The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I've had a Chronomatic 24h for a little over four years. It is now back in the hands of Brieitling USA for its fourth repair for the same issue: on flyback, the large second hand returns to "10" instead of "12". Can any of you suggest how I can actually get this repaired properly? While Breitling USA has been nice and has not charged for the repairs up to now, and are proposing discounted service this time, the thought of having a $5,000 watch fail every year is pretty depressing. The watch has not been exposed to shock or dust or water, and I rarely use the chronograph/flyback. Anyone got any bright ideas?

Thanks,
WW

Well Breitling has to fix it, and repairs should come with their own one year warranty, but clearly something isn't getting fixed properly. There are any number of reasons why this could happen, some simple (hands not placed correctly) and others more complicated. When it fails is it always 10 o'clock, and is it the same whether you reset the chrono seconds from before 30 seconds or after? That information should help BUSA nail down the specific issue and get it addressed properly this time.

I just spoke with BUSA. They say that, as they did not make any notes on the prior 3 repairs, they cannot confirm that the problem is the same, even though the complaint is identical, and each time they replaced the hands. When I told them that they had given me no confidence at all, they brought out the "you must have dropped it" claim. Right: after 40 years of exclusively wearing Breitlings without any incident, I suddenly start dropping my watch once a year...

I asked them to consider a buy-out or swap deal of some sort to get us both out of this. They were not interested. They are offering a discounted service rate of $200. So it appears that I'm in for servicing every year, which will eventually be more than the watch is worth, or sell it, with its troubled history, for very little. It's a shame, and very revealing.

WW

wow this really sucks. IMO they should make it right to you. its stories like this that turn off buyers from the brand.

That's pretty amazing and unacceptable. What's the little service booklet for? I know that they don't make any notes of the sort on the booklet itself but surely they must have a record that your watch is in for a problem once a year.

_________________


- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

BUSA does not dispute all the previous repairs, and yes, I've got all the certificates and paperwork from the original purchase and the repairs.

Progress report: I dug up an email address for Breitling in Grenchen (from this forum - nice!) and wrote them today. With any luck, they'll take the watch and fix it right. Looking through other posts here, it seems I'm not the first to have problems with BUSA repairs.

BUSA did send me pics - link here. They show the second hand touching the minute hand at the 10 o'clock position, which I guess could have initially caused the problem. But now the flyback returns to 10 regardless of the position of the other hands.

Stay tuned. I'm thinking happy thoughts.

WW