The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Good afternoon guys,

I have committed myself to the purchase of a second hand "worn only once or twice" Emergency. However, before I proceed I would like some advice and help from you guys to avoid being burnt!

The seller says he purchased the watch from his friend who bought it new in 2008 and since then has only worn it once. As such, the watch has never seen a service as the seller tells me it does not require one due to low usage? The watch condition is described as new.

There is no original box or paperwork or bill of sale! It's my first Breitling purchase so what should I be asking for especially with regard to the ELT paperwork etc? Surely, I must sign some handover paperwork like change of ownership with Breitling?

What questions should I be asking and what steps should I be taking?

Many thanks for any help, I need to kind of get back to him today. : )

Hi v1rotate,

Found you here too. Well, now I have an answer to my earlier question in the Introductions.

I am no expert on the Emergency, and I sense that the N American Group are not up yet (timezones). So, I can't really help you, but I feel your pain on this one. Having the papers & box will only assist in telling you if the build date is correct. Between the lugs there should be a date anyway, so that may help. The papers will not tell you if the watch is running OK. You need expert advice from someone who knows the Emergency.

Best way of making sure its legit would be to find the serial numbers on the case and check with Roff the Prof or Sharkmouth. They are so upto date on Lings and are experts. They can probably tell you easily. But you may have to wait as theya re on the other side of the world. Others here are experts on the Emerency and they will chime in, no doubt.

If you have a snap of the watch, they could ID it as real or not. Not many fakes of this one I think, but you never know. But as to its condition and what to expect! The watch movement aside, there is also the issue of the transmitters health.

There is some info here on this website in the model details section. Depending on if its an Emergency or Emergency Superquartz. http://www.breitlingsource.com/watch_de ... al_33.html.

Hope you get an answer real soon.

Jim

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Jim

"You have Control".

I would probably walk away from that, IT DOES NEED A SERVICE no question, its not cheap here in the UK, the emergency needs periodic service. There are docs to change ownership, if it went off without the change of ownership the previous owner would get hammered, it needs to be registered to the owner.

There are fakes of this watch, quite a few, but the ones i've had in my hand are pretty terrible if you know what you are looking for, although the fake market is moving fast pace these days.

How will you know if it works as it should without the tester, are the seals intact ? Is it stolen ?

Its just one of those watches that i would buy more carefully than others, i've had about three of them.


Unless is silly cheap AND i can confirm it works, its not stolen , its genuine etc.. i would prob walk away.

Ah Swiss1,

I have learned quite a bit about the Emergency from your comments. I never knew about the registration on these watches. Wow. You would not want to buy one unless it was new, would you?

Jim

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Jim

"You have Control".

Unless you have the proper tester that comes with them originally how can you make sure it's functional? If you see a red ring around the antenna instead of a black seal then it's been tampered with. It will most likely need batteries if it's never had them.

Indeed the Emergency service will not be cheap - it will be free!!!!

The watch will need a service after 5 - 7 years regardless of use, but the first service on an Emergency is free so don't worry about the cost of that. In terms of transfer of ownership, any AD can provide you with the declaration that you need to sign. As vintage points out the tester is key so boxes are a little more important with the Emergency than with most watches.

Of course golden rule of trading is buy the seller first so make sure that you are happy, and as there are fakes of the Emergency feel free to post pictures inthe replica section for people to check out.

Thanks for the advice guys. I would love to buy a new one with blue dial but have tried almost every country I've travelled to with no luck!

Attached are some pictures of the watch. The watch is the Emergency Superquartz bought new in 2008 and apparently only worn a handful of times. The seller is in Las Vegas, not sure if there are any members on this forum based there who may assist in giving it a once over..

I am happy to pay to have it serviced or would Breitling honour the first free service even if I am not the original buyer? Not quite sure how much the cost of an initial service is and from what you guys have mentioned, any Breitling Dealer could find the original owner details from the serial number with reference to change of ownership and have the watch put in my name etc? What questions should I be asking the seller?

If the watch has no tester, could the watch be taken to the Breitling Boutique in Las Vegas and have it verified as being genuine etc? Is this something a dealer would do? I hope there is a member on here from Vegas though!

Thanks again for all the replies.

v1rotate

Watch is real. First service is free whether you are the original owner or not. The issue with the tester being missing is that it's not a one time thing - you will want to test the watch every few months to ensure that it is going to be ready when you need it.

If it was purchased in 2008, the battery may be due for a replacement soon. I bought my Emergency Mission in 2008, and the battery stopped in beginning of 2012. When you send it in for the free 1st service/ battery change, Breitling will have run it through it's own testing so presumably your Emergency will then be good to go for the next few years. FWIW, I never did test my EM with the little box the entire time I own it...

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a few Pams...

Thanks again guys.

Quick question, how do you know the watch is real? Is that the serial number imprinted on the rear?

Thanks

I have seen a lot of fake Emergencies, the vast majority of which are poor copies. This is real.

Yes looking at those pics it certainly looks like a genuine later model , as Roff said all the fake ones ive seen are truly rubbish. There is a service where you can ring Breitling direct to check on ones which are stolen , although its by no means a definitive list. Just ones they've been informed about.

With regards to the first service being free warranty booklets used to be the key. They used to get iffy without it, although there are traceable numbers on the watch.

In answer to one of the questions above , 2 of my emergencies were 2nd hand.

I would like the tester at least, i would want to know it worked as it should. Could you go to a shop ?

Its annoying how someone can buy a watch like that then lose absolutely everything that came with it lol. Testers / boxes do pop up on flea bay. But then again i'm guessing the price is right !

Service period for the Emergency is every 2 years to keep the transmitter in working order and guaranteed by Breitling to work.

If not service every two years the longest a titanium Emergency will operate properly for is 4 years as, unlike say the B-1, the calander is not a perpetual calander and needs the next 4 years programmed into the chip. (The watch will work until the battery fails but it will not show the correct date.) This,of course, is not applicable to the Emergency Mission which, as I say should be serviced every 2 years.

I concur that the thing is real but I wouldn't touch one without boxes, papers and all the tools with a bargepole.

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Have
B-1 Black Dial+UTC
Emergency Black+UTC

HAD
B1Vulcan+UTC
B2 Black+UTC
C.A. M1-Team SEB in the Volvo Ocean Race+UTC
Emergency Ti -Yellow+UTC
Mission -Black
Old Navitimer -RAFAT

Watch looks genuine but I'm no expert.

However lack of paperwork is always a cause for question and especially so with an Emergency. I am amazed how often these things 'go missing'. The box for the Emergency is really big and contains the alarm tester; they do come on Ebay, and on their own are worth quite easily £300+.

I personally would walk away from any watch without paperwork. The reason why is that for soemthing like this, you are looking for evidence of sympathetic ownership. This means that everything should be kept. To lose the papers and the box is just careless; in other words, I feel that it shows the previous owner thought they were worthless which is just odd as far as I am concerned. A watch that is maybe fifty years old is probably understandable, but for something like this, less than five years old is highly questionable. Just look at the Rolexes and other watches being sold that are five years old; they always come with box and papers.

If you do go for it, I would want a huge discount. A 2008 Emergency is worth around maybe £2,500/3,000 with box and papers; I would be looking to offer £1,500.

Bear in mind that although the first service is indeed free, after this it is £250.

I've said it before, but I love buying wtahces without B&P - less competition and better prices and I have never yet felt a desire to go out with an instruction book strapped to my wrist. Market says thta pieces will sell for less without B&P, but GBP1,000 - 1,500 discount is unrealistic, even for Emergency where the box is more significant. The tester would bother me, but ultimately you'll be able to get the watch for less without it.