Breitling Emergency Wristwatch

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/rescue-the-weekend-with-a-special-breitling-emergency


Good morning all,

Per ...

The watch has a transponder.

For some it is a valuable addition to survival stuff - especially if it's obtained by corporate plastic (company credit card). The RayBan crews know about the watch.

For some others, wearing the watch means some insurance companies won't underwrite certain types of insurance. In various international business environments, it is the opposite of "Gray Man" doctrine.

Research / knowledge required.

 

Unless that watch is as rugged and has similar features as G-Shock (preferably G-Shock GravityMaster if for aviation market) I doubt it usefulness.

G-Shock GravityMaster

 

For the rich current day adventurer the Breitling looks like a wonderful addition to gear. Not sure a transponder is a good thing post SHTF though.

But personally I will stick with my rather old now Casio G-Shock. It can solar charge so batteries are never an issue. And most amazing and important I haven't managed to do more than superficial damage to it yet.

 

Good morning Rebecca,

After all Hades breaks loose, some transponders could still work.

Some corporations gave their Breitling Emergency watches for the benefit of the corp. They are concerned less about the aircraft and lives and more so about any intellectual property that could be compromised if not retrieved.

Some of the Prepper communities have worries about facilities with medical and dental trailer clinics and their ultra-high value. Those involved need emergency communications such as transponders. If the facility and Preppers hold some affiliation with the emergency responder apparatus, transponders should be working if the others are.

 

I guess it depends on the prepper and the situation. Personally in a full on TEOTWAWKI WROL event I do not want to be found. And I would not want a working transponder that could draw people to me by mistake.

I am not disregarding their current usefulness, just observing that many plan to fade into anonymity and disappear when things go wrong and will not want to be found.

Those with ultra high value dental and medical trailers can hopefully defend them. They are also not going to be hidden as easily so reliable emergency communication is important.

 

Judging from the size of a watch the said transponder is definitely not ADS-B or AIS, even SEND device (Satellite Emergency Notification Device) is roughly the size of a brick. Most likely this so-called transponder is using mobile phone network which is the only viable option considering the size of a watch. In any case using modified Android based satellite phone could do the same job with more features feature / functionality build in, not to mention better value for money.

 

It isn't very glamorous but for years I have had a Casio fishing watch that I like a lot. It covers the moon phases, sunrise, sunset, tides, day, date, hour, alarm clock, and stopwatch. It is waterproof to deeper than I will ever go and is nearly indestructible. It has no shiny parts but will light up so you can see t in the dark if you need to. The entire thing is black, green, or brown. The battery in the one that I have now is 5 years old and counting.

Time is important. I also have two of the old school travel wind up alarm clocks and wind up pocketwatch and a sundial in my yard. Without a way to tell time you can't coordinate with others. In old times it was the job of a town criers to announce the hours and ring a bell. Most towns had a bell tower. The military had buglers. If you are alone it may not matter but even if you have just a few people it is nice to have everyone show up on time for meals and other daily gatherings.

 

Good afternoon Varuna,

The thing is a duel frequency Personal Location Beacon (PLB). It's in the COSPAS - SARSAT program.

A mobile phone network re the SHTF world we're discussing ?!

Android phones are not even that good to keep papers from blowing off the top of the field table.

Value is determined by those procuring the instrument and assigning a value to it.

These people do not rely on Android phones.

 

In such situation does anyone will be around to revive & respond the distress signal?

Lack of creativity, technical knowledge & working experience in the subject matter are typically the cause of such.

 

Good evening Varuna,

Ref 1; Yes, the National Command structure(s) active and working. No one will be flying, driving, anything, unless part of the response to SHTF.

Ref 2; It's not about tech stuff or working experience ... although important and understood. It is about risk management and decisions were already made about how to manage the risk. Lloyd's of London can explain specifics.

 

I have a very old Breitling catalog that featured this kind of watch. It had an antenna that pulled out and transmitted on the old emergency frequency which I can't remember what it was now. The new frequency is in the 400 MHz UHF band and transmits to satellites orbiting overhead 24/7.

They have nice watches, but I wouldn't want to sport it least get mugged.

Buy one of these. https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Explo...XQCCXF9B0RT&psc=1&refRID=V16MG8F81XQCCXF9B0RT

 

Good morning F22,

The new model is part of the SAR system.

You're 100% right that wearing the instrument generates getting mugged and/or et cetra.

That's why kidnapping insurance companies "frown" on the watch.

For time of day, I rely on movie "South Pacific". "What time is it ? It's summer".

 

Here's my current "watch." Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

 

It is 121.5 now that I remember it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_emergency_frequency

It's still in use today. I was thinking of the emergency beacon tracking frequency. The watch was just the aviation energy beacon frequency. Pretty novel I guess, kinda like Jame Bond, but you're really better off with that Garmin In Reach unit I linked to. You're sure to get rescued with that as the signal is sent to a Sat that is monitored 24/7 anywhere in the world. Maybe not the most extreme northern or southern latitudes though.

 

I don't even think I'd where one of these 400 bucks?! Forgetaboutit.

 

If I hit the Powerball and had Rothschild amounts of money I would not spend it on a watch. I am far to practical, and could never bring myself to do it.

Pragmatist: not trying to bust your chops, but think of how much good you would do with that money instead of buying a watch. Decadence in its highest form.

 

Good afternoon Morgan,

The companies spend the money because the approved transponder watch reduces their insurance costs, etc.

It's definitely a cost of using a business aircraft.

 

It is still $10, 000.00 for a watch. It should fly the plane by itself for that much money. Sorry, I think the price is absurd.

 

I don't even wear a watch anymore.

Crikey, just seen Morgan's post above. $10,000 for a watch? Are you freaking serious? Who the hell would pay that much for a time device? F me dead ...

 

A lot of people (although not me) willing to pay more price than that for a watch

 

Me neither varuna, me neither ...

If they're willing to spend more than that on a watch, I would love to know how much they would spend on a car.

 

People who spend that much of money over a watch typically were driven around by more economical vehicle. Although they might own 1 or 2 Supercar, they don't drive it regularly. Those kind of people really knew the value of things, which is why they don't drive around in supercar (their engine doesn't last long you know). While luxury watch such as Patek Philippe for example, they merely keeping the watch for their descendants (kids, or grand children) who will do the same thing for their own descendants.