The new Breitling Chronomat Automatic GMT 40 Replica watch, or Chronomat GMT for short, is tasked with filling the remaining gap in its namesake collection: All the popular sizes had been covered from petite 32mm all the way to brutish 44mm. The new Chronomat GMT 40 combines five distinct dial colors with a calculated package of form and function to make the Chronomat collection complete.
Chronographs are cool, and chronographs with rotatable timing bezels, like that on the Chronomat 42 and Chronomat 44, are arguably cooler, still. But those watches can’t be other than thick and heavy: They combine close to 400-part movements with 200 meters of water resistance and the aforementioned rotating bezel.
The new Cheap Breitling Chronomat GMT 40 Replica measures 40mm in diameter and just 11.77mm in thickness, making for a great daily wear. Despite its smaller dimensions, it has maintained the 200m water resistance rating of its larger alternatives, so it has not sacrificed anything from the all-rounder appeal of the Chronomat 42 and 44. The lug-to-lug measurement is just 47.4mm, falling considerably below the 50mm mark, which serves as an upper limit of wearability for those with narrower wrists.
The crown guard is very neatly finished and integrated into the profile of the case, with gently curved and polished edges that lead to the somewhat oversized crown. Fans of the Chronomat will notice that the 15 and 45 runner tabs of the bezel are no longer secured by screws and swappable with each other — to turn a timer bezel into a countdown timer, as is possible on some other current and historic Breitling Replica Watches.
The Rouleaux bracelet is also present and is as gorgeous as it is on the larger models. Few, if any, other watches in the sub-$6,000 segment can claim to offer this level of refinement in a steel bracelet. All the links have beveled and polished edges, and the fit and finish between every link are such that it would still remain acceptable if fitted to a watch three times the price.
The solid steel caseback hides a COSC-certified chronometer movement that Breitling calls a Caliber 32, which is an ETA 2893-2. This automatic movement is just 4.1mm-thick, which certainly helps with achieving the 11.77mm overall thickness of the Luxury Chronomat GMT 40 Replica. Keep in mind that not only the rotating bezel and 200m water resistance but also the four highly stacked hands add to the thickness of the case. It runs at a modern 4 Hertz operating frequency, but its power reserve is a short 42 hours.At least the Breitling Caliber 32’s automatic system winds in both directions of its rotation, which should help recharge the power reserve faster.
Five dial colors are available at the moment for the Best Breitling Chronomat GMT 40 Replica: black, blue, green, white, and anthracite. Even the colorful ones, such as the blue or the green, are rather subdued in their saturation and can show up quite dark unless viewed under direct sunlight. All the hands, hour markers, as well as the pip on the bezel feature Super-LumiNova for enhanced low-light legibility, ticking another requirement off from the “daily wearer checklist.”
On the wrist, the Breitling Chronomat GMT 40 wears great, in no small part thanks to the flexibility and smoothness of the Rouleaux bracelet and its narrow links, as well as the moderate thickness of the 40mm case itself. Crafted from stainless steel and even fitted with a solid steel caseback, the Chronomat GMT 40 is a Swiss Replica Watch of considerable heft, and currently no leather or fabric strap alternative is available from the brand to help ease the weight, even though the green one would probably look ace on a dark brown leather strap.
In conclusion, the new Luxury Breitling Chronomat Replica was designed to be a great all-purpose watch for daily wear — and spec-wise, it seems to have delivered everything required to support that. Whether the color combinations are on point for office wear, or if the new line would have benefitted from a bit more pizzazz, is for everyone to decide on their own.