The Breitling Watch Source Forums

My Avenger II LE will be 2 years old this summer.

Coming into the summer and before hitting the pool/ocean, was wondering if I should have it tested for water tightness and if so, is that something that I need a Breitling Service Center or can a high-end jeweler be trusted enough?


Thoughts / comments?

The conventional wisdom of many manufacturers (Breitling included) was to recommend getting the WR tested annually, especially if you are using the watch regularly in water, as gaskets will naturally break down over time depending on usage and environmental conditions. That said, I was recently chatting to a Rolex specialist and he stated that WR testing on modern Rolex's wasn't required outside of service intervals, which is now 10 years! I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with risking 10 years, so I certainly won't be leaving my Rolex's (or any other watch) that long....

Personally I'm of the opinion that it's always better to be safe than sorry, so if you have any concerns at all then it's best to get it tested. Usually if a watch is still under warranty it's a good idea to send it back to the manufacturer to preserve that warranty. However, if it's out of warranty then a decent quality local watchmaker or watch repairer should be have the necessary equipment for a dry pressure test. If it fails the test, then you'll have to decide whether you want that watchmaker to replace the parts, or whether you want to send it in to Breitling.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Thanks

Was that a technician Driver? As you probably know, this ten-year interval thing for Rolexes has been something of an internet myth, based on a letter from Rolex to ADs which observed that ten-years was the typical service interval (based on customer activity), rather than that Rolex specified it. But sales staff are happy to deploy it!

Like you I'd be nervous of that long and stick to the 5-7 wisdom.

The guy I was chatting to wasn't a Rolex tech, but a senior relationship manager who is solely responsible for Rolex within an AD I've used for years. To be honest, I did try to argue the toss with him a little bit on the WR testing point, but he was adamant so I didn't push it too hard.

Yes I'd read about the 'AD letter' thing previously, and while the 10 years doesn't appear to be Rolex's official line (they don't appear to HAVE an official line on service intervals), I guess it's indicative that modern Rolex watches are capable of going at least that long without servicing. As far as servicing goes I'm generally a believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". After all, given the incredibly fine tolerances required to remain 99.994% accurate (which is what COSC cert actually is), I'm of the opinion that it wouldn't take much to be wrong inside the movement to throw the timekeeping off, so all the time it's running fine then there's no need to service it. If the lubricants are starting to degrade and/or thicken, you WILL see it in the timekeeping.

WR though is another matter as gaskets will degrade over time, so I thoroughly believe in getting that checked much more regularly.

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Driver8

Site Moderator