The Breitling Watch Source Forums

I received as a gift in 2007 a brand new Breitling Flying B, worth at that time over 10k.
Unfortunately,after a short while,I noticed that the hour dial was erratic at the best.I sent it to Breitling for a fix under warranty.
They asked me over 3k €,arguing that I had dropped the watch,which I did not.
I did send it to an independent watch repair store that apparently fixed it.
Unfortunately after a while,the hour dial stopped working completeley.
Last year (2013),while living in Israel,I went to the Breitling reseller Padani to have it fixed.
They asked for 3000€ which I paid to make it as "brand new".
10 month into the repair,the hour dial started to malfunction again and I sent it to the last repair shop for a a warranty fix.
They sent it back to me "repaired".After 2 days,the hour dial started to stop working properly,again.
Looking at forums,I don't see that others have had the same problem.
I am out of patience and solutions.Should I just trash the watch?Sue Padani?Sue Breitling?

Not sure on what grounds you are planning to sue. Breitling warranty repairs come with a one year warranty themselves so take it back to them. If I were Breitling my claim would be that any lingering issues are the result of a non authorised watchmaker working on it in the past (that may not be the true cause, but that will be the claim).

You don't see many issues with the watch because it wasn't popular so any inherent issues will still be fairly rare. Make sure that Breitling are aware of the specific problem and that it has a history of he problem.

Welcome to BreitlingSource.

I'm curious to know what they did for 3000 Euro.
Not much by the looks of it.
Breitling accepted the watch for service and charged an arm and a leg for it and returned the watch with warranty. You have a right to claim under that warranty.
Not sure what you would want to sue them for and what ruling you would expect to receive in your favour over and above your warranty entailment.

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"It is just a matter of time!"

Agree with you on the 3000€ repair.They sais they changed "everything".Mechanically that is.
The reason I would sue Breitling is because they sold a 10k watch that did not work from the get go and they refused to repair it under the new watch warranty.
It seems that this particular model has a fundamental flaw and that's why they pulled it out of the market.
As far as the 1 year warranty on the repair,I keep sending it back for repair,wait a month,get it back and it syill does not work properly.
What would you do?

Get it repaired under warranty.

The watch was pulled from the market because nobody bought them, not because of problems. Breitling ended up buying them back from ADs who couldn't sell them for 50 - 55% off list price. You might not want to hear that, but that's the truth. Breitling doesn't have a history of refusing warranty coverage unless they believe that they have very good reason to do so, they obviously saw something when they disassembled the watch that made them believe that the watch had been dropped - which isn't covered under warranty. If you sue them then you need to prove that they denied coverage without reason and I have no idea how you do that - suspicion is not going to win you the case!

Well,I'm not sure.
Anyways,I have a good friend of mine who's an international lawyer,very good at these cases,will do it for free.
Someone has to take responsibility for the product,all I want is a working flying B.
At this point,I don't have anything to lose.

Pro bono legal eagle, I wish I knew one of them.
The only legal eagles I know charge like wounded bulls.
Good luck.

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"It is just a matter of time!"

If "all I want is a working flying B", how is suing going to help? Unless of course your amazing, free lawyer is also a watchmaker with access to Breitling parts!

Nah,we'll just find a recognized watch expert who will be able to assess whether or not this watch has a manufacturing flaw.
I have a hunch that it's why they pull them out of the market.
Sure,the official version can be that people did not buy it but...

People didn't buy them, that's not spin, they flat out didn't sell.

Well,sure enough,I found on another forum somebody who had the same problem and it was deemed a conception malfunction.
Keep looking for more.

You'll find that for every one complaint on a watch forum, that there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of people with the same watch that have never had a problem. Don't assume that just because one person had the same problem that it's a defect.

By the way, Roff is right about the Flying B. They stopped making them since nobody bought them. I'm sure if you look hard enough, you can still find a new one for less than what you were quoted in repairs.

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Justin
Please contact me via PM for the contact details for Govberg Jewelers
Govberg is an AD for over 50 fine Swiss and German watch brands.
Visit them on the web at http://www.govbergwatches.com or call 800-528-8463

Yep, the flying B is had dirt cheap. While I don't mind the looks, I would never buy one.

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Omega Planet Ocean Chrono
Tudor Heritage Chrono (blue)
Breitling Chronomat 44 GMT AB042011/C851/732P/A20D.1
Luminox Field Chrono

I worded in a jewellery and watch dealers and I don't like to say but the owner one had someone try to sell him one in the shop and my boss said to me we don't buy these Flying B's because no one wants to buy them, Not only that but these big brands have a reputation to keep hold of and it would not be in their best interests to sell or manufacture a faulty movement.

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Rolex GMT 2
Breitling for Bentley GT Racing
Ball World Time Diver
Rolex precision oysterdate
Breitling chronometre bi metal
Omega seamaster professional chronometer
Ball fireman
Rolex datejust diamond bezel
Rolex Explorer 39mm
Omega James bond 50th

Big International Lawyer sues Breitling over one problematic watch. Uh-huh......

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SHARKMAN