A luxury watch is a finishing touch to the suave businessman’s attire and a testimony to his insistence on quality and excellence, Breitling is a name synonymous with both, for over a hundred years the Swiss company has been supplying watches of outstanding beauty and precision making them a coveted addition. They do hold a hefty price tag with the average spend being around £5000 unattainable for many which has led to an influx of fake Breitling’s being sold worldwide. If you are considering a Breitling as your next luxury purchase please be sure to check these key features to avoid being caught out with a fake.

Breitling watches are renowned for craftsmanship, they are robust and reliable but elegant and the features are highly detailed. Here are some key things to look for;

• Intricate detailing

The Breitling Navitimer Heritage watch and others in the series have a ‘B’ logo above the Breitling name this will be either top center or to the right of the dial, the B will be in cursive writing not uniform all around and be raised from the face, the name should be etched into the dial, fakes will have a flatter appearance. For watches sporting the winged anchor logo, this will also be raised, check for a gap between the anchor and the wings, also the inner lines of the wing should not touch the outer border.

The second’s hand may end with the Breitling ‘B’ with the anchor below if so this should be defined, rounded ends are a giveaway for a fake check the model number to see if this feature should be present. Think clarity – if the features should not be fuzzy or poorly defined.

• Quality

Check the certification of the watch make sure that the individual details of the watch are correct and that is clearly printed. Fakes may be distinguished by feel, is the watch heavy on your wrist? If it isn’t, it’s likely not a Breitling which weigh between 90-120g.

The face should not have glare when placed under lighting and a genuine Breitling will have a blue-ish reflection due to the coating.

• Craftsmanship

Closely examine the watch face and strap, a true Breitling will hold up to such scrutiny but a fake will not. The date window should be filled completely by the numbers of the date even if the number is large if they don’t fill the window it’s likely not a Breitling.

Moving to the strap buckle check the engraving this will be deep and well-spaced with each letter clearly felt.

Only one Breitling watch will have an ‘open heart’ design where internal workings are visible which is the Breitling for Bentley Mulliner, these were made in limited numbers, reject copies with visible escapements.

• Errors

Staying true to their heritage the Breitling company use Swiss or French words so as well as checking the that the stamping is defined you should also check the spelling is correct. There should also, be a model and serial number stamped on the casing or the bracelet if this is metallic – check that this is a legitimate number.

• Mechanism

Being a highly crafted watch Breitling’s employ a mechanical mechanism meaning that the second hands will move smoothly around the face not with a ‘ticking’ off of the seconds as this is expensive to reproduce non-genuine watches are likely to have automatic quartz with a ticking second hand. Take care though there are few Breitling watches with automatic mechanisms so double check this isn’t one of those before completed rejecting.