The Breitling Watch Source Forums

As someone who is clueless - is this standard policy worlwide or is it another case of 'bend over Britain' at its absolute finest?

Hope you can get it sorted for a reasonable price Sav.

New hands are always fitted as part of a full service as the are one-time use only. They are push-fitted, so removing them tends to enlarge the hole a little, so they never re-fit snuggly enough, so they replace them.

It's actually very good practice as part of a service. (Assuming a full service is actually needed of course!)

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Admin wrote a blog article on crowns and warranty - http://blog.breitlingsource.com/2007/11 ... -warranty/

Hopefully putting this to bed now.

I spoke to a lady in WoS yesterday and expressed my displeasure at things falling off of it after 2 years and that I wasn't happy at having to shell out over £500 etc. etc. All of a sudden she starts questioning me about the whereabouts of the warranty. I know for a fact that I took it in on my second visit, as advised by the guy in there. He took it and that's that. She insisted that they'd not seen it and that Breitling hadn't seen it. Obviously I can't speculate on what Breitling have and haven't seen, but I know 100% certainly that the chap took it with me on the same day that he was sending the watch off. I did get a bit stroppy with the clueless lady on the phone today when she said that they'd not seen the warranty yet they NEVER send watches off without the warranty - talk about contradicting yourself! I did them the favour of looking around home AGAIN to see if I had the warranty by some fluke, but I don't.

Well. I went in there today with the box and all the papers minus warranty today and spoke to another - incredibly helpful - woman. She agreed that the warranty must have been with them or they wouldn't have sent it to Breitling (duh), and that it has gone missing after I gave it to them. I explained, very calmly, the situation to her and aired my grievances about it only being 2 years old etc. etc. and she got back on the phone to Hermione (!!) at Breitling and the upshot is that she would fax them a copy of my receipt (proof of purchase date) and Hermione said that they would do the service for £115 - down from £480 or so. She also assured me that I'd get a replacement warranty booklet just like the one that went 'missing'.

I guess the moral of my particular story is to speak to someone with half a clue about things, not some monkey for whom it's just a 'job'.

With the replacement crown and p&p, it comes to £162, which I am happy to pay, rather than £530 odd, which I'm not.

Saga (hopefully) over

Oh, and when I have my bad boy Herc back, I'll stick some pictures up - as it's a discontinued model I believe?

That's exactly what I said in another thread on here - it's well worth finding an AD that's staffed by "watch people", and not just generic sales assistant types.

Anyway, glad it's all sorted out for you.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

So am I, so am I. It's a sorry state of affairs when you can get such staggeringly different levels of knowledge and service from 2 different people within the very same shop, especially when you're not shopping at bloomin' Argos and expect a bit of service as you're paying out lots of money for it.

I picked up my Aerospace at the AD, Finks, yesterday, and the bill from Breitling showed the following charges:

Crown, Sandblasted Steel $24.43
Hands, Gold w/Black Center 43.20
Piezo 0
Complete Service $285.00

Complete service included quality control, pressure test, movement adjustment, bezel spring, click spring, crystal gasket, back gasket, crown tube steel.

Now, if I had wanted a complete service, I wouldn't complain, but all I wanted was a new battery, as the watch was running perfectly when the battery died. The AD told me that there wasn't anyone in Richmond who would open a Breitling up because of the factory's refusal to work on watches that had been opened by non-Breitling dealers. Consequently, wanting my watch back, I agreed to the rediculous $380 charge for service.

While waiting for the watch to come back I started doing some research on capable watchmakers in Richmond, and had found a "Certified Master Watchmaker" with almost 60 years in the business here in town. Highly recommended and spoken of by everyone I talked to.

When I picked up the Breitling yesterday, I complained to the manager with no success whatsoever. Incidentally, he informed me that one of the reasons for the high cost was the fact that the Aerospace has 2 batteries...one each for the analog and digital movements. I pulled my Tag-Heuer chronograph out of my pocket and showed it to him, while mentioning that I had bought this there as well. I told him it was running eratically, and asked what he recommended. He asked how old it was, and when I told him 15 years, his response was, "Oh, it needs to go in for service". My next question was cost, and his response was "Tag is a lot cheaper, probably only $175-200 for that one". My response was simply, "You'll never see me in here again", while I pocketed the Tag and left.

I went to the watchmaker mentioned above, and he asked me if I could wait 30 minutes while he checked out the Tag to see what the problem was. In 15 minutes he came back with the watch and said, "All it needed was a new battery. It had the wrong battery in it". The original AD, Finks, had replaced the battery last year with the wrong battery, and wanted to send it to Breitling for service. While I was there, I showed him my Aerospace and asked him if he was familiar with that model. His reply was "Yes, I've worked on a lot of those. Great watches, with a lot of features. I can replace the battery on that watch for $30, and pressure test it and certify it for another $20". When I asked him about the watch having 2 batteries, he told me that there was only one battery in there, not 2.

Needless to say, Finks will never get another dollar out of me, and I'll probably never buy another Breitling because of their heavy handed practices. They did have an IFC Top Gun that managed to catch my eye that might be a nice addition...

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New 2 Tone Chronomat EVO w/MOP Face
Titanium/Gold Aerospace
Rolex 2 Tone Datejust
Gold Ebel/blk. Alligator band
3 Tag-Heuer's

Ad wanted to send the Tag back to Tag-Heuer, not Breitling. That is all.

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New 2 Tone Chronomat EVO w/MOP Face
Titanium/Gold Aerospace
Rolex 2 Tone Datejust
Gold Ebel/blk. Alligator band
3 Tag-Heuer's

Sorry to hear about your strife - I fully sympathise with you.

I've said it before on here, but AD watch servicing/repairs are rather like Main Dealer car servicing - you end up paying through the nose for something that could easily be done elsewhere for a fraction of the cost. For example I always get my BMW's serviced at the main dealer, and yet even after owning 6 of them (I think) I still come away totally amazed at how much they can charge for a simple oil service. And they also replace things that don't really need doing as part of an oil service, but "are part of the recommended service schedule, sir".

It's a pity because after-sales "care" like that (and I'm talking about cars and watches here) can leave a rather sour taste in the mouth...... which is all the more disappointing when the underlying product is so good.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

When my 3 yr old Aerospace died last year I went to see about a new battery & service. I went to either Earnest Jones or Goldsmiths as I use them for other stuff.

I was told by a lady that the only service available on that model was £350 - I knew she was wrong and asked her to check - she insinted that it was that or nothing.

So - down to Beaverbrooks - AD - and asked again about the minor service. Yes, no problem as there's 2 available - £75 (ish) or £350 (ish).

Typical example of people who know what they're talking about and those who don't.

Guess who will get my custom now?

If I was less knowledgable it would have cost me £275 extra - that's simply shocking.

Lesson - shop around.

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Aerospace Titanium & Gold - Grey Face
B-1 on Fighter/Blue Shark - Blue Face
Emergency on Pro - Yellow Face

To complete the collection:
Navi 01 46/Black leather - Black/white
Montbrillant Datora/Navi - White face


LEARNING.......EVERY DAY

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BREITLING EMERGENCY + UTC CORAL DIALS
BREITLING AEROSPACE TITANIUM PROF (SOLD)
ROLEX SUBMARINER BI-COLOR BLUE DIAL
LOUIS VUITTON TAMBOUR DIVERS
PANERAI LUMINOR

It amazes me the level of inconsistency across the AD network. Here in the UK I can't even get a regulation done at a Breitling AD that is also a local service centre that appears on the Breilting website( ), whereas you Gert, and some of the guys in Canada, can get a regulation or battery change done at their AD who isn't even an official repairer.

There really needs to be a global standard on this.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

The prices some of the posters here quote are well into Rolex territory meaning maintenance for a mechanical watch, including shipping to Switzerland. Since I do not have to tell you I like the Aerospace a lot (most comfourtable watch in the world) it's not a Submariner...

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BREITLING EMERGENCY + UTC CORAL DIALS
BREITLING AEROSPACE TITANIUM PROF (SOLD)
ROLEX SUBMARINER BI-COLOR BLUE DIAL
LOUIS VUITTON TAMBOUR DIVERS
PANERAI LUMINOR

This is criminal, and another reason why I don't deal directly with AD's. I send my watches to Canada's authorized Breitling service center directly, and I speak witrh the head guy. I tell him what I need and he gives me a fair price. No "mandatory services". Example, my Bentley Motors is running a bit fast, he quoted me $150-$200'ish to regulate it, new gasket and pressure test.

I would never pay $300+ for a bettery on a watch that is working properly, that is extortion and should be reported to Breitling. If Breitling HQ endorsed this, I would likely not buy another Breitling.

The sign of an honest service dept (whether watches, cars, electronics etc) is one that will not perform unecessary work. To do otherwise is illegal.

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There's not much to report to Breitling, as they soaked me for $352 on their invoice themselves. It was either that or they wouldn't even replace the battery for me. Not only will they never see another of my watches unless the thing is absolutely broken, I'll never buy another Breitling watch. This same AD quoted me $800+ to do the service work on my EVO Chrono. Never again!

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New 2 Tone Chronomat EVO w/MOP Face
Titanium/Gold Aerospace
Rolex 2 Tone Datejust
Gold Ebel/blk. Alligator band
3 Tag-Heuer's