Review of Ebel BTR 1911 Chronograph ref. 9137L70

Ebel used to be a well respected brand among the watch enthusiasts. Even today when they have downgraded their lineup you rarely hear anyone speaking badly about it. You could probably say that the brand is enjoying kind of a “cult following”. While the resale value isn’t often praised, no one has ever said bad word about the quality. But outside the watch collector circles, it’s more of an obscure brand that doesn’t have similar brand mass recognition as Rolex and Omega anymore.

They had their brief moment of mainstream success when the whole cast of the 80’s smash hit cop show “Miami Vice” was wearing Ebel watches. The main character Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) was a superstar who made the brand famous. Here you can see Don Johnson wearing his full gold Ebel 1911 chronograph.

From the Miami Vice episode “Mirror Image”.

I actually purchased this very watch myself, only in two-tone. Here you can read my thoughts about it and some trivia of the show as well.

Review of EBEL 1911 “Miami Vice” Chronograph

BTR line was received very well when it was first introduced back in 2006. Everyone praised its looks, finish and design. The retail price was around $7.000 which wasn’t outrageous for a well finished watch that had an “inhouse” movement. Despite all this BTR never received the success it deserved.

The first 1911 chronographs used Zenith El Primero cal 400 (Ebel cal 134), which oscillated at 36.000 bauds per hour. Rolex used the same movement in Daytona but downgraded the bph to 28.800.  Later models (just like BTR) used the Ebel caliber 137.

The movement started life as a Lemania 1340 (aka Omega 1040), which descends to some extent from the Lemania 1873 (aka Omega 1861). They are lever-action chronographs that nevertheless have very smooth pusher action and operation. Breguet uses the same movement, finished to about the same level, in the Type XX and XXI, with the additional of a flyback function.  When Ebel started developing their version of this movement, they bought exclusive rights to the movement design from Lemania, with rights given to Ulysse Nardin for the base plate (which UN used in their calendar watches) and to Breguet for use in the Type XX.

Ebel then redesigned the winding mechanism and made a few other changes. They started the project in 1991, and the first watches with the new caliber 137 came out in 1995. Every single Ebel Caliber 137, 139, 240, and 288, which all use the same base, was chronometer-certified. Ebel contracted with Lemania (at first) and then with Dubois-Depraz to build about 40 parts that Ebel could not themselves make.

Remember that at the time, Ebel was a full manufacture of quartz movements that were use in Ebel and Cartier quartz watches, so they already had the wherewithal to produce normal stuff like wheels. Ebel assembled the movements in their own factories.

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When MGI gave up on the BTR, they were struggling to make enough of the movements to cover fixed costs without raising prices higher than they thought they could sell. They ended production and sold the rights, tooling and specialized staff to Ulysse Nardin in April 2012. The movement lives on in Breguets as the 584 and in Ulysse Nardin watches as the UN152. I would say that the movement is the highest expression of a lever-actuated chronograph. But it is not perfect. It was originally designed for a central minutes display, and does not jump the minutes hand, for example.

I have owned many very nice chronographs. I also had Breguet Transatlantique Type XXI in my possession for a while and one of my best friends owns a white stainless steel Rolex Daytona which I see frequently. I can honestly say Ebel BTR is nicer. The finish, the details, the shine, the bracelet – and decorated movement (with a glass back) make it very desirable watch in my book.

BTR line had a lot of choices. GMT model (where 24h hand and 24h subdial registers are controlled by chronograph buttons, the  titanium versions (Tekton) and this expensive Perpetual Calendar (picture courtesy of Ebel).

The standard chronograph choices are black/red with matte bezel, the black/yellow with shiny bezel and the white one (ref.9137L70) that I bought. They’re all equally nice but the white version has always been the most desirable for me. It’s “stealthy” (just like all white watches always are) and has a nice double antireflective glass. Pure, white dial and the polished hour markers that reflect turquoise color from AR in certain lighting give the dial quite unique character.

One personal detail on the BTR dial is that the running second hand subregister at 9’o’clock is larger than the others. As a fellow watch fan at TZ.uk “Rizzio” puts it nicely:  “This strikes me as a worthwhile trading of symmetry for practicality, and gives the dial a certain je-ne-sais-quoi, too.”

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Pictures can’t really capture the “essence” of this watch. Here’s a Youtube video which demonstrates the “shine” much better.

Video clip of Ebel BTR 1911 Chronograph white

The case diameter is 44.5 millimeters but it wears smaller because of the slim lugs and case shape. It doesn’t feel XXL in the similar fashion as say, Breitling Super Avenger or 45mm Omega Planet Ocean because the case thickness is only 13mm . If your wrist can handle a Rolex Submariner, you can definitely handle the BTR as well.

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The AR eliminates reflections effectively but it isn’t very apparent. Unlike my Breitlings, that have very strong purple/blue AR hue on the crystal.

Yes. I think it’s beautiful and probably my favorite chronograph. I’m 190 centimeters tall and I always felt Daytona was too small for me and Super Avenger might be too big for  practical everyday use. BTR is nicely balanced between the two.

But what’s the real catch of the BTR?

You can buy this watch preowned for around 2500 Euros now! The steel bracelet versions are a bit more expensive but that’s a STEAL for a watch that uses the same movement as Breguet Type XX. A watch that has extraordinary finish, design and details. While BTR is not playing in the “haute horologie”-league, I feel it’s certainly on par with Rolex and Zenith – and even above my Omega and Breitling in details.

It’s obvious that the financial effort Ebel invested to the BTR line didn’t pay off as well as excepted – and thus, under Movado’s command the brand was forced to go back to cheaper quartz and “bulk” automatic lineup. That definitely hampered Ebel’s brand reputation in the watch enthusiast circles.

BTR line was probably Ebel’s last serious effort to play in the “big leagues”. The watch is gorgeous, it has an inhouse movement and the prices are very low. This makes BTR one of the best deals in the preowned watch market right now.  When people see my 5-digit Rolexes they’re usually surprised how “mundane” they feel while my BTR has impressed absolutely EVERYONE – even people who don’t know anything about watches. It looks and feels expensive and special. BTR suffered the same fate as VW Phaeton and Peugeot 607 in the car world. Fine products but they didn’t have the Mercedes or Jaguar badge. A bit like Grand Seikos, BTR is a watch for a real watch guy.

Thanks for reading. And feel free to comment this post – or ask questions down below in the comment section.

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