The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I have wanted a Navitimer for several years and finally decided to pull the trigger. I had a good price from the local Breitling dealer, but found a (my opinion) very good price on an extremely clean pre-owned one online.

Two concerns. The watch definitely appears to be geniune. It has all paperwork, matching serial numbers, and the certificate of authenticity. I have checked this forum for information on fakes and am fairly confident I tested all things testable.

First I was hoping a few of you officianados (spelling) might look over this listing to help me feel more comfortable with my purchase. You can see the listing by clicking on the following link: http://cgi.ebay.com/BREITLING-NAVITIMER ... dZViewItem

Next I had some questions about winding. I wound it once, and the wind only seemed to last about 12 hours, so I wound it again and experienced the same. I then decided to wear the watch thinking I wasn't winding it enough (will get to that in a second) and after wearing for 10-12 hours it ended up running for 36 hours. Not quite the minimum of 42 hours, but much closer and that was only wearing it for one day.

The book says to wind it using a clockwise rotation 40 times. The jewler told me to be careful not to over-wind the watch and to use a back and forth winding motion. I was concerned about over winding so I did as the jewler said. A few posts on this board seem to lead me to believe the Navitimer has some sort of a slipping clutch in the winding mechanism and it can not be overwound. Is this true?

Lastly should the winding be in the clockwise direction and are we talking about 40 complete (360 degree) rotations of the crown?

Thanks in advance for your help. It's a beautiful watch, and I'm very excited to be an owner. I certainly hope it is the geniune article.

Dave

Welcome to BreitlingSource!

First off, the watch looks real to me - bnewbie and Sharkmouth are the experts, but I don'e see any issues.

In terms of winding, a full wind is, as you say, 40 winds clockwise - that's with the crown fully pushed in and winding it 'forward' or towards the top of the watch. 40 winds is usually considered to be 40 movements of thumb and finger rather than full revolutions.

All automatic watches, including this one, have a slip clutch to prevent over winding - it sounds like your jeweller doesn't know too much I'm afraid.

Thanks for the tip on winding. I did the full wind (but did 40 complete rotations) then I put it in its box on a shelf. If it makes it til noon tomorrow that will be 48 hours and I'll be satisfied. The seller did say he would send it off to be serviced if needed. I'm not sure I'd be willing to send it back however after parting with the money. I'll wait and see how this wind holds up. From reading several posts on here it seems this watches need to stabilize a bit after sitting, and wearing the watch regularly may be the best cure for it.

Lastly, I will wait for the pro's to chime in on it's authenticity, but I do appreciate you looking and your comments. I was scrolling down the post real slowly hoping my heart wouldn't fall out of my chest when someone said it was a fake. So thanks again

Dave

Welcome aboard and congrats on your purchase.
As Roff said, no issues regarding authenticity of your Navi.

While I'm at it I do have one more question about the band / clasp.

When I release the safety (second catch) I can't get my fingernail between it and the main clasp. I found just releasing the saftey clasp but not opening it all the way allows me to get my finger into the main clasp and open it, then I just have to move the safety clasp out of the way and off she comes.

Is this by design? Am I doing it wrong? Or do I need new fingers?

Thanks again,

Dave

I thought of another question (I settle down soon I promise)

When I mentioned my winding issue to the dealer he mentioned he may be able to send it back to Breitling for servicing, but said they frowned on online purchases. He said he would have to give them the serial number and they would let them know if they would work on it or not.

This didn't sound like Breitling, however when you view their website, they definitaly have taken some sort of a position agains people selling their watches online.

Can they really give me a hard time when it comes time for servicing? I didn't give the jeweler the information so I haven't been flagged if that is something they could do. All the original paperwork is with the box, so as far as I'm concerned if asked, I purchased it from the dealer who sold it originally, or better yet the original purchaser.

I don't think they will refuse service, or black ball me. Has anyone heard of such things?

Thank you,

Dave

Looks great, love the navitimer! Such a classic IMO.

Great watch!

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NavitimerNut

Try to lift the other side of the clasp up after you release the safety clasp.
I think that you need to change your jeweler or AD or he's playing a game with you.
Don't hurry giving him your watch for a "repair" unless it really needs a repair.
Breitling won't work on watches without serials.
No problem with watches with papers.

I have a question. Notice that on the warranty certificate the date of purchase information is not filled in. What does that mean in terms of when the warranty period starts and ends? If OP was to fill it in with today's date, would the warranty start today?

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Breitling Evolution White
Tag Heuer Carrera Automatic

Yes it would

Let me start by saying that you jeweler seems to be pretty misinformed on quite a few things. Id keep the navi away from him if I were you.

Anyway...Breitlings come with 2 year warranties. As long as the watch was original purchased from an authorized dealer, it doesnt matter who you bought it from, whether online or in person. The problem is that your warranty card was not filled out correctly, so there is no way to know when it was originally purchased from "J Brooks" (Dealer).. A quick google shows that they have 2 locations in Utah. Maybe you can give them a call and see what the deal is.

BTW, the breitling box you have was replaced a couple of years ago so it may very well be out of warranty.

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-RJ

I would have to disagree with you. Just because you have an old box doesn't mean a watch is out of warranty. The watch could have sat on the shelf at the dealer for years before being sold.

_________________
Breitling Evolution White
Tag Heuer Carrera Automatic

Good news - The watch held up fine on it's endurance test - lasted 48.5 hours on a full wind. So no more worries there.

However still having a problem with the clasp. Took off a small portion of my fingernail today trying to open it. I'd like to adjust it a bit myself, but deathly afraid of scratching it. Has anyone ever just widened the clasping point jus t a bit to loosen it up. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Dave

Did you try bnewbie's suggestion?

Release the safety catch, then hold the sides of the main clasp at the opposite end from the safety catch and just lift it up.