For those of you who may have read my Montbrillant 01 Limited review or the "Hen's Teeth" thread, you'll know that due to a unique set of circumstances, I came into possession of a white Montbrilliant 01 and a white Old Navitimer Mecanique within a few weeks of each other. As you can see below, the watches shared a similar look:
Montbrillant 01
Mecanique
As I am absolutely in love with the Mecanique, I couldn't envision wearing the Montbrillant very often, and even less so because I have a black Datora from the same family. So I started looking for a way to offload the Montbrillant, which had barely left the box.
I inquired about a few trades, posted it in the buy/sell forum and called a few stores to see if they'd be interested in purchasing it. I knew I was in for a major haircut, given that I was selling at the absolute worst time (I had purchased the watch new from an AD at the end of April), but I was nevertheless shocked at how little I could get for it.
As a last ditch effort, I called my AD (Govberg's in Philadelphia) where I've purchased all of my new Breitlings to see if they would be willing to do an exchange. They told me they doubted that they could help me because I had purchased the watch three weeks prior and had admittedly worn it (if only for sizing) but to bring the watch in so they could look at it. I understand the economics involved here, so to say I was not optimistic is an understatement.
I was extremely pleased and surprised that, after inspecting the watch, they allowed me to exchange it for this:
A brand new Transocean Chronograph Limited
Now, the Breitling family consists of:
The Mecanique
The Datora
and the Transocean.
One final note here: Govberg's has earned a customer for life as a result of their handling of this issue. I will never by a new Breitling elsewhere. If you're in Philly, stop by their Walnut Street store and ask for Jennifer Govberg. She's new to the business but she knows her stuff, gives great customer service and is eager to learn more about the Breitling brand.
to Govberg for that excellent
. you already
), but I also can't help thinking that someone is going to be buying a "brand new" Monty 01 that's been worn for 3 weeks now. 