IWC vs. Breitling

Comparing IWC to Breitling makes sense. They occupy a similar space in the industry, offering a solid selection of pilot, dive, and other types of watches at comparable prices. However, both brands have their own watchmaking traditions, which means different aesthetics and reasons to buy one brand over the other. Breitling is more well-known for its sportier and more robust watches (although there are some rather classy models in the lineup, such as the aptly named Premier), while IWC is on the dressier end of the spectrum. Choosing between the two depends on personal taste and which niche appeals to you. With this guide, I hope to help you navigate the IWC vs Breitling discussion to find the best watch for your wrist.

Design Language

I’ll touch more on the rise of Breitling under the stewardship of CEO Georges Kerns below. But it’s also worth mentioning here because his leadership post-2017 has definitely helped shape Breitling’s current design language. The entire lineup has been streamlined, significantly cutting back on the total number of references within each collection while simultaneously adding more sizing options, some now aimed at women.

Moreover, the brand has made many upgrades to its pillar models–such as the recently revamped Chronomat with cleaner dials, and a few less aggressive Navitimer design sets–which should appeal to a broader range of modern collectors. At the same time, Breitling hasn’t lost its identity. The catalog is still chock-full of purpose-driven and robust tool watches, including the Avenger, Superocean, Chronomat, and Navitimer.

If Breitling appeals more to the professional crowd, IWC might be considered the watch for the discerning luxury watch collector. While the brand has its own collection of ready-for-anything pilot’s watches, chronographs, and dive watches like Breitling, it’s also known for its sophisticated complications, from moonphases and minute repeaters to perpetual calendars.

At Watches & Wonders 2024, IWC even unveiled the brand’s first secular perpetual calendar, which accommodates sophisticated leap year rules that regular perpetual calendars don’t. Plus its moonphase (theoretically) won’t be off by a day for 45 million years. Many IWC watches have an exhibition-style case back to display these high-complication calibers, a feature that isn’t as prevalent in the Breitling catalog.

Current Production Models: Breitling vs IWC

Category	Breitling	IWC
Pilot Watches	Classic Avi Navitimer	Pilot’s Watch (Spitfire, Mark XVIII etc.) Pilot Chronograph Big Pilot
Dive Watches	Superocean Superocean Heritage	Aquatimer
Classic Chronographs	Premier Top Time	Portugieser
Sports Watches	Chronomat Avenger	Ingenieur
Quartz Chronographs	Endurance Emergency	n/a
Dress Watches	n/a	Portofino

IWC vs Breitling Price

Breitling offers collectors a retail entry point of around $5,150 retail for some of the most desirable models and $3,250 for the quartz-powered Endurance Pro 38. A stainless steel Navitimer B01 Chronograph will set you back either $9,450 or $9,850, depending on the bracelet type, while the popular Top Time B01 Triumph retails for $8,250. The dressier Premier starts at $9,000.

There are even better deals to be had on the secondary market. For example, discontinued Aviator 8 and Navitimer models sometimes resell for under $3,000 and are excellent gateways to Breitling ownership. You might even be able to find a Superocean Abyss under $2,000.

Looking at the IWC catalog, the most affordable IWC Pilot’s Watch is the Pilot’s Watch Automatic 36 at $4,350, followed by the Flieger-style Mark XX at $5,250. While many of the complicated Portugieser models command new retail prices well into the six figures, it’s not hard to find pre-owned Portugiesers under $5,000.

IWC’s Aquatimer diver starts at $6,100 for the time-and-date model on a rubber strap, compared to Breitling’s similar Superocean 42 at $5,200. Overall, IWC and Breitling prices are in the same ballpark, both new and pre-owned.

Prices of Comparable Breitling and IWC Watches

Breitling Model	Breitling Price	IWC Model	IWC Price
Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41	$9,450	Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41	$7,600
Superocean Automatic 42	$5,200	Aquatimer Automatic 42	$6,100
Chronomat Automatic GMT 40	$6,150	Ingenieur Automatic 40	$11,700
Premier B01 Chronograph 40	$9,000	Portugieser Chronograph 41	$8,400
Top Time Chronograph	$8,250	Portofino Chronograph	$6,700
Datora Chronograph	$14,500	Protofino Complete Calendar	$10,600

Breitling Navitimer vs. IWC Pilot

Browse the internet for the best chronographs, and chances are you’ll get loads of hits for the Breitling Navitimer, and for a good reason. Breitling has made incredible strides in the production of chronographs for well over a century, most notably the first two-pusher chronograph wristwatch, released in 1915. The Navitimer chronograph came about in the early 1950s and is most known for its Slide Rule bezel, a feature that helps pilots perform in-flight calculations.

While IWC has a vast selection of pilot’s watches, we will focus on the closest Navitimer equivalent for this comparison, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph, which instead has a smooth, fixed bezel. Just from the bezel alone, both models have very different looks. Below is a comparison between the two watches.

Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 vs. Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Specs

Model	Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41	IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41
Reference	AB0139241C1P1	IW388101
Case	41mm	41mm
Thickness	13.6mm	14.5mm
Water Resistance	30 Meters	100 Meters
Case Back	Exhibition	Exhibition
Crystal	Cambered Sapphire Glaredproof	Convex Sapphire Anti-Reflective on Both Sides
Bezel	Slide Rule	Fixed
Bracelet/Strap	Leather	Leather
Movement	Caliber B01 Automatic 70-hour Power Reserve	Caliber 69385 Automatic 46-Hour Power Reserve
Functions	Hacking Seconds, Date, Chronograph	Hacking Seconds, Day, Date, Chronograph
2024 Retail Price	$9,450	$7,600

IWC Aquatimer vs. Breitling Superocean

The current production Breitling Superocean is modeled after the 1960s Slow Motion dive watch, complete with a similar high-contrast minute ring, large luminescent markers, and square-tipped hands. It has a depth rating of 300 meters and a traditional 60-minute unidirectional bezel. The Breitling Superocean catalog is currently home to two dozen variations, but for the sake of the comparison below, we will focus on the 42mm model in stainless steel and rubber.

The IWC Aquatimer, on the other hand, features an internal rotating bezel controlled by an outer bezel with a “SafeDive” system. Collectors can choose between various chronographs or a time-and-date model with a black or blue dial and a steel or rubber strap. The Breitling’s B17 movement is made by Sellita and the IWC’s 32111 is made by Val Fleurier. Since Val Fleurier is also owned by the company who owns IWC (Richemont), the 32111 is widely considered an in-house movement.

Breitling Superocean Automatic 42 vs. IWC Aquatimer Automatic Specs

Model	Breitling Superocean 42	IWC Aquatimer Automatic
Reference	A17375211B1S1	IW328802
Case	42mm	42mm
Thickness	12.56mm	14.1mm
Water Resistance	300 Meters	300 Meters
Case Back	Solid	Solid
Crystal	Cambered Sapphire Glare-proof	Convex Sapphire Anti-Reflective on Both Sides
Bezel	Uni-Directional	Mechanical External/Internal Bezel & SafeDive System
Bracelet/Strap	Rubber	Rubber
Movement	Caliber B17 Automatic 38-Hour Power Reserve	Caliber 32111 Automatic 120-Hour Power Reserve
Functions:	Hacking Seconds, Hours, Minutes, Seconds	Hacking Seconds, Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date
2024 Retail Price	$5,200	$6,100

IWC Ingenieur vs. Breitling Chronomat

The IWC Ingenieur, which translates to “engineer” in English, was developed in 1955 as an incredibly resilient and capable professional wristwatch. Like the Rolex Milgauss released during the same era, it featured a soft-iron Faraday cage to protect the movement from electromagnetic fields, a design element still in the modern lineup. Today, the collection includes four variations of the same time-and-date model that closely resemble the Ingenieur SL developed by none other than Gerald Genta in the 1970s.

The sleek integrated bracelet and the decorations on the bezel somewhat resemble the Breitling Chronomat GMT 40, which features a distinctive rider tab bezel and Rouleaux-style bracelet.

Chronomat Automatic GMT 40 and Ingenieur Automatic 40 Specs

Model	Breitling Chronomat Automatic GMT 40	IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40
Reference	A32398101B1A1	IW328901
Case	40mm	40mm
Thickness	11.77mm	10.7mm
Water Resistance	200 Meters	100 Meters
Case Back	Solid	Solid
Crystal	Cambered Sapphire Glaredproof	Convex Sapphire Anti-Reflective on Both Sides
Bezel	Unidirectional/Rider Tab	Fixed
Bracelet/Strap	Rouleaux	H-Link
Movement	Caliber B32 Automatic 42-Hour Power Reserve	Caliber 32111 Automatic 120-Hour Power Reserve
Functions	Hacking Seconds, Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date, GMT	Hacking Seconds, Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date
2024 Retail Price	$6,150	$11,700

Overall Ranking and the Rise of Breitling

Compared to Breitling, where does IWC rank? According to the Morgan Stanley 2023 Swiss luxury watch report released in early 2024, Breitling outranks IWC, with the two brands placing #9 and #11 among the top luxury watch brands, respectively. It’s an interesting shift considering that in 2017, Breitling ranked #19 while IWC held the #8 spot. IWC has remained relatively consistent through the years.

However, Breitling is slowly climbing the luxury watch ladder, largely thanks to the leadership of CEO Georges Kern (formerly IWC’s CEO), who joined the company in 2017. His primary focus was to simplify the brand’s catalog, cutting its offerings from over 600 watches to around 150 and then categorizing them into three easy-to-navigate sections: Air, Land, and Sea. By also paying attention to current watch trends and marketing, Kern has taken the brand in a different direction than it was previously headed, one that competes with the top ten in the industry.

Breitling and IWC have very distinctive brand identities, yet it’s easy to see why collectors would compare both brands. Whether it’s a traditional dive watch, military-style pilot’s watch, sophisticated GMT, or a “nautical instrument” like the high-complication Portugieser, the Breitling and IWC catalogs have something for almost any wrist and budget.

Read More About Breitling and IWC:
In-Depth: IWC Portofino Complete Calendar
History of Breitling
IWC 2024 Watches and Wonders Releases
The Best Entry-Level Breitling Watches
The Best IWC Watches