The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I am in Spain and have been shocked to have just noticed after a swim that severe condensation has formed inside my 5 week old Superocean 44 along with some specks of particles on the face (may be reflections from the crystal). The crown is firmly screwed down and the watch is functioning perfectly.
I will obviously be returning it to my AD when I get home to the UK - question is should I expect a new replacement or will it have to be returned for repair with all the delay that would entail? This has really put a sour note on my holiday - this is my 2nd Superocean and I've never experienced anything like this before.

They will try to repair. The first thing that they will do is pressure test the watch, and just a warning, if it passes they may refuse warranty coverage.

I don't see how it could pass a pressure test, but if it did what would that imply?

That the water got in through owner negligence rather than failure of the watch - use of pushers under water for example. Not implying that is the case at all, just letting you know the first thing that Breitling are going to do. If you have an AD with a pressure tester that can test up to 200m then have them test it and note the results so that you don't have to rely on a service centre test that you can't observe.

Did the condensation go away after you were out of the water for a few minutes? (I'm guessing probably not from the term "severe" but just wanted to check)

The condensation is still there but the watch is working fine.

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Any update?

Cheers.

It's been with BUK for 2 weeks now - I've not heard anything from them which I hope means that they aren't disputing the warranty claim.

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

As an update - I just spoke to my AD to chase up the repair and they said they were expecting a letter that had been sent from BUK -this made me feel a bit uneasy, however they just called back to say that the warranty is not being disputed - they are waiting for a replacement dial. It means I have to wait at least another 2 weeks, however I'm so relieved to know it is being done. I haven't found out yet what was responsible for the condensation.

I just had a call from my AD to say my watch is back It has been with BUK for five weeks and I only had the watch for a month prior to this. Is it reasonable to expect the warranty to be extended to allow for this?

No. Service comes with a 1 year warranty, which in your case will expire before the new watch warranty.

I accept that normal service would have a limited warranty, but I have been without the use of my new watch for five weeks of my 2 year warranty period. If it had taken one or two weeks to repair (I was told by my AD that they give priority to warranty repairs), then I wouldn't be concerned - however a five week wait for a nearly new watch makes me feel that this is a fair chunk of my 2 years that I've not been able to use it.

Just got back from my AD - all good as new again. I mentioned how I felt about the time I've been without it and I have been assured that in the unlikely event of it needing a repair in the five weeks after the 2 year warranty expires, they would be accommodating. That is good enough for me!