The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Ok so looking on the vancouver landscape I have started to notice that their are brands that are more readily available than others. Obviously brands like Rolex, Tag and our beloved Breitling seem to be on the noticable forefront of what is available to the masses. And these companies do a great job at marketing and seem to appeal to a wide range of people. Since starting my collection I have started to look at other things and I am starting to acquire a different taste of what I might want to add in the near future. However one thing that does bother me is the lack of a service centre in my area for some brands that I may like. for example I own a Corum Adrmirals cup chrono and there is only one AD in all of BC and the service centre is back east in Ontario. The store that sells Corum in BC (according to the website) is not certified to make repairs. I bought the watch when I was in St lucia but had I really thought about it I may have opted to go fro something else. At least the AD where I got my lings is certified to make repairs so dealing with minor things are a bit easier. I am just curious if when you guys make purchases if these things are even a factor.

Yea, w/ Canada's relatively small population, most companies opt to open service centers in the U.S., not realizing the issues of import/export. They have that "EU" frame of mind that you/we can just send stuff effortlessly across borders.

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UN Maxi Marine Ti
B01, BEB
SOH
Aerospace Ti
Chrono SO
Omega 300 Master Co-Axial Chro
Omega PO Chrono.
AP ROO Diver
Titan Black Rolex DSOD Honeycomb Dial

One reason I changed local ADs is they have a certified Breitling repair guy on staff. For minor problems they have the local guy take care of it for a very nominal cost as a service to their customers.

The Sinn I bought that is running way too fast has only one place it can go - Frankfort. So that will be going back soon and it's likely a simple regulation problem that could be taken care of in 2 days if it were a Breitling.

So yeah, I think about this stuff now.

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SHARKMAN

Personally I like to have a service centre for the brand in my country as sending watches abroard is just an unnecessary aggravation.

It also makes a difference if you look to part-exchange a watch at an AD. A while back I was looking to trade by long-gone Doxa 5000T against a Rolex SDDS at my AD and while he said he'd be more than happy to take it off me for what it was, he couldn't accept it because Doxa have no UK based service centre. This meant that ifn my AD sold it with their 12 month warranty, they'd be liable for sending it back to Switzerland for the repair in the event of the new buyer having an issue with it.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Well to be fair, Breitlings have to be sent to Toronto for a full service, local service centres can't do everything.

I accepted that in Canada servicing costs would likely be higher, and now that I am getting into niche watches that holds even more true - they have to go to Switzerland. In terms of taxes and duty you only need to pay on the cost of the service, not the whole watch (customs often charge, but you can claim a refund with copies of the paperwork) which at least manages the risk.

The bigger problem that I have is the lack of retail choice for many brands. Even in Toronto there is often only one retailer for a brand so price competition is limited. Oddly (despite what their website says) there is only one Panerai dealer in the Toronto area, and that's not even Toronto, it's in Etobicoke.

see this is exaclty what i mean i am starting to wonder (for me) if its worth it to venture into those more niche brands. I mean even a big name like AP...in Vancouver it might be a nightmare to have to sit and wait for service when the time is due. plus the shipping back and forth and then the added cost of insurance...all these things will be factors in my next purchase.

Hmm you guys are nuts. I've never kept the same watch more than a year and never had to deal with a service center. Just buybuybuy everything you see, sell them off, repeat!

i dont know if i would want to do that. personally i like to have a bit of a collection. plus every time you sell im sure you take a hit on the watch correct?

Oooo. Oooooo! This one's mine - YES!

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SHARKMAN

i guess you sold a few pieces and you lost a bit more than you wanted sharkman? well put it this way...i am sure your collection now more than makes up for it

The collection certainly has more breadth and is more entertaining to me. At one point I had 16 Lings and nothing else! Crazy. But it takes what it takes and no regrets.

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SHARKMAN

The sharkman's loss is my gain!! Keep selling off your lings baby!! Waiting patiently for him to get sick of the Raven.

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"I don't own any watches, I just lease them"

Ya well keep on waiting. One of my very favorites even if it does have a dreaded rubber bezel. It's the dial color - grey with black subs - that really makes the watch work, especially on a DPII/deployment.

Still waiting on the white dial Skyracer's return from BUSA.

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SHARKMAN

might as well own what you love.

and that was two thursdays ago............

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Steel Fish (Blue Dial)