The Breitling Watch Source Forums

In the long run there is no escaping the maxim that you get what you pay for. I for one am very happy not to pay for some fancy box. Well done, Breitling.

Except the Bakelite boxes probably cost Breitling about $10/unit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

_________________
SHARKMAN

And that will buy me a nice lunch at the diner. I like cheeseburgers even more than bakelite boxes.

Keep the plasti err bakelite box. I want my chocolates again!

Yeah, but even a perfectly excellent cheeseburger can be ruined by poor presentation. "What's that on the side of my plate? Wasabi? OH! It's a loogie."

Enjoy your burger.

_________________
SHARKMAN

Maybe, just maybe the whole point of this cardboard box is not pennypinching, but corporate environmental responsibility. At the end of the day, a box is a box. If a bakelite one gets damaged and thrown out, who recycles it? No one....

_________________
Oyster Date '78, Blackbird chrono DLC '10, Blackbird chrono' 02, Navitimer Fighters '02, Aerospace Evo , Seamaster Chrono Diver 300' 02, Carrera cbm2110

Hello! It is just a box that is going to sit in ur closet. I have not seen the original box but do not see why all the angst over this. It is what is in the box that counts. If you really do not like the box organize a write in campaign to BSUA sales? One way or the other you are going to pay for it. Just my opinion.

Ya the watch is more important but however if given a choice, pay the same premium but different quality of boxes, I will be more inclined to have a good box. U need to see and feel the bakelite box in person man...I have seen and felt both the old and new box and there's way hell of difference. IMO the bakelite box makes me feel that my purchase is more value for money. But as mentioned, maybe the current box is more environmental friendly.... I am not going to hope that Breitling will change back to their old box because my Bakelite box has become a collectible vintage now

_________________
Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

Somewhere along the line the subtlety of presentation is becoming a lost art. It's a new millennium and we are back to sprigs of parsley.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

_________________
SHARKMAN

It would be one thing if Breitling never put out a nice presentation box, but they did. If would be one thing if this was a general consumption item and not a luxury good, but this is a luxury good. And now, at the same time the Breitling's prices are ratcheting upwards and outwards, in the most competitive atmosphere the industry has likely had, they choose to skimp on presentation.

To some this does not matter, but clearly to several others, it does. Why? Maybe for the same reason why Scotch comes in a nice container and Thunderbird is presented in a paper bag. Something of craft creates the expectation of something more in the total experience. Some watchmakers don't have as nice a container. IWC boxes, for example, are not that great. Omega boxes are famously short-lived. But I mention "famously" because it is a recognized issue about which people do care. Breitling had the better container, the bakelite box, for a while. Departing from it now sends the wrong message about the brand. I have seen no advertisement about the new presentation being carbon-lite or otherwise environmentally friendly.

I have no idea of the cost, but even if it is $50 on an average $6,000 watch, why provoke a potentially negative reaction. I didn't sit my bakelite on the coffee table, but I pulled it out of the drawer from time to time, to remind me of the commitment to quality Breitling had, and frankly how privileged I was to own a finely crafted watch, impressive from presentation to the wearing experience. I did keep my wooden Breguet box out of the shelf, as well as my Ulysse Nardin and AP wooden boxes. Some argue that non-manufacture UN models are badly overpriced. The finish and detailing of the watches, and their presentation, provide some credibility to counter that argument.

Not really on point, but maybe a worthwhile example here. When Fiat took over Chrysler, one of the first things they did was get rid of the terribly cheap looking dashboard materials in Chryslers and Dodges. There was instant approval of the new dashboards, and the perception of quality of the cars rose sharply. The question came of how much it cost. The answer--about $100 per car. No wonder they, and GM, for that matter, went down the tubes--penny-wise and pound-foolish. The same strikes me for this choice by Breitling.

_________________
Scott

AP Royal Oak 15400, silver
Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Classic Cars
Vintage gold Corum
Rolex DJ 36 TT, oyster dial, oyster/smooth
Baume & Mercier Riviera 200m, silver dial/aquamarine bezel
Breitling Superocean 57, rose/stainless

Very well said... a good presentation projects the amount of pride company takes on their products, especially when we are talking about a luxury item here. I am actually happy by their price surge, but unfortunately their presentation doesn't correspond.... Why cheapen the image because of a box?...... For all you know they might even change their logo one day....Eeeerrrrr....Thinking of that sends a chill down my spine...I was drawn to the brand largely because of their impressive logo.... I can't imagine if they were to change to......

this " " !!!!!!

_________________
Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm

Do you have any Bakelite sitting in your wardrobe collecting dust by any chance?
I will take them off your hands for a couple of cheeseburgers anytime

_________________
"It is just a matter of time!"

I've had a bakelite presentation box for sale on another watch forum for weeks with no takers, so they dont seem to be that popular...!!!

Hey why bother with a box at all? Breitling could just throw the watch in a jiffy-bag. Or maybe no bag at all, and just dish them out to buyers from a drawer at the AD? Or they could do away with AD's too as they're a big overhead that we pay for, and we could just buy them mail-order with no packaging or booklets or anything. Think they'd still be seen as a luxury item then?

I agree with Scott's post completely. IMO the packaging is all part of the experience of buying something perceived to be "high-end". As I've said before, these watches are 100% luxury items : no-one NEEDS a watch that costs more than a few pounds/dollars, so if you buy one of these watches you are buying into something perceived as luxurious and it should be presented as such.


The thing is, the prices haven't come down as a result of the new cheap box. The prices have still gone up, and the packaging's become cheap.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

Old bakelite boxes felt luxurious and expensive. It is what you expect from Breitling, not a cheap cardboard box. I was a bit dissapointed with it when I picked up a SOH at the AD. I couldn't help telling them how I felt. The day I buy another one, I will push for a bakelite box. Worth a try. The box is not a deal breaker though, obviously.. Yet, every detail counts.


(edited to correct stupid typos which I hate)

_________________
life's too short and you only live once