The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hello All,
Second Hand Archie here.....

I buy all my watch on the used market.... usually from a few good vintage dealers.....

Anyhow.... with regards to servicing..... is it ok to use an experience watchmaker instead of being (TAKEN) by the AD ?

I have a watchmaker in Australia called Paul - 60 year old Chinese guy..... he does everything from Seiko to Patek..... always honest, reliable and most importantly REASONABLE!

He quote about AU$180- for a full service.... I thought that was a bit high.... but he told me that is the price for a chronograph..... (I am coming from a Rolex history).....

Why would anyone use the AD to service a 7750 movement? I understand using the dealer if you need a new dial or so..... but to use a AD for servicing is like taking your BMW to the dealer when the warranty is long gone.....

OPINIONS PLEASE.

I think its perfectly fine as long as the guy is competent and he does everything that is needed, like pressure testing. Breitling movements are relatively basic, and any good watchmaker should have no problem working on them. The only issues are if he needs to replace pieces, he will have a hard time finding OEM parts. BTW, Breitling charges $400-500 USD for a chrono service.

EDIT: In case you havent seen it:
http://www.breitling.com/service-chrono/

It just depends what you are happy with, and what you want to pay.

If you check out the link that RJRJRJ has posted you'll see the incredible lengths that Breitling go to when they service a watch. I can guarantee that a non-Breitling watchmaker will not go to those lengths, or if they do, it won't be in the clean-room environment like at Breitling.

But as RJRJRJ said, most automatic movements are not overly complex, so any competant and well-equiped watch-maker can do the job..... it just depends on the level you want to go to.

For your other posts I get the impression you are not as anal as some of us (me included!), so in that case a non-AD service may be just fine. Personally I pay the extra and get Breitling to do...... but it's horses-for-courses at the end of the day.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

As others have stated, as long as you don't need Breitling parts you should be ok. That being said, every time Breitling does an overhaul, they replace the hands. With no OEM parts, this could be an issue...

Good Luck!

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BC

Not only do they replace them, they pretty much have to replace them as they are press on and don't fit properly when reused.

Correct Roff...

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BC