What kind of finishing and modifications go into a Breitling watch movement?
Since Breitling’s acquisition of Kelek, the level of finishing and modifications to their movements has increased dramatically. For example, a Breitling caliber 13 enhanced by Kelek tested accurate to +1 second per 24 hours (WatchTime magazine) and is nicely decorated with Geneva Waves and circular graining. Who is Kelek? Kelek is a Swiss watch manufacturer founded in 1896 and owned by Breitling. In addition to finishing and modifying Breitling’s ETA/Valjoux/other base movements to high standards, Kelek develops in-house modules for them. You can find Kelek’s official Web site at www.kelekwatches.com. There are reports indicating that Kelek has now been fully integrated with Breitling and its new name is Chronometrie Breitling. Who is ETA? ETA is a Swiss movement manufacturer owned by the Swatch Group. Its history goes back to the year 1793. The vast majority of Swiss watch manufacturers buy ebauches (raw movements) from ETA. Lower-end manufacturers use the movements as-is, while bette
