The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hello everyone, I have recently won the auction for a Chronomat 769 at what I thought was a pretty good price, however the seller got in touch with me afterwards to say that he forgot to mention that mini pins have been soldered into the lugs to hold the strap.

The watchmaker I go to says that it may be possible to attach a female pin but if not then it would have to go to a goldsmiths, and I wonder if they could remove it without damage? Does anyone have any experience with this type of operation?

Furthermore I'd like to know how this would change the value of the watch for you. I'm not a hardcore collector and my main aim is to have a beautiful watch to wear, but I do like to feel I'm getting good value, and if I tried to sell this piece in the future would this affect its value to other collector?

Here are pics provided by the seller:





Many thanks for your input as usual

The rest of the watch, in case anyone is interested:





I should add that I am considering whether to back out of the sale, which is my reason for seeking advice.

deleted - corrected answer from Fred below:

these cases had "male" strap mounts, all correct here; a "female" springbar is needed. easily available.

if you are in the US: http://www.ofrei.com/page1466.html

Normal for a gold case. I would be more worried about the inscription on the back affecting future value.

Thanks very much for the information! That's certainly eased my mind.