Watch makers are trying to outdo themselves with innovative and interesting materials. These include carbon, ceramic, and myriad permutations thereof. Audemars Piguet was one of the first to employ forged carbon, and myriad watch makers have followed suit.

Breitling is no different, and has developed its own Breitlight material, which has made its way into several of its watches. Case in point, the Breitling Colt Skyracer. The Skyracer was the second such watch to use the material. It’s a polymer material that reportedly contains short carbon fibers, as appears to be evident from the forged carbon look.

So, let’s look into the watch.     

Unboxing

What do you get in the box? It’s much like many boxes. The outer green cardboard box is solid and has a very Breitling vibe. Inside, we have the watch in an inner box and a card holder with the warranty card, certificate, and instruction manual. This one also has the hang tag.

The inner box has a textured fabric material. It reminds me somewhat of laptop bags. But, it feels high quality and robust. It is the type of box that would protect the watch while traveling. I think it compares favorably with a Breitling leather box that I have from another watch, which appears much less robust by comparison.

The warranty card is solid, being a hefty card with an electronic strip for verification. It’s certainly an improvement over the plastic warranty cards of many other watches. The certificate is relatively standard for Breitling watches. One wonders what the purpose is given the warranty card. The instruction manual is relatively standard and presents well. I suspect no one will read it. The watch overall presents nicely.

The watch case

The watch case is the main stand out. It is made from Breitling’s Breitlight material. Breightlight is proprietary; and thus, we do not know the exact process. It appears to be a polymer that contains short carbon fibers to reinforce the matrix. This gives rise to a marbled forged carbon look.

The patterning is most evident on the case back owing to its flat surface. It’s a pleasant look. Cameras sometimes do not do it justice, but it’s a neat aesthetic change from standard watches.

The watch is 45mm wide and 13mm thick. But, the case weights just 34 grams. This is an astoundingly light watch. This is because the Breitlight material is 3x lighter than titanium, and 8x lighter than steel, while also being thermally stable and hypoallergenic. This overall makes the watch very pleasant to wear. It also feels appropriate and very useable for sports or outside activities.

The dial is in a pleasing, black, white, and red colour way. It is legible. The large numerals are easy to read, have a Breitling-style appearance, and are well contrasted with the red notation. The lume makes the watch extremely easy to read in the dark.

The crown is signed and is in a non-slip material, making it very easy to use if you are using it while engaged in sport or other activities.

The bezel also moves in a satisfying manner. It might be a little firm for some people. However, the ridges at the 3,6,9, and 12 o’clock areas give some purchase for moving it.

The case back – as indicated – is flat, but has some text on it. The main stand out from the case back is it enables you to see the material.

The strap is a rubber strap, which is relatively standard for watches pitched as being active or sporty. It has some measurement conversions on it. This is relatively standard with some Breitling watches. It is a nice accent even if no one will use the measurements. The buckle is also pleasant, if unremarkable. However, it does feature the Breitling logo so as to look less generic.

Movement

The watch uses Breitling’s themo compensated Superquartz Calibre 74, which purports to be 10 times more accurate than standard quartz. Quartz watches are not to everyone’s taste. However, if it is for a sports watch, it can make sense.

Adjusting the time and date is straightforward. You unscrew the crown, pull it to the desired setting, and twist. The watch notionally has hacking; the second hand stops when you pull out the crown.

I imagine most people are buying this watch for the interesting material, robust use case as a sports watch, and point of difference form some competitors, such as the tag Heuer formula 1. 

There are some alternatives to the Breitling Colt Skyracer. These include the Tag Heuer Formula 1. The Breitling Colt Sky racer is, however, less common and is more interesting.

The Breitling Colt Skyracer is – overall – an interesting watch that features a unique material. It is comfortable to wear and remarkably good value.