The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Interesting story and, i would hope, a very rare occurrence!

In september i sent both my Superocean Steelfish and my Chronomat direct to Breitling UK for them both to be overhauled.

About 6 weeks later i received the invoice for the Chronomat overhaul, paid it and received the watch a day later.

Today i was contacted by an apologetic Breitling UK representative and informed that my Superocean Steelfish had gone "missing". It would appear that there was an "courier problem" somewhere in the link between the Service Centre and Breitling UK.

Tomorrow, I am expecting to receive an answer as to how the situation will be satisfactorily resolved, but in the meantime be wary of the following watch appearing for sale:

Superocean Steelfish
A17390
Serial number: 1029538
Blue dial

The watch will not have any boxes or paperwork as i still have them all.

I will provide an update on how it was resolved.

I guess that these things happen with couriers, but that sucks. I am sure that Breitling have insurance and would expect them to step up to the plate for you.

I was quite calm about it, as i appreciate that the issue was not their fault.

Initial discussions on a resolution have been promising - although it is a pity that the steelfish is no longer in production as i do not like the look of the super ocean.

I take heart in the fact that it was not my Chronomat that was lost (or both!), but it is a worrying thought that it could happen to a limited edition or particularly sentimental piece.

Main reason for the post was that i am pretty sure it will appear on the bay or tree, sooner or later.

Thanks for telling us, OP. Try to post on any/all watch forums that you know of. This will seriously hamper the thief's ability to resell. Also, I'll keep an eye out on the 'Bay for you and report it if I sense something fishy.

Well it looks like the resolution is not as clear-cut as you would think and in the intervening period two separate ADs have told me that the overhaul should have been getting done in the UK, so they did not see how a third party courier service would have been involved. They both found it unbelievable that a watch could go missing whilst in Breitlings possession - both stating they have never heard of such a thing happening, ever!

So what do Breitling do when they lose your watch?

They offer you the current version in replacement. All well and good if the watch is still in production, but if it is not it puts you in the position of being offered an expensive watch that you may not want (or like!) - as the results from the 2012 best breitling survey show, the Superocean Steelfish is a very popular watch - unlike its not so aesthetically pleasing Superocean 44 replacement. So, you will be unsurprised to here that i was not overly pleased to be offered a Superocean 44 to replace my steelfish

As per Roffensians statement, "I am sure that Breitling have insurance and would expect them to step up to the plate for you."

A solution that i proposed was for up to £2k being used to source a quality used steelfish, which could be overhauled and returned to me - Breitling have claimed this is not possible and that they can only provide a new watch in replacement.

The other alternative they did offer, was for me to have a higher specification watch as the replacement, however it would receive no discount whatsoever on its RRP and i would have to pay the balance between that and the cost of a Superocean 44. I am still waiting for a return call from the customer service manager, which i expect tomorrow.

If anyone has any alternate suggestions i would love to hear it - if you have an immaculate Superocean Steelfish all the better

Finally, i did think about a Avenger Seawolf, however the second hand makes it look like a pre 2008 steelfish.

To be fair, OP, not EVERYONE hates the new Superocean 44. Personally, it's not for me. However, many people do like it. Breitling is looking at this from a "do right" point of view. They're offering to replace your "old" Superocean with a current model.

Try having that done with a vehicle, or Apple computer, or something like that. Most of the time, people would be thrilled to be offered the newest and sometimes "best" model.

I'm just glad Breitling is at least trying to do something for you. Them offering the Superocean 44 in replacement, free of cost, is actually pretty huge in my book. Then, offering you basically a credit of the MSRP of the Superocean 44 towards ANY other Breitling you choose, is also pretty upstanding of them. I suppose if I were in your shoes, my opinion could be different. Point being: it could be worse and Breitling could have not offered you anything.

A watch is a very personal thing, I don't agree that offering one (very different) option is 'doing the right thing'. At the very least they should offer you a choice of any model with a list price of up to a certain price.

Although not ideal, it's nice that they offered you a new replacement. If they no longer make the older model, you can't really blame them. What you can do is take the new SuperO 44 and then sell it brand new in box to find a perfect used Steelfish.

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18k Rolex Datejust / Breitling Crosswind Special / Patek SS Nautilus / Bvlgari Diagono Chrono / Bvlgari Scuba / Omega Speedmaster Professional / 60s Omega Constellation

That's disappointing that they won't work with you on finding a used steelfish and then offering a complete and free overhaul. That sounds like a completely reasonable suggestion to me and it's unfortunate they don't want to work with you on that. I would have thought they would have gone out of their way a bit more to really get you want you want since they are at fault. You could always take the new superocean, sell it, and hope that the proceeds will be enough to buy the model you want and then overhaul it. But that's still an annoying process that you shouldn't have to deal with it.

If you are sure that you want another Steelfish over another model then it may be that you have to pick out the most desirable color combo SO 44 and put it up for sale immediately. It is a hassle but I would think you could get enough to put toward a used SF with a service priced in (total purchase price + service cost).

Not the best scenario but there does seem to be a good number of them that come up for sale.

(The other option of putting the retail value of the SO 44 toward upgrading to a higher end model may not be bad if there is something that you really wanted.)

Good luck with the outcome.

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Chrono Jetstream
Montbrilliant 1903
Aerospace E79362

My initial thought exactly!

Or use it towards a watch you might like more. Heck if Breitling is offering full retail on the SO44 towards a pricier piece maybe there is one you would like that is a couple thousand higher. That would be over a 50% discount when you cancel it all out.


Still sorry about your Fish though.

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SHARKMAN

Sorry about the loss of your steelfish, that really sucks to have it go missing. I'm totally with Sharkman on this one. I think I would use it as an opportunity to "upgrade."

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sco
Breitling Chrono Superocean
Omega Aqua Terra 8500
Rolex Submariner Date Ceramic

Terrible to hear.

I too would probably be using this as an opportunity to upgrade. Say your old SOSF would have fetched only ~$1600-$2500 (the range I've seen lately). Comapre this to the RRP of a SO44, and you end up a reasonable amount ahead.

Not sure whether you'll end up with the larger saving taking the direct upgrade option from Breitling for a new watch at RRP, or taking the SO44, selling it as new and then buying what you want discounted from RRP from an AD.

Maybe talk to an AD and see if they are interested in buying a SO44 brand new off you towards whatever you want from their range (discounted off RRP of course).

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

Hopefully there will be a better outcome today when the manager phones me, but i just didn't want the hassle of getting a new watch that i didn't want, to then sell it and eventually get a replacement - seems a bit convoluted. That said, Dr J and a few others may be right about doing an upgrade with the new watch through an AD.

If i were to choose on a watch that would be as desirable as possible to an AD for resale, from the 2013 Chronolog what watch/strap/dial would you suggest for £3k?

Ask your local AD what they'd want. Otherwise for an AD's perspective try talking to Ricardo or FEAR or any of the other AD workers that are on BS