Navitimer Quartz 2100, 2200, 2300, 2400, Fix

gtopaul · Dec 8, 2020

Anyone that might have one of these old Navitimers stuck away somewhere because it's no longer working, well there's help out there. The ESA Y2 900.231 quartz movement in these watches has been a thorn in the side for most of us for years because they rarely work properly. It's either the analog stops of the digital is completely freaking out. I've had quite a few of them over the years and it's rare to find one working 100% properly. Usually one has to be satisfied with just analog to keep wearing them. New movements are unobtanium and the supply of donor watches has seriously dried up. When you find one it's a crap shoot about whether it will work when it arrives. I have paid serious money for a replacement movement only to have it die either immediately after swapping or a few days later. I always tell people they can last for years or for five minutes.

I recently found an nos Navitimer 2100 online that, of course, had a dead movement. I searched around online and found a guy in Australia that looks like he might have a fix for these. After contacting him and discussing the process I sent my 2100 down to him a couple of weeks ago to have the modification performed. I got the watch back a week ago and have to say I'm impressed, This thing works like new and has been dead on since I opened the box. There are a few little changes in the digital configuration, as explained on his web site, but it basically works the same.

I just wanted to pass this along to those that might like to get one of these old Navitimers going again.

Good luck!

Paul

ESA 900.231 Repair and Modules

Sub4 · Dec 8, 2020

Good deal, and glad it worked out for you. Despite the classic piece being finicky, its still a very gorgeous rarity Navitimer you have there imho.

Regards
Louis

Brent L. Miller · Dec 8, 2020

I'm not very familiar with these models myself but wanted to say thanks for sharing! I never know who or what questions might get asked and appreciate it.

Mark Bender · Dec 9, 2020

I have read about this as well. I have a Navitimer Jupiter 2300 which is currently running on it's second donor movement. Did you send the movement or the entire watch to AU?

Also does this prevent the movement of becoming faulty in the future?

gtopaul · Dec 9, 2020

Mark Bender said:
I have read about this as well. I have a Navitimer Jupiter 2300 which is currently running on it's second donor movement. Did you send the movement or the entire watch to AU?

Also does this prevent the movement of becoming faulty in the future?

He wants the entire watch so he has control of the installation. He can also do the same modification with the alarm ESA Y2 900.911 movement as the new module basically turns it into a chrono option instead of alarm. I know most will swap the .911 movement because it's somewhat more available. As for longevity, I guess time will tell but hoping for the best.

Mark Bender · Dec 10, 2020

Ok, sounds great! I have both the Chrono as the Alarm type in my inventory. I was pretty expensive if I recall correctly, right?

gtopaul · Dec 10, 2020

Maybe a little less than a mechanical chronograph service. The last 7750 I had serviced was over $500 and I had to send it back twice. I would expect a fully working example will appreciate in value as most found have problems. With no support from Breitling (who would certainly charge more) any longer and no real alternative I find the repair/update cost acceptable. I would like to see him offer just the module in the future, for those of us that can do the installation ourselves, and maybe save a little in the process.

Mark Bender · Dec 11, 2020

That's true, seems about fair and there's also no other option available than to source a donor movement, which is hard to find nowadays!

Navitimer Quartz 2100, 2200, 2300, 2400, Fix

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