The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Well, its Christmas and my wife presented me with a brand new MB today. Wow.

But she explained that she bought it from Amazon Direct not an AD as no AD in the area could get that exact model in time for Christmas (also my birthday). I gather the MB is less popular due to its smaller size and they kept trying to sell her the larger choices - but I have very small wrists and this one fits beautifully.

Of course, I could not embarrass her by suggesting that there might be a problem having bought it at Amazon.

Do folks here think there is a problem?

The Breitling site says most internet "breitlings" are not authentic. And it seems the warranty is from Amazon not Breitling itself.

And do I know if it is in fact authentic and new? The box has all the trimmings including a COSC certificate but there is a dirt smudge on the envelope containing the gold instruction manuals.

I have emailed Breitling USA but thought I would try folks here as well. I would appreciate any comments or advice.

Happy Holidays.

I'm no expert, having just bought my first Breitling, but I think you are probably fine (assuming she got a good deal on it). I talked to several very knowledgeable watch guys and they all said that most of the Breitlings sold online are in fact authentic. If it looks authentic, it most likely is. Breitling obviously has an interest in saying that 99% of Breitlings sold online are not authentic so they can protect their ADs. It may not be clear where the watches sold online come from, but most are authentic. The warranty is most likely through Amazon since it did not come from an authorized dealer. I'm sure some of the others on the forum could give more insight than I, but I wouldn't worry about it, especially since your wife likely saved a good deal of cash getting it online.

First of all, it was very generous of your wife to buy you such a nice gift for Christmas / Birthday. She's a keeper.

Amazon would be what is referred to as a "grey market" dealer. The watch is most likely genuine, but you will not be able to get warranty service and other perks from Breitling. It probably isn't a huge deal in the near term, but you might run into problems in the future should you require parts that aren't freely available. The movement is relatively common so you should be okay as far as that goes.

I'm not familiar with Amazon's return policy for these types of items, but you may want to consider an AD if you are concerned by the warranty issues. They should be able to get a Montbrillant fairly quickly, and depending on your location, their prices should be competitive with those of online dealers.

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Current Collection: Breitling Montbrillant Legende, Breitling Navitimer, Breitling Chronomat Evo, Breitling SuperOcean Heritage 46, Omega Seamaster 300M Ti
http://www.twitter.com/paulsmerdon

Hopefully you will not require warrranty repairs, but if you do you can decide whether you want to let amazon handle it or send it o breitling on your own and pay the bill yourself to ensure correct repairs are made. Dont worry about authenticity though...amazon sells legit breitlings...they just dont have a factory warranty.

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-RJ

, but.......

I would NEVER allow a grey market dealer work on a watch because they are not going to be able to use genuine parts. If you have warranty issues then insist on a replacement watch.

As long as the serial number is intact then you will have no service issues with Breitling.

Thanks to everyone for their responses, especially on Xmas weekend.

The way I see it it is not worth it to go the Amazon route in light of what people are saying. Amazon gives a 30% discount but if I were to need a $500 repair during the first two years the only way to do it right would be to go to Breitling and pay the 500 rather than go through Amazon, since if I needed a repair five years down the road and there were non-B parts in there it could be a problem.

So if an AD came close to the Amazon price and you then weigh in the residual (although apparently this is not a real problem) concern about authenticity on top of the 500 it pretty much eats away at the price differential.

I am a pretty loyal Amazon customer for books and DVDs but there seems to be to be some good logic behind the AD network when it comes to an item like a high end mechanical watch.

So back in the box - for now. I am in touch with a recommended AD so am hopeful of a new box arriving soon