The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I have a five year old Aerospace and it is the finest timepiece I have ever owned. I made the mistake of taking it in to a local jeweller (with a supposedly decent reputation) for its first battery change, and have ended up with a repair estimate for £776.29 from Breitling. The issue was that my "watch has received third party intervention whom in their misadventure have fitted your case back upside down. This has cracked your LCD display and there is debris all over your circuit module, requiring an overhaul to put this in order".

Obviously I'm taking steps to resolve this with the local jeweller. However, and in retrospect, I would happily have paid Breitling's £85 charge (and 10 week turnround time)to replace the battery.

I would file a claim against the jeweler, that's horrible news, sorry to hear that. Hopefully you'll getting back soon and it'll be as good as new.

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

Sorry to hear that, I hope they do something for you, but it's probably not likely?

Oh man, that sucks. Hopefully you'll get somewhere with the local guy. Good luck.

Wow, it's very disappointing to think that a respected jeweler can't properly replace a watch battery! Was the jeweler a Breitling authorized distributor? Good luck and I hope they pick up your full repair costs.

The jeweller definitely needs to step up for this, that's a terrible mistake. You shouldn't need to send the watch away for a battery change next time - an AD with a watchmaker on site should be able to do it for you.

Yes, this is isn't even a grey area. If they took it in it's on the understanding that they were equipped to do the job. They should settle the invoice from BUK in full, or else it should be small claims court, which would find in your favour in under five seconds.

You have not mentioned in your initial post if the watch was in working order or already broken when you got it back from your local watchmaker.
If the watch was working fine when you collected it, it might be open to dispute where and when and how the watch was actually broken.

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"It is just a matter of time!"

Sorry to hear and agree the jeweller should pay for the repair. How can you fit a caseback upside down?

Well, thank you all for your comments and support. I've just had a reply from the jeweller which confirms he will pay the full amount. As some of you said, it was a case he couldn't defend and I did point out that if it went to the Small Claims Court here in the UK there would be costs on top.

The damage was present when he gave me the watch back from his workshop - clear cracks in the LCD display. He told me he was unable to fix it. I then sent it to Breitling, where it should have gone in the first instance!

This may go down as the most expensive battery change ever!

Anyway, job done, and thanks again.

Perfectly clear and happy to hear that it all ended well for you.
If it is any consolation, you will end up with a new engine under the lid.
I feel somewhat sorry for your local watchmaker as I'm sure he did not mean any harm but that is life and you should not be paying for his mistakes. As they say "Little knowledge is dangerous"

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"It is just a matter of time!"

Exactly! How does one install a case back upside down?

Most Breitling casebacks are screwdown, which would make it impossible to fit them upside down. The Aerospace caseback, however, is attached with screws, making it theoretically (and, obviously, actually) possible to replace it wrong-side out.

Then, for the functionally impaired, all Breitling casebacks should
be clearly marked: THIS SIDE UP.

You can try to make something idiot proof, but there is always a better idiot.

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Chrono Avenger M1, Ti- yellow dial, on Pro II Ti bracelet.
Avenger Code Yellow LE, on Diver Pro II strap, w/arabic dial.