The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself to the rest of the forum. Like most of the new members on here, I'm looking at getting my first Breitling and came across this site. There is a lot of great knowledge and I hope I can contribute in the future!

I've been looking at the local authorized dealers in my area and have come across a few models that I am very interested in. I've been looking at the Chrono Colt as my first Breitling to get me started. However, one of the local stores has a Chronomat in two tone steel with the blue dial and gold subdials that really caught my eye. The diameter is a bit smaller than the regular 43.7mm diameter standard Chronomats. The salesman told me that Breitling had discontinued the smaller line of Chronomats and that he could cut me an excellent deal for it. Could anyone shed some light as to what a respectable price would be for the Chronomat? My wrist is small and the standard Chronomat takes up most of my wrist so it looks a bit big. I am in Canada, so the price is a bit inflated Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Illusive

Welcome to the forums!

Depending where you are in Canada, you can get a great deal. I've seen the best deal on a couple of watches here in Vancouver vs anywhere in the USA.

Enjoy your time here!

Regarding the Chronomat, if it is the model prior to the current Chronomat http://www.breitlingsource.com/watch_details/Windrider_72.html, it was discontinued in 2004 so it's been sat at the AD for a long, long time! Even before it's sold, it's could probably do with a service to change the oils. This should be reflected in the price you pay.

Can't help with Canadian prices but the last list price in the UK for a B13352 was £2615 on steel Pilot bracelet or £2070 on leather strap. Prices of the current Chronomats are £5030 and £4210 respectively.

You may be able to tell when the watch was manufactured by removing the strap/bracelet at the bottom of the watch and looking for a very small 4 digit code. 1204 would mean the 12th week of 2004 etc. I'm not sure exactly when this code was introduced but it's worth taking a look.

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to the madhouse - one exit, rusted shut...

Mike

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"Behind every great fortune there is a crime" - Balzac

Welcome to BreitlingSource.

As Sharkmouth says, that watch is seriously old (for a new watch). I would definitely insist on a basic service if you buy it. I don't have Canadian price lists that old, but suffice it to say that by this point the cost has been written off by the AD so there should be a lot of flexibility in price.

Happy to give you an AD introduction as well if you are looking for a contemporary piece, just let me know.

Thanks for the warm welcome! I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time on this forum

I was actually looking to get a Tag Heuer Carrera after doing some searching online because of its clean and precise lines (thank you engineering degree), but after sitting down at the local AD with some Breitlings, I found the Tags to be a bit mundane. I'm sure if I went with the Tag on a impluse purchase, I probably would have regretted it. Looking forward to purchasing my first Breitling shortly!

I'm in Calgary, AB and have been to a few of the AD in the city. The price really varies from store to store and I know the mark up on watches can be quite high so I wanted to do some research before I commit to anything. I find it's quite hard to find a reputable dealer online with realistic prices I can go to the AD with to haggle with. Thanks for all of the tips and help so far, I really appreciate it.

From the sounds of things, that Chronomat has been sitting there for a long, long time. I hope to drop by again tonight and I'll have a closer look for that special code to see when it was built. Just to give you guys an idea of what the prices are looking like here, I believe they have the watch priced at CAD$8550 and the saleswoman that was helping me said that they would sell it to me for CAD$5700. It's 33% off, I think they can do much better, but I just wanted to get an idea of how low I should go. The more facts, the more fodder I have I was going to be content with half of their retail price, but from the sounds of things, it should be half of what they are offering me now!

I'm assuming you guys know it is the older model given it is discontinued and has a smaller diameter case? My wrist is quite small at 60-65mm, and it fit quite nicely compared with the larger diameter B01 that I also tried on. The B01 is retailing there for ~$7000 if my memory serves me right. I'm sure it will drop a lot more with some bartering. The saleswoman also said that it includes a 2 year warranty from purchase and suggested I send it in for service before the warranty expires. If it is the older model, does Breitling still honor a 2 year warranty from time of purchase? If they do, will the service be covered if I send it in right away? If it isn't, then I will definitely use the $500+ service for more leverage.

Roffensian, if you have an AD that can help me out with a Breitling, feel free to send them my way. I'm not attached to any of the AD's in Calgary as this is my first premium watch and I want to make sure I get the right one that I will keep for many years. I've outgrown my Movado and Tissot

Last question, I promise: what is everyones thought on the ChronoColt SQ? If the Chronomat can't be had for a good price, I think this is a good starter watch before I get my official P.Eng status in which case I will HAVE to celebrate with a proper Automatic My hesitation is of course because it is a SuperQuartz, not an Automatic which is something that I've always wanted to own.

Thanks again everyone,

Illusive

33% is a pretty good deal, but there's probably some room left on a discontinued model - you won't get that high on a B01. The warranty runs from time of purchase, it doesn't matter how old the watch actually is.

In terms of the Chrono Colt, it's not for me because of the Quartz, but if that doesn't bother you then it's a fine watch. However, it sounds as though you have always wanted an automatic, so would you be happy with SQ??

I'll PM you with an AD, but they are in Ontario and with HST in Ontario now I'm not sure whether you can still get it for just 5% GST as you used to be able to with the GST / PST combo.

Thanks Roff, I appreciate the help. I hope I can talk them down a bit more given it has been discontinued for over 6 years. With the numbers that Sharkmouth gave me, I hope to get them down around $3000 which is a stretch I know.

Agreed, the quartz movement is not my first choice as I love the mechanics of an automatic watch (I'm a sucker for complex mechanical things). But my girlfriend did bring up a good point in that the SQ will provide a more reliable and rugged watch for every day use compared with the Automatic. Sometimes I do go without a watch for a few days to a few weeks at a time, but I think that's due to the fact that I haven't owned a premium timepiece yet and I'd be more inclined to wear it if I truly loved what was on my wrist. Unofrtunately for my small wrist, the regular Chronomats and Navitimers are much too big and look out of place. As such, my choices seem to be quite limited and it seems like this smaller discontinued Chronomat was waiting for me hah! If only I was 1.5-2 years further, I'd have my P.Eng and I wouldn't have to think twice!

Well, with the wealth of knowledge on this site and what everyone else has posted up in this thread, I went back to my local AD to work out a deal on a Breitling. After some late night bartering, I walked out with my first Breitling watch! Which one? You'll have to wait and see!! Will be taking some pictures when I get home to show everyone on here. Thanks again to everyone who replied with information and help, I really appreciate it!