saying, but you never know.
