The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hey everyone, I'm a new Breitling owner and have been browsing this forum to see if others have had similar issues to the one I'm facing, so I'm now I'm contributing in hope that I can be of use to others!

This October, I purchased a Montbrillant 01 Limited Edition (#1984 / 2000) while on my honeymoon in Paris from a Breitling boutique. I had been eyeing Breitling for a few months. I personally just love the "classic" look of the Navitimer and Montbrillant, but the Navitimer was just too large for my wrist. Also, I liked that the watch was a little more "special" and not as mainstream as say a Rolex.

Unfortunately, within a week of ownership, I ran into an issue with the chronograph. When reset, the second hand went to 1/100th of a second. Not a huge issue, but as a designer, I notice the tiniest of details, so I let my salesperson at Breitling Paris know about the issue. He said that it isn't normal and that I should send it in to be fixed under warranty.

Over the course of the next week or so, the chronograph reset kept creeping forward until it reset at about the 1-second mark. I had been talking to Breitling in the US, where I live, and they were happy to take it back, but they expected me to pay shipping to them. Having paid $9,000 for a watch that broke within a week, I was quite infuriated, especially because the shipping cost with appropriate insurance is about $100. Long story short, my wonderful salesperson in Paris worked out the issue for me and somehow got the New York boutique to give me a shipping label.

It's been almost two-weeks since I got the shipping label and I need to suck it up and say goodbye to my watch for a few weeks / month. At this point, the chronograph resets at about the 2-second mark.

I truly love this watch—I find it more beautiful each day, I bought it on my honeymoon in Paris, and even the edition number coincidentally happens to be my birth year—but I am a little worried about the issue being fixed long-term now that I've read many other posts about issues with the 01 movement.

I'll update when I get my watch back and hear from Breitling what the issue is!
— Christopher

I had a montbrillant 01 (non-LE) and when I first got mine the chrono second hand didn't reset to zero. It didnt get progressively worse, always reset to the same spot, just not zero. They fixed it under warranty quickly and all was good after that. You will be happy when its back and perfect!! Congrats on the new watch!!

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

@natesen

So glad to hear yours was fixed once and for all! I truly hope the same will be true for me. I really don't want to return this watch and start looking for an alternative. In my vast search, Breitling was my favorite, and I hope I can stay with them.

Happy to be part of the owner's club

Its a beautiful watch, BUSA took care of mine relatively quickly so hopefully it won't be too long before you get to enjoy yours again!

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

It is (unfortunately) a known issue with the in house movement, many people have reported it. We learned in another thread that if you phone up BUSA they will send you a prepaid label for shipping.

It would be nice to see some pictures of the watch as well please.

_________________
Rolex GMT 2
Breitling for Bentley GT Racing
Ball World Time Diver
Rolex precision oysterdate
Breitling chronometre bi metal
Omega seamaster professional chronometer
Ball fireman
Rolex datejust diamond bezel
Rolex Explorer 39mm
Omega James bond 50th

Is BUSA the office in New Jersey? Because that's who I called first and they said that I was responsible for shipping TO them under the terms of the warranty. This was despite the fact that I had purchased the watch only a WEEK prior from an official Breitling store nonetheless. They even suggested I return the watch, all because they didn't want to pay for shipping. It appears my salesperson in Paris convinced someone in the NYC office to give me a prepaid label because it was a random woman from that boutique that contacted me next.

I will take some photos when the watch is returned. It's been less than a week and I already miss my watch terribly. This is going to be a LONG month…

BUSA HQ is in CT - http://www.breitlingsource.com/contact.shtml

Apologies, that's actually what I meant. Yes, it was the Breitling USA HQ that I contacted.

I've had issues with my Montbrillant 01 LE too. Was a little saddening to have issues with a watch at that price range, but just keep at it and have any issues fixed while the watch in under warranty. The wait while it's being serviced can be quite painful though.

That was my feeling, too.

I just got the call that my watch has been fixed and is heading back to me. I believe it only took a little over 2-weeks. Although I've sorely missed my watch, that's a fast turn-around. As long as it's fixed for good, this early issue will be water under the bridge!