The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I have a question about the warranty certificate I received with my "stored for a decade" Crosswind. Can the 10 digit warranty certificate number that is perforated into the back page of the warranty book be traced back to the watch? The reason I ask is the reference number written in ink matches the watch, but the serial number is one digit off. The serial number written is **497 and the number on the watch is **487. The retailer was Stockinger in Austria. It looks to me like someone just "fat fingered" the number, but who knows plus I'm suspicious by nature.

I am planning to take it into my local AD for service tomorrow, and was wondering if I should have them look into that for me.

By the way, the in service date is listed as 7/4/1999 and the watch has definitly not seen any wrist time. The watch does run as it gets moved around, but I haven't wound it. Is the general consensus still that it should go in for service given the fact it seems to run?

Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.

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Chronomat Vitesse
Navitimer
Montbrilliant Olympus
Crosswind

The 10 digit number on the warranty card can't be traced as Breitling don't keep a record of them as far as I'm aware.

However, if you're wondering if the warranty card is the correct one for the watch, then for it NOT to be for that watch, it would require someone finding a warranty card with a serial number that was just one digit out from the watch they are trying to sell! The odds of that are astronomical - we're talking lottery win odds here. More likely, the AD made a slight error when they initially completed the card and overwrote it.

But as I said in your previous threads about this watch, post us some pictures on here (watch and paperwork) as it's so much easier to visualise something if we have pictures rather than just descriptions.

The other thing to remember is that on a 10 year old watch, the warranty card is of no practical use to you anyway (as the watch is many years out of warranty), other than for having a complete set of paperwork.

Regarding whether it really needs a service because it runs - again as I said in the other threads, the need for a service has absolutely NOTHING to do with whether the watch runs, and absolutely EVERYTHING to do with the age of the oils in the watch, coupled with the fact that it hasn't been used for over 10 years. The oils break-down over time and become dried up and/or sticky, so lose their ability to lubricate. Additionally when a watch isn't run for a while, gravity means that the oils move away from where they are needed and pool (hence the term "pooling") in a different area of the movement/case. This all means that the movement isn't being lubricated adequately, so causing adverse wear when the movement runs. This means a potentially much bigger bill when you DO get round to servicing it as more parts will be worn and therefore need replacing.

But ultimately it's your watch : run it without a service if you want, but be prepared for a much bigger bill when it eventually stops.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Thank you for the feedback and for confirming my hunch about the ID numbers. I am also heading your advice and taking it in for the service. Emotionally, I want to put it on and start wearing it right away rather than sending it away for a month.

Here are a couple photos:







Thank you again for the advice. It is great to have a resource like this available.

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Chronomat Vitesse
Navitimer
Montbrilliant Olympus
Crosswind

It's real, and it needs a service without any doubt at all. The oil in there is more like shellac right now.