The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hello all,

New to the forum and just recently purchased my first Breitling last month, a new 125th Anniversary Cosmonaute Limited Edition (A22322). The purchase was made while in Asia from an authorized dealer listed on the Breitling website. Though everything at their store seemed very legitimate (I “bought the seller first”), a few things have come up since I returned that are disconcerting and causing some self-doubt. Hoping the knowledge base on this forum can put my mind at ease:

1. The dealer said that they were the original recipient of the watch (#240/1000). Is there any way to verify this from Breitling? (emailed the US Distributor but haven’t heard anything back)

2. Dealer said the watch also came with a leather strap that they couldn’t find, but would send to me. In the mail, I received a 20 -16 brown leather strap (pictured)...which makes no sense, by the way! It doesn’t have a reference number stamped on the strap, though the size and Breitling name and logo appear. Is this a legitimate Breitling strap?

3. It appears that the Air Racer bracelet is dated (model 222A, 4709), but doesn’t appear as if the case is. Does this sound correct?

4. The luminous paint for the “8”, “10”, and “16”, when viewed in the dark (pictured), is less than perfect. Is this a cause for concern?

5. So far, I don’t believe I’m getting the 40hr+ reserve…generally only getting mid-30's. Is this cause for concern?

6. Sometimes, after I wind the watch, it doesn’t start right away. Is this normal?

Sorry for the length of this, but appreciate anyone’s response/feedback.

Thank you,

1. The Breitling Distributor for Hong Kong would have that info
2. strap is authentic, but several years old, clearly does not fit the watch and never has.
3. watch MUST be dated between the lugs, pls recheck, u have to take off the bracelet for this.
4. looks ok to me on the pic
5. power reserve - 30 seems quite little, which is strange for a new watch.

Welcome aboard.

Firstly your watch is fine. It's genuine.

Answers -

1. The easiest way to see if the AD was the original recipient is to check the name in the warranty booklet. The originating ADs name will be punched in the booklet.

2. That strap looks genuine, but it's a LOT older than the watch. Not sure why they'd send you that.

3. You will need to remove the bracelet to see the date on the case. It WILL be there.

4. Agreed the lume is not quite perfect, but it's not too bad either. If you aren't happy with it (and you have the warranty) speak to Breitling about it. They may swap the dial for you.

5. Have you given it a full manual wind? If not try 70 or 80 full winds. Don't worry you can't overwound it. Then set it down and time how long it takes to stop. If you still are only getting mid 30's then a trip to Breitling is in order.

6. Normal. A very slight movement (I don't want to say a shake!) is sometimes needed to get mechanical watches moving.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

EDIT - Fred beat me to it, but as I just spent 10 mins typing it on my sodding iPhone I thought I'd post it anyway!

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Thanks for the quick reply...and the piece of mind! A few quick follow ups:

1) I've never gone over 40 winds. I'll go 70-80 and see what happens.

2) The lume doesn't really bother me, as long as it's not considered a 'flaw' or will lessen the watch's value.

3) The Air Racer has some space between the bracelet and the case at different angles, so I thought I could see the date if it was there...either on the case itself or through reflection on the bracelet. I'll remove it though and see what I find.

4) Anyone want to buy a "vintage" brown leather strap?

1. Yes, give it a good wind because, as I say, you can't overwind an automatic. 60, 70, 80 even 90 turns - it's all fine. (Just don't do that on a non-automatic - i.e. manual wind - watch!)

2. The lume won't affect the value at all - as I say, it's not absolutely perfect, but it still looks fine and quite normal.

3. It's quite faintly engraved so you will ideally need to remove the bracelet.

4. Post up a for sale thread in the Sales sub-forum here. Make sure to adhere to the sales rules though.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I think that's a subjective call. Technically, the lume isn't perfect, which, technically, means it's flawed, however minor a flaw it may be. Some might not be bothered by it, but others (picky types like me) might be. How that might affect value is questionable. Those who aren't bothered by it probably would be willing to pay the market value for it, whereas those who are bothered by it maybe wouldn't consider buying it at all, or might expect a lowering of sale price. Conversely, if the lume were perfect, there wouldn't be a reason for anybody to complain about it.

To the OP: I'm not trying to talk you into being unhappy with it. If you aren't bothered by it, then don't worry about it, and enjoy the watch. (And be glad you're saving yourself several weeks of being without the watch while it's being serviced.) But, since you are asking about resale, which ultimately involves how people feel about the condition of the watch, I'm just giving you the other side of the coin. If you do decide you aren't happy about it, it's best to make that decision while it's still under warranty. If I were in your situation, I'd live with it for a few months and see how I felt about it then.

I agree it's not 100% perfect, but in terms of value, how many people ever check the lume on a watch when buying one? I know I never have. Plus I've seen plenty of watches with lume that look like that.

But as I said in my first post in this thread - if the OP is concerned (and has the warranty card as it'll be done free of charge) then he should speak to Breitling to see about a dial change.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Let's go for a rotation of the watchthrough 360 degrees in the plane of the dial (i.e. while looking at the dial rotate the watch so that the crown moves through 12, 9, 6 and back to 3 - or the other way round)

It's not really an issue, but watches shouldn't be sold out of beat.

Appreciate all of the feedback. As a "newbie", I'd ask: is the lume on my watch the exception or the rule? Are most Breitlings "perfect" in the dark, relative to the appearance of the lume on the dial (i.e. the numbers)?

Some of my watches take a good 15-20 winds before they get going. Normal, but I could see the cause for concern if somebody were not aware.

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-RJ

Since Breitling lume generally stinks, it looks good to me.

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-RJ