The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I have a Chrono Colt watch about 10 years. It water proof to 50m. The watch has been pretty reliable but after it recent service the second hand on the timer stopped working and then the watch flooded when I was in the swimming pool. On return to Breitling, the stated that the seals were still in place and that I must have caused the flooding by pressing one of the button whilst the watch was wet. They wanted £500 for the repair.

Have anyone else had similar issues. This is real b**s**, the watch is advertised a a rugged watch and to find that I am liable if the watch flood in the shower is nonsense

The whole experience is really put mo off Breitling, not the problem so much, but the response.

If a watch get's water in it then Breitling will pressure test it to see where the problem is. If the case passes the pressure test - i.e. no leaks at the 5 ATM of pressure that the watch is rated for then they can only conclude that rither the pushers were operated under water or the watch was subjected to more than 5 ATM of pressure. 50m water resistance, (not waterproof, does not mean that the watch can be used down to 50M depth, although it is OK for surface swimming - http://www.breitlingsource.com/articles ... ance.shtml

I would ask for the case to be checked again by a local watchmaker where you can observe the test, but if the case passes the 5 ATM test then Breitling will inevitably conclude that the problem is not with the watch, but rather the way that the watch was used.

I sympathize with the OP's frustration, but I would never swim with a watch rated at 50m even if the guides say surface swimming is fine. Even more so if the watch has chrono pushers. Having the arm and watch submerged will cause the watch to sit differently on the wrist - it becomes more loose. It's more likely to move around and that means the odds of a pusher being acvtivated by an extended wrist is more risk than I'm willing to take. Unless the pushers screw lock. My Skyracers have a pretty high WR, but I know if the pushers get bumped, I'm screwed.

Likewise regardless of WR I will not swim with a watch without a screw down crown.

And hot showers, hot tubs, long hot "soaks" - not doing it with any watch on.

You might get away with it 1000 times. It's 1001 that I'm uncomfortable with.

I'm lucky enough to have watches that I don't worry about at all while doing any swimming. If I just had one nice watch and it had a low WR rating, I'd spend a few hundred $$ for a micro-brand diver style watch. Or simply not swim in it.

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SHARKMAN

And the danger of water damage by a pushed chrono pusher is not uniqure at all to Breitling. It's unique to chronos.

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SHARKMAN

I'm off to do the washing up - watch on the kitchen table.

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Al

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"