# Fortis B42 Professional



## bastogne (May 17, 2008)

Hello all, new on the board and a brand new owner of a B-42 Professional and I just noticed that the days are displayed in German, is that normal. The watch is awesome I was just wondering. 
I'll post pictures later.

thanks
-Doug


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## bastogne (May 17, 2008)

Found the answer!! 

thanks
Doug


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## GeoffD (Dec 9, 2006)

At least your alternate is German. One of mine is Arabic and English :-d


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## JohnOSX (Apr 10, 2008)

Hey,

Maybe i can hang on here with a question regarding the B42 Pilot Prof. Chrono !

There is a number on the glass bottom of the watch that looks like "635.10.XXX.X"

What number is this ?

Thats not the Ref. No right ? because the Ref. No. of the B42 Pilot Prof Chrono looks like: "635.10.11" !!

Then theres also an number on the side (where the crowne is) that says: 129XX
Is that the case Nr ? (the unique number that counts trough the B42 Chronos ? so i could say mine is the 129XX watch that was sold ?

I am asking this because the dealer i bought the watch from forgot to fill out the guarantee form....

So i have to fill it out now ( at least i have to fill in the Ref. No. and the Case No. of my watch) and send it back to him to get it stamped.

thanks for your help !


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## cuckoo4watches (Oct 24, 2006)

yes on both accounts John.
first, longer number, is reference/model number.
2nd, shorter number, on the side is the case/serial number.
welcome to the club. ;-)


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## cnmark (Jul 30, 2006)

JohnOSX said:


> Hey,
> 
> Maybe i can hang on here with a question regarding the B42 Pilot Prof. Chrono !
> 
> ...


Hi John,

1. Your number 129XX is the case number (as Fortis calls the serial number).

2. Your 635.10.XXX.X on the glass back is what Fortis calls the "case back number". As it's a B-42 Pilot Pro Chrono, it should be 635.10.141.X with X being either 2 or 3.
This "case back number" consists of: the first 2 number groups from the ref. number (the 635.10), then a movement code (the 141 = ETA 7750). The 4th number is sort of Fortis' internal model upgrade code.

3. Right, the ref. number for this model is 635.10.11. This should be on the hangtag and on the warranty card.

Basically, Fortis' numerology is a mess, we already had many posts regarding this issue.

Important in this context: For ordering spare B-42 bracelets the "case back number" is needed besides the ref. number. Because Fortis did change the lug style on some B-42 models during the years (!). See the 2 known B-42 lug styles below:



Bracelet end links are not interchangeable between these!​
Cheers,

Markus


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## eurocopter (Nov 16, 2007)

cnmark said:


> Fortis did change the lug style on some B-42 models during the years (!).


Hi Markus,
Are both lug types still at use at different models, or one replaced the other? And are these lugs exclusive to certain B-42 models or do they sometimes appear in both styles on the same model.
We could maybe refer to them as the round edge (left) and sharp edge (right)? :-d

Thanks for clarifying.


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## cnmark (Jul 30, 2006)

eurocopter said:


> Hi Markus,
> Are both lug types still at use at different models, or one replaced the other? And are these lugs exclusive to certain B-42 models or do they sometimes appear in both styles on the same model.
> We could maybe refer to them as the round edge (left) and sharp edge (right)? :-d
> 
> Thanks for clarifying.


Apart from the edge style the placement of the T-bar holes in the lugs is completely different. This is the main reason the end links are not interchangeable.

Both lug styles can still be found on new watches, but the round ones are getting rare.

:-( And both styles can be found on the same model, more further below.

The picture in the previous post:

The right watch is my B-42 Marinemaster, this case / lugs are currently used on most new B-42 watches where the ref. no. starts with the three digits 645 and higher (seen for sure on the following models: 645; 647; 649; 650; 655; 656) - the bracelet end links also carry the "645" marking on all these.

The left watch is my B-42 Pilot Pro GMT Chrono (637.22.11), I do not have the bracelet at hand, but iirc the end links are marked "635".

Same model, different lugs:

The confusion and problems will start for the owners of both the B-42 Pilot Pro Chronographs and B-42 Cosmonauts Chronographs: New watches are brushed finish NNN.10.11, older watches were blasted finish NNN.22.11
From browsing the web sites of some dealers I got the impression that there is still stock of the blasted watches around.

The older blasted B-42 Cosmonauts Chronos and B-42 Pilot Pro Chronos did/do have the round lugs, taking the "635" end links, the newer brushed watches have the "sharp" lugs taking the "645" end links.

:-( Worst example: The B-42 Flieger Chronograph (always ref. 635.10.12 - brushed finish) comes with both lug styles. No way to differentiate by the numbers.
Because: Due to the introduction of the brushed finish B-42 Pilot Pro Chrono now both the B-42 Flieger Chrono and the B-42 Pilot Pro Chrono do have the very same case back no. (635.10.141.X) !:roll:

I just assume there might even be some more subtle differences, e.g. the "extra thick" B-42 Alarm Chronos will have their own specific end link style.

I also have seen 2 styles of the end links for the round lugs, one style with the 2 parallel grooves in the center and another style is "smooth", without these 2 parallel grooves. Examples in blasted finish below.

Smooth:


Grooved:


Makes one dizzy...

Fortis' main fault here:
Nowhere, neither in the printed catalogue nor in the downloadable PDF spare parts list these lug and end link differences are mentioned. Only two ref. numbers for the B-42 steel bracelets are given (99.635.10M - brushed finish / 99.635.22M - blasted finish).

Just in the smallprint (under the clasp picture) the importance of providing both the ref. no. of the watch and the case back no. is mentioned. This could easily be mistaken as affecting the clasp only.


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## eurocopter (Nov 16, 2007)

Thanks Markus, excellent post as always. That B-42 Flieger Chrono in both lug styles with the same ref number, that is really little too much from Fortis. :-s But now we know.
And I got impression from numerous pictures that those "smooth" end links are old style found on watches with tritium dial, versus the "grooved" ones with luminova dials. But I could be wrong.


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## bastogne (May 17, 2008)

eurocopter said:


> Thanks Markus, excellent post as always. That B-42 Flieger Chrono in both lug styles with the same ref number, that is really little too much from Fortis. :-s But now we know.
> And I got impression from numerous pictures that those "smooth" end links are old style found on watches with tritium dial, versus the "grooved" ones with luminova dials. But I could be wrong.


Hello all, my new Fortis B42 Professional is running slow, 4 minutes slow to be exact. This is the third time that I had to adjust the time.

-Doug


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## gooter (Mar 17, 2008)

4 minutes slow a day??


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## J.D. (Aug 15, 2006)

bastogne said:


> Hello all, my new Fortis B42 Professional is running slow, 4 minutes slow to be exact. This is the third time that I had to adjust the time.


4 minutes slow a day would indicate a problem! I would send it in to the repair center (Providence Watch Hospital). Let us know how it turns out.


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## 3fedor3 (Jan 5, 2011)

Up from the dead... sorry. I was wondering which (if any) of the B42 ss bracelets/endlinks are interchangeable? I have an incoming Fortis B42 Marinemaster Automatic 647.10.158.3 that I'm looking to add an ss bracelet too. The one that I have coming in is on a lovely leather strap with deployant clasp but I definitely love the look of the bracelet as well. Thank you.


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