The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I have a Bentley 6.75 that my wife got for me 2 years ago. How often should I get it serviced and about how much can I expect to pay?

Servicing is generally every 5 - 7 years. Kind of difficult to advise on costs when you haven't told us where you are, but if you look at the maintenance section of the Breitling web site there is a PDF of local pricing after you have provided your location. In the US a chrono service is currently around $600.

If you hunt around the Breitling site, you'll find posted service prices.
Here's where I found mine (I hope the link works...);

http://www.breitling.com/en/service/ind ... ndex=87346

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Montbrillant Datora
Chronomat
Superocean Steelfish
A number of strap / bracelet combo's

If the watch sees frequent water and/or heat, it would probably be worthwhile to get the service more frequently, or at least have the watch tested for water resistance, as seals can break down over time.

That's a seal / gasket replacement though, shouldn't impact the servicing interval.

I was under the impression that the basic service was primarily for the purpose of replacement of all seals and gaskets and complete water resistance testing? I was advised that if the Breitling sees frequent water usage or extreme temps that getting the basic service at the 2-3 year point and the complete overhaul service at the 5-7 year point was a pretty good rule of thumb, where as if the watch never sees water/temp extremes then the watch itself can dictate when it needs to be serviced by how it runs (and so basic service may not be necessary and/or the overhaul can sometimes be delayed)...is that not correct?

Service intervals in modern watches are dictated by the breakdown of oils.

If Breitling are changing the seals then they will probably do a basic lubrication of the easily accessible parts like the balance, but it's not really a service and won't change the need for a 5 - 7 year service.

I got ya...so the 'regular service' is more just replacing the seals and lubing what you can see. But I imagine that would extend the service life of the watch in some conditions, such as if the gaskets could lose resistance before the breakdown of the oil to the extent of needing a full overhaul? Otherwise, couldn't the overhaul may be needed at the 5 year point rather than the 7 year point for the sake of the seals/gaskets? Breitling's website advises that the frequency of the basic service depends on how often the watch is used in water. Do you think it is it worth getting it at all if the watch continues to be consistent and rarely to ever sees water?

On the flip side, if the watch is constantly stored, not running 99% of the time, and worn on special occasions only, would it be worth getting the service to add lubrication that may have shifted from where you would want it to be at?

I think that you are way overthinking it.

If the watch doesn't live in salt water then it needs a service every 5 - 7 years based on teh breakdown of hte oils. It will tell you when it needs servicing - low power reserve and / or an inability to maintain accurate time.

You yourself have discussed these topics as has Mark Heist, so I am glad I am not the only one over-thinking it.

From your own posts and from articles by Mr. Heist, I've taken the impression that oil migration is a very serious issue and if the watch is not ran at least periodically (sounds like every month), then oil can shift before it reaches that point of break down, and so I believe that can impact when the watch needs to be serviced, and so the usage and storage would affect when the OP should consider service.

http://www.breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/v ... 03&start=0
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=25662&p=191124&hilit
http://www.breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/v ... &view=next

http://home.watchprosite.com/show-nblog.post/ti-432276/

Oil can migrate if a watch is never used, although it's less of an issue with Syntalube than it was before. If I had stored a watch for 5 years without touching it and then planned on wearing it daily then I would likely get it serviced, but in theory if it ran for 42 hours (assuming ETA based Breitling) and kept close to COSC time (it would need to settle) then it should be fine.

It seems the difference is the lubrication potentially migrating from the friction points during long term non-use versus inherent degradation of the oils over time which has nothing to do with use or non-use.

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SHARKMAN

Right, and with traditional oils that used to be a major issue. Today Syntalube is hte industry standard and it's formulated to stay where it's put. It can migrate over time, but there are numerous variables involved - temperature, position of storage, etc. It's always a good idea to run a stored watch for a full wind once a month, but to assume that a watch stored for less than a regular service interval automatically needs servicing seems excessive - simply give the watch a full wind and see how it performs.