Breitling faced the great challenge of over-complication in terms of product range and aesthetics.
Previously, Breitling was aviation-centric, but owned SuperOcean, Chronomat, Transocean, For Bentley, etc. And you don’t actually know where they match in the model.
This is reduced to three core series: air, land and sea. Air includes Navitimer and Skilled, Land includes Chronomat, and Sea includes SuperOcean.
Other collections such as the SuperOcean Heritage are grouped into these three groups, and the collection continues to expand over time and as new styles are introduced. This change allowed Breitling to more clearly create a narrative around each group and have a clear idea of what the watch stood for. This gave consumers a better look at the collection as a whole, and Breitling had the opportunity to divert some attention away from aviation and into other areas.
In the product line, the overall aesthetic of the online CHEAP watch has also been further simplified. This resulted in new watches often being referred to as “chic retro”. Let’s consider a basic example of this.
First, the Chronomat. In the 2020 update of the Chronomat collection, Breitling once again presents the famous “rouleaux” bracelet, a very unique bracelet that embodies the essence of Breitling. The chronograph dials have been cleaned up and a time-only variant has been added. The way the dial got the house and clean. The watch immediately became more versatile, attracted as many new customers as possible, and officially entered the “land” category.
Breitling even launched its most famous model – the Navitimer. This one comes in 2022 with updated motion, size and color options (more on that later). On the dial though, the aim was to keep the watch as close to the original as possible, so Breitling kept the defining slide rule function but did away with the tachymeter. A bold shift, but it works and makes Navitimer a lot more fun.
sizing
The topic of resizing is closely related to the concept of simplification. As Breitling declutters and references less generic collections, the main focus is to offer fewer styles, but more sizing options. Breitling realized that shoppers were demanding smaller timepieces, and set about making a change.
The new Navitimer for 2022 is available in three different sizes: 41mm, 43mm and 46mm. Nonetheless, if we look at the number of references offered for each model, there are 16 for the 41mm, 7 for the 43mm and 4 for the 46mm. It’s a noticeable downsizing from even the most iconic models traditionally at the top of the scale range. Shopping cheap watch
This is reflected to the same extent in the 36mm, 40mm and 42mm Chronomat watches.
Again, the same thing happened with the SuperOcean, and most models were found in the smallest 42mm size (as opposed to the 44mm or 46mm that were otherwise offered). You can clearly see the development, especially with these refreshed fads.
As a final note, a big part of Breitling’s strategy is the belief that women are the primary consumer of luxury watches, an area they haven’t paid much attention to before.
There’s a reason the 36mm Chronomat is available with a light-colored dial with a diamond option. To help visualize this, if we compare the data previously found on Chrono24 for these watches produced between 2007 and 2016 compared to the collections from 2018 to 2023, we will see this repositioning.
The vast majority of Breitling cheap watches are still 44 mm in diameter, however, the difference lies in these two aspects. In the previous range, 45-48 mm watches accounted for 31%, while in previous years, this proportion dropped to 18%. Likewise, the proportion of watches 43mm and smaller increased from 42% to 58%.
This all leads to more wearable watches for a wider range of shoppers and helps communicate new curiosities to models.
The final two elements of the transformation are images and advertising and marketing. As shoppers in the 2010s shifted to vintage-inspired merchandise, Breitling wanted to address the issue and came up with the idea of “chic retro.” That means combining one of their previous best watches with a modern twist.
The SuperOcean does exactly that, taking inspiration from the Sixties SuperOcean Sluggish Movement with its white minute display, but modernizing it with sparkly colour. In this way, the perfect fusion of fashion and retro, combined with a simple aesthetic, resonates with shoppers.
Breitling has relaunched other items in its back catalogue, such as Prime Time and Premier, in the same way. Still, the picture is not only related to the cutting-edge product, but to the entire model in relation to the brand. Breitling revamped their branding to replicate their new path by removing the wings on the iconic “B” and using a sleeker font for his or her name.
Breitling also dropped the “professional equipment” tagline, which is now reserved only for professionals. This refined variation helps convey that they are not purely aviation-centric, but require a wider domain (air, land, sea).
Sometimes, the Review cheap watch industry is associated with snobbery, but Breitling has followed a unique path, hoping to attract more people to actually feel welcome to enter and experience what they have to offer. The timing is very opportune, as it coincides with a more relaxed society. Fitted ties became less frequent in the metropolis, sneakers and streetwear became more popular, watches became more lively, and the need for seriousness/formality decreased.
The air, land and sea concept also supported its marketing, and Breitling created the “Squad” for this purpose. These squads are made up of celebrities and professionals from various fields, often at the peak of their respective disciplines. Those names included Giannis Antetokounmpo and Charlize Theron, as well as guys like Scott Kelly, who spent a year at Worldwide House Station.
This allows Breitling to explore multiple angles when using these endorsements. Additionally, they are exploring entirely different marketing channels, notably a webcast known as the Breitling Summit. These dive into fashion, talk about their history and stories, and feature George Kern himself. If you haven’t already, I suggest you check it out.
Buying a luxury watch comes down to emotion and narrative, and Breitling is working hard to convey that no matter how you feel about their ambassador.
Breitling is one of the most well-known names in men cheap watches. Despite its rich history and iconic fashion, it faces headwinds both internally and externally. The purchased models were found to be too complex, whether in terms of aesthetics, messaging or changing shopper preferences. That changed dramatically in 2017 with the injection of capital from CVC Capital and the new government under Georges Kern.
