Post by Scott D on May 17, 2007 15:54:13 GMT -5
Hey everyone,
I FINALLY got one!! A Crosswind Special Limited Edition!!
After having it on my wrist since arrival (OK, except for picture taking) I wanted to give you a quick review of my latest addition. While not new, the CWSLE was only produced from ’03-’04, the example I was able to get is in absolutely great shape. This watch is easily the hardest watch I’ve ever tried to find. With a production run of only 1,000 black dialed units availability is few & far between. In the 6 months or so I’ve been looking, I’ve only seen 3, maybe 4 for sale – and never with the two-toned bracelet. I'm extremely happy to now be able to call one mine!
While I’ve seen many picture of this watch, I’ve never seen one in person. I was hoping the hype I had built up was not in vain – and it wasn’t. I was truly amazed when I saw it for the first time. But first, some specs…
As you can see, it’s a large thick watch, as most Breitling’s are. But with a diameter of 43.7mm, thickness of 16.6mm & weight of 126.8grams, the CWSLE is a beast, even by Breitling’s standards. Interhorns boast a 22mm diameter, tapering to 20mm at the clasp.
A few technical specifications, the CWSLE utilizes the Breitling Calibre 44 (based on ETA’s 2892 & heavily modified by Breitling) , a 38 jewel self-winding movement, beating at 28,800 vph & utilizes a large 2-wheel date aperture & modular chronograph. While the crown is screw-in, the chrono pushers are an oblonged standard-push style, which probably lead to its relatively shallow water resistance of 100m. The 2 sub-dials provide the times second hand and a chronograph function with a totalizer equaling 30 minutes. Far less timing capability than most other chronographs, most of which handle up to 12 hours, but enough for my very limited chronograph usage. The lower time the chronograph function can track is partly due to the “missing” 3rd sub-dial. However, while reducing the total time it can track, the 2 sub-dials give the dial a very clean, symmetrical look and so it’s a fair trade off to me. The band is a typical 5 link polished pilot-style. The stainless steel case is highly polished with curved edges, with 18k gold accents on the crown, pushers, bezel rider tabs & bezel screws. Bezel movement is unidirectional. The back of the case marks it as a limited edition, displaying the edition number of the 1,000 units, in this case # 512 of 1,000.
The dial has to be one of, if not the, most ascetically pleasing I’ve ever seen and probably one of the reasons this watch is highly sought after. The hour markers are raised gold Arabic numbers, with luminous dots on the outer edge of the dial. The dial print is extremely crisp & clean. The 2 sub-dials are slightly recessed into the dial, with a gold ring accent around the sub-dial. The left sub-dial tracks the chronographs minutes, up to 30, while the right sub-dial tracks the times seconds. The Chronographs second hand tracking comes from the center stem. A large 2 wheel date aperture is at 12:00, just below the Breitling wings and the text “Chronographe; Certifie Chronometre; Automatic; Edition Limitee; 100M/330Ft” appears at the 6:00 position. Hands are 18k gold, with luminous markings on the hour & minute hand. The sapphire crystal has AR coating on at least the outside and I believe the inside as well. Again, in a simple word, the dial is just gorgeous.
And now on to the good stuff - the pictures!!!!!!
First, some general pictures:
And a bit closer…
And closer….
And really close!
Side shot…
And back shot…
A couple lume shots…
And some general “Nothin’ but the Wings” pictures…
That’s it for now.. I hope you enjoy!! ;D ;D ;D
I FINALLY got one!! A Crosswind Special Limited Edition!!
After having it on my wrist since arrival (OK, except for picture taking) I wanted to give you a quick review of my latest addition. While not new, the CWSLE was only produced from ’03-’04, the example I was able to get is in absolutely great shape. This watch is easily the hardest watch I’ve ever tried to find. With a production run of only 1,000 black dialed units availability is few & far between. In the 6 months or so I’ve been looking, I’ve only seen 3, maybe 4 for sale – and never with the two-toned bracelet. I'm extremely happy to now be able to call one mine!
While I’ve seen many picture of this watch, I’ve never seen one in person. I was hoping the hype I had built up was not in vain – and it wasn’t. I was truly amazed when I saw it for the first time. But first, some specs…
As you can see, it’s a large thick watch, as most Breitling’s are. But with a diameter of 43.7mm, thickness of 16.6mm & weight of 126.8grams, the CWSLE is a beast, even by Breitling’s standards. Interhorns boast a 22mm diameter, tapering to 20mm at the clasp.
A few technical specifications, the CWSLE utilizes the Breitling Calibre 44 (based on ETA’s 2892 & heavily modified by Breitling) , a 38 jewel self-winding movement, beating at 28,800 vph & utilizes a large 2-wheel date aperture & modular chronograph. While the crown is screw-in, the chrono pushers are an oblonged standard-push style, which probably lead to its relatively shallow water resistance of 100m. The 2 sub-dials provide the times second hand and a chronograph function with a totalizer equaling 30 minutes. Far less timing capability than most other chronographs, most of which handle up to 12 hours, but enough for my very limited chronograph usage. The lower time the chronograph function can track is partly due to the “missing” 3rd sub-dial. However, while reducing the total time it can track, the 2 sub-dials give the dial a very clean, symmetrical look and so it’s a fair trade off to me. The band is a typical 5 link polished pilot-style. The stainless steel case is highly polished with curved edges, with 18k gold accents on the crown, pushers, bezel rider tabs & bezel screws. Bezel movement is unidirectional. The back of the case marks it as a limited edition, displaying the edition number of the 1,000 units, in this case # 512 of 1,000.
The dial has to be one of, if not the, most ascetically pleasing I’ve ever seen and probably one of the reasons this watch is highly sought after. The hour markers are raised gold Arabic numbers, with luminous dots on the outer edge of the dial. The dial print is extremely crisp & clean. The 2 sub-dials are slightly recessed into the dial, with a gold ring accent around the sub-dial. The left sub-dial tracks the chronographs minutes, up to 30, while the right sub-dial tracks the times seconds. The Chronographs second hand tracking comes from the center stem. A large 2 wheel date aperture is at 12:00, just below the Breitling wings and the text “Chronographe; Certifie Chronometre; Automatic; Edition Limitee; 100M/330Ft” appears at the 6:00 position. Hands are 18k gold, with luminous markings on the hour & minute hand. The sapphire crystal has AR coating on at least the outside and I believe the inside as well. Again, in a simple word, the dial is just gorgeous.
And now on to the good stuff - the pictures!!!!!!
First, some general pictures:
And a bit closer…
And closer….
And really close!
Side shot…
And back shot…
A couple lume shots…
And some general “Nothin’ but the Wings” pictures…
That’s it for now.. I hope you enjoy!! ;D ;D ;D