Breitling’s modern take on the decades-old Colt is true to the original, with features that have become hallmarks of the brand. From our archives, here’s a hands-on review of the new-look Breitling Colt.
Breitling revamped its entry-level Colt collection last year with a firm nod to the original series, introduced in the 1980s. Like the Chronomat and the Navitimer, the solid Breitling Colt fake watches were conceived as military watches, with an emphasis on reliability and readability. The 24-hour scale, aviator-style dial and broad, unidirectional bezel have come to define the unmistakable look of Breitling watches.
The new collection is true to the original right down to the movements. Most of the new Breitling Colt replica watches contain quartz calibers, which dominated the watch world at the time of the Colt’s debut. We tested the sole mechanical version, with an automatic ETA caliber. An ETA movement was also used in the original series.
The new Colt Automatic resembles the Colt Superocean, which debuted in the mid-1990s and remained in the collection for several years. The new Colt replicates the old model’s screwable crown with protectors on both sides, pilot-style Arabic numerals and a broad, unidirectional bezel with engraved notches and raised cursors at the quarter hours. These cursors improve the grip on the bezel, making it easy to rotate even when you’re wearing gloves. They have become a characteristic feature of Breitling copy watches with Swiss mechanical movements.
On the new Colt, the markings are precisely engraved into the satin-finished bezel, which slopes gently downward toward its outer rim. The bezel clicks through 120 steps compared to the 60 notches on the bezel of the Colt Super-ocean, even though the additional steps aren’t necessary for to-the-minute setting of a dive’s start time. The new Colt Automatic also repeats the Superocean’s 24-hour scale and rare 1/100s-hour scale, described as an “aeronautic hundredths scale.”