The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Anyone done business with AW? curious if there are any issues. I have heard of warranty problems in the past.
It seems like they have increased the number of models and watches they have or can get. I was thinking of buying one..

Really would appreciate any relevant comments.
thanks

The vast majority of pieces I have looked at on the site can be had at ADs for equal or greater discounts. Why buy a gray market watch if you can get it from an AD with a real warranty? And yes I've heard stories of warrant service issues. Not enough to draw any conclusions - no one post about their good experiences, just the bad ones.

If they have recently added more watches it is becuase it's that time of year. ADs are getting ready for the influx of new models.

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SHARKMAN

I've used them twice, once for myself (my Colt GMT) and once for a gift (Tag Link). Now I wasn't too worried about the warranty because 1) I was buying entry level watches and 2) I figured the money I saved was worth the bet that I wouldn't need to rely on their warranty. So here's what I got:

No issues with the Tag Link.

I love my Colt as it was my first nice watch and it was an engagement present from my wife. But AW listed the bracelet as a Professional II (it was really a Professional) and the serial number on the watch does not match the certificate. On the first point, after being a bit concerned about the bracelet, I realized that the brushed look was WAY better for me as this is mainly my all around casual and dress watch. On the second point, well, this is an engagement gift from my wife and I love it. I will never part with it EVER so I don't care that my papers aren't in order. So now you know some things to look out for not that my experience is necessarily the norm.

I just bought a pre-owned Cockpit (not from AW) and can really care less about a warranty. For the most part, I believe you shouldn't stretch to buy your watch and should be able to cover the cost of any issues that may arise. (For example, don't buy a yacht if you can't afford the maintenance.) I only care if that I'm getting the authentic piece, with the look I want, at the right price.

Hope this helps.

sterling

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Colt GMT w/blue dial
Cockpit two-tone w/silver dial
Chronomat 41 w/brown dial???????

I'm guessing you mean AW's warranty, since the manufacturer's warranty won't be valid if you buy through AW. I'm with Sharky on this one - why go gray when you can get most of the same watches through an AD for the same discount?


If you're happy with your purchases, that's the important thing. To me, though, going through an AD is more than just about the warranty or papers. It also ensures the distribution channel is "pure," and that watch I'm buying hasn't been returned, refurbished, or otherwise messed with. Just because a watch is genuine doesn't mean it's in factory-new shape. The problem with gray market sellers is you never know where the watch has been.

If there was a meaningful savings I could see it, but I don’t get this since I have purchased 2 Colt Automatics from my local ADs and paid essentially the same after sales tax as they go for on authenticwatches.com. And I had the pleasant experience of browsing other models in the metal. Not to mention leaving with the watch on my wrist. Knock off sales tax from an out of state AD and it makes NO sense to buy from AW – at least for the piece mentioned.



You are fortunate you like the bracelet you got, but you didn’t get the full time piece you ordered. That suggests serious potential problems for others. Mate, they didn’t deliver the watch you paid for whether you like it better or not. It could have been a major headache and that is unacceptable.



Forgive me but that’s one of the silliest things I’ve read. First, it escapes me why anyone wouldn’t prefer to have a warranty. Second, If I am buying a $2000 watch, $10,000 time piece, or $950,000 yacht, I want a warranty to ensure against QC issues or defects. When I get around to the next trip to my BMW dealer and he tells me about the factory warranty, I guess I should tell him, “No! I don’t need no stinkin’ warranty! I can afford to get it fixed – It’s not like it’s a yacht for Pete’s sake.”

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SHARKMAN

That's beyond silly but in the effort to not have countdickula call for my banning i'll be nice. Your comment makes absolutely no sense...why have car insurance, home owners insurance, or health insurance.....warranties are a temporary insurance which give you peace of mind; repairs can get very costly!

I have no experience with AW but their prices aren't much better than you can get at an AD like others have already said. Their accessories, straps/bracelets are extremely extremely overpriced, way above retail price actually.

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

For me, in NYC, and as a first watch purchase with no experience with any AD at the time, it happened to result in meaningful savings. I wouldn't expect this is the case for everyone.



This is true, and I was pointing out the experience I had with AW for the benefit of the questioner. Good thing I am explaining what happened so if this prospective buyer thinks like you, they won't buy from AW. I did talk to AW about this at the time and they apologized and offered to replace the watch I received. I told them I would look at the watch with the Pro II elsewhere and make up my mind. They were cool about it and I'm not sure I'm remembering everything right but I think they even knocked a bit more off the price. However, I'm just pointing out what happened with my experience and why it didn't matter to me. I'm not you or Kuretime.



Wow, talk about reading comprehension. Where did I say I preferred to not have a warranty? AW gives you a 3 year warranty versus the 2 years you get from Breitling. After that you're on your own as with any other purchase. I'm simply talking about cost benefit analysis. I'm ok taking the bet to pay less for a 3 year AW warranty versus a Breitling 2 year warranty and pay the difference in cost if need be. Call it acceptable odds to someone who at the time was more concerned with saving his fiance some dough and dealing with the consequences otherwise.

Jeez, I thought I was candidly helping someone out with a decision to buy from AW. Obviously, I mentioned the things that went wrong and that since I was not a picky buyer, it didn't bother me. I am a very happy owner of an authentic Colt GMT that I know we got a deal on.

Why are you attacking me? Cranky much?

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Colt GMT w/blue dial
Cockpit two-tone w/silver dial
Chronomat 41 w/brown dial???????

I'm not attacking you at all - I'm suggesting it is silly to posit a 3 year gray market warranty stacks up with a 2 year factory warranty.

And if you read the paragraph about warranties in my post, you'll see I was referring to FACTORY warranties explicitly (stated) as well as implicilty (because we KNOW AW gives their own warranty).


Mostly though the experience of someone getting a watch on the wrong bracelet would be sufficient to keep me away from AW. I think it may have been Driver who paid 5 figures to them for a watch they didn't even have access to. They worked it out on another piece, but his experience and yours gives pause. Significant pause,

Cranky? No. You?

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SHARKMAN

[quote="sharkman"]I'm not attacking you at all - I'm suggesting it is silly to posit a 3 year gray market warranty stacks up with a 2 year factory warranty.

I wasn't positing that at all. Is that what I said?

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Colt GMT w/blue dial
Cockpit two-tone w/silver dial
Chronomat 41 w/brown dial???????

Last comment - you SAID you don't care less about a warranty because one should not stretch oneself to thin and should be able to pay for any repairs, etc... You said, "... really care less about a warranty. For the most part, I believe you shouldn't stretch to buy your watch and should be able to cover the cost of any issues that may arise..."

I'm not making this up, nor am I comprehensionally challenged.

OK, I'm done hijacking a valid piont thread.

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SHARKMAN

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

I think I should have made a new paragraph after the first sentence I wrote above.

For my pre-owned watch, a warranty was not offered and I didn't care. For my Colt GMT, AW gave a 3 year warranty. Repairs can be expensive, but for the used one, that's a chance I take, and for the new one, I was covered.

Yes, it's like insurance in the sense that I was going with a cheaper plan that wouldn't cover as much and I took the bet that everything would be ok. If I wanted to be completely covered, I wouldn't have gone this route. Simple economics and it worked out for me. Period.

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Colt GMT w/blue dial
Cockpit two-tone w/silver dial
Chronomat 41 w/brown dial???????

Oooohhhh, were's the pot calling the kettle black smilie when you need it???

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SHARKMAN

Good boy...
Be nice, cause I'm reading all your posts

Good to know...keep an eye on then I have a good year-in review coming shortly.

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