The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Wow! I've been using the same AD for over 20 years now (and purchased a ton of other watches from them in that time) and I know them pretty well, but I've been waiting for a GMT Pepsi for just over a year now. I was told to expect one this April just gone, but the C-19 Rolex shut-down kind of put paid to that. I've never managed a discount on a Rolex in all that time.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

Driver in the UK I have heard discounts are next to impossible. I’m here in Canada on the west coast and I think I have done quite well. But then discounts are not exclusive to me. They have been given to most consumers out here. The BLRO is harder to get than the BLNR and that would not come way for a discount. That said though if I pushed hard enough I probably could have one at retail within the year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love that watch too...makes me mad b/c I believe they could release a couple more if they wanted. Plus there are plenty of them in the Grey Market if we wanted to pay $16,375...You know how many more/different versions of the Navitimer I can buy for that!!!?

_________________
Mickey® 

Agreed. Rolex artificially controls the supply. And there is no way I’d pay over retail for these mass produced watches.

It will be interesting to see what happens here in the next few months as quite a few of the hot models are sitting idle at the grey dealers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed 100%. I love Rolex's sports models, but RRP is more than enough for any Rolex. I don't remotely get the concept of paying grey market prices for something that may be "fairly hard to get hold of", but is actually produced in vast numbers. There's no shortage of them in the world - it's just people paying over the odds because they either can't wait and have to have it IMMEDIATELY, or they foolishly IMO think it's going to be 'an investment' (and while you may make a few pounds/dollars on one, we aren't exactly talking life-changing sums of money here!) that is fuelling it. And there ARE hundreds of these things available out there.

For example, as of today there are 328 Rolex 126710 BLRO's available on Chrono24. In contrast there are just 242 Breitling Seawolf's (and that's ALL variants!) currently available on there as well. No-one could remotely claim the Seawolf is a rare or hard to get hold of watch and yet there are almost a hundred less than the allegedly "super rare" Pepsi. The whole Rolex supply thing is totally artificial..... hence why I'm happy to pay RRP, and not a penny more.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

I wonder what Rolex would look like if Breitling's current management was in charge there...

I should add though even with the somewhat minor changes Rolex has made over the last 10 years or so they lost me...I am (sorry guys) not a fan of the new Submariner or the Explorer II. Why do things have to be bigger, chunkier to be "better"

I was a fan of the "classic" Rolex but thats mostly gone. Luckily for Rolex more people like the new direction than are like me.

My last one is the DJ 41 which I love dearly but took me a while...but its a keeper.

_________________
Mickey® 

Definitely no argument from me about any of the modern day Rolex watches being rare. Definitely more desirable but not rare.

I will admit I am somewhat new to the world of watch collecting. Have only been in it for about 12 years. What I can say is when I first got into watches the grail for me was a Breitling Bentley motors T. Having owned half a dozen or so models in the Bentley line what I ended up learning is that most of the Breitling line is just too big for my wrist. The sweet spot for me is between 38-40 mm. I think Rolex just does a better job of having models that fit most people.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't know, I'm not really a watch collector (I've got a gaudy golden one for 90s bandits that I unfortunately got as a wedding gift, 2 old family heirlooms, and a Fossil one which is the only one I've bought by myself before my first Breitling watch), but I've always knew about Breitling as a brand, and about how they're doing high end watches. Which is why it's the company I looked into when looking for a pilot watch!

Maybe poor after sales service and their lack of control over authorized service centers over the years have helped them to get to this place?

In my opinion one of the greatest watches ever made is a Breitling. Mine is currently at BUSA for two very straight forward repairs. BUSA service/repair/aftersales is one possibility as to why the Brand is suffering. I will make a topic once my experience with this repair is concluded, detailing how it went. For what it's worth, I'm a watchmaker in the US. The other two big problems are as follows:

Breitling made some bad choices with design and size. The Bentley models, the super avengers, they were too big. Especially for such a shiney watch, it's not like a 47mm Pam submersible that is very utilitarian looking. The bents and avengers were full polished and iced out. Rappers were wearing them and for a bit they were the in thing. This didn't bring a reliable audience to the brand. None of us then would be shocked when the fad for oversized, overpolished, and overpriced watches died fast and no one showed for the funeral. Meanwhile, one display case over, Omega is somehow making another iteration of Planet Ocean that outdoes the previous.. ceramic bezel, in-house movement, display caseback with movement decoration so beautiful you want to wear the watch backwards. Another case over, you have TAG, running the same ETA movements, and striking a pretty good balance of size, asthetics and value. The Carrera and aquaracer line tend to maintain a consistently pleasing and handsome look.

The second problem is one that I see spreading more and more across their catalogue. The extinction of the watch bracelet. For me personally, I buy a watch that has a strong bracelet option. I can slap just about any rubber or leather band on it later. Take a cursory mental glimpse at two brands performance right now. Panerai and Rolex. One is tanking one is unobtanium. One offers little to no option for a bracelet, the other has the gold standard of bracelet designs available on 99.9% of their models. When you are buying a $5000+ luxury watch, do you want it made from the finest metals, or old moldy reclaimed fishing nets? What's next, sewer water scotch?

As I just mentioned on another thread, don’t knock the econyl straps until you’ve tried them. I was never a fan until trying one on my Superocean and now I’m almost exclusively wearing it on either that or the rubber strap opposed to the mesh bracelet.

I can also say that the quality of the bracelets on my Breitlings is fantastic. While I wish they had an easy adjustment available like on my Submariner or Datejust 2, there are still micro adjustments in the clasp that allow for a perfect fit.

_________________
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

Rolex definitely wouldn't accept it, infact that's a fast track to losing your AD Rolex status. Having owned both I've always found it remarkable how 'anti-customer- Rolex is. Adds to the mystique I guess. Want one of our watches with £20,000 in your hand in cash ? ahhh sorry we can't do that unless you have the receipts from your previous 5 Rolex's!
They even take stickers off watches to dissuade you from sticking them in a drawer for investment purposes as they will then miss out on servicing income, and they must be missing out on millions for an authentication service (and opportunities to sell to the poor souls that have bought a dud). There must be 50,000 live posts out there now asking 'is my Rolex genuine')

However back on topic, I don't recognise the 'not popular' angle - second hand sites will show you they are as popular as they've ever been and they operate in a completely different marketplace to the Rolex's of this world with a completely different marketing strategy. Buying NEW Breitling is never going to make you money, which as someone else said is really probably the subtext of this thread, but if that's your objective you'll need to save up for a Rolex. I was talking to someone the other day and I couldn't think of a Breitling model that has risen in value after purchase, (though I have seen 3, Superocean Heritage green face Ltd Edt 500 being touted for £10k, (£7 on release). None have been sold. That would take 25+ years and a massively risky corporate strategy to turn that around.

As for reputation, it's high in the UK Breitling displays are usually prominent, and for sure in SE Asia where I live quite a lot, it's seen as a high quality sought after brand with several Breitling 'boutiques' (charging far more than their western counterparts btw) in high premium shopping complexes. But I agree with the other comments that Breitling doesn't really know, or maybe I don't know, their place in the market, they're within touching distance of the bigger players but too close to the Tag's of this world etc. (No offence to Tag's). I'm never sure what league they're in, however I continue to buy them, as from what's out there, they just suit me.

I totally get what you mean. It does seem like the popularity of certain watch brands can shift over time. While Rolex has always had a strong presence, the popularity of other brands, like Breitling, can fluctuate. It's possible that the perception of Breitling's popularity has changed over the years, especially with the evolving tastes and trends in the watch industry. But hey, personal preferences and popularity can vary from person to person, so if you still love Breitling, rock it with pride!

_________________
Navitimer World
Avenger Seawolf
SuperOcean
SS Daytona w/ White Dial (116520)
SS Submariner Date (116610LN)