New addition

[Garlick]

To save wearing my Breitling every day, I bought this yesterday.

So far so good, I wasn't out to buy a watch but it caught my eye, and at only £276 I thought why not?

Lets see how it stands up

[Asterix]

Probably outlast the Breitling mate

[Garlick]

Asterix said:

Probably outlast the Breitling mate

I hope not

Having this new one does mean I can finally send the Breitling off for a service, although I am a little worried that nobody can tell me how much that service will cost until I send it away!

[anonymous-user]

Garlick said:

I wasn't out to buy a watch but it caught my eye,

[lowdrag]

Garlick said:

Asterix said:

Probably outlast the Breitling mate

I hope not

Having this new one does mean I can finally send the Breitling off for a service, although I am a little worried that nobody can tell me how much that service will cost until I send it away!

Frankly, I've never had any of my Breitling's serviced in 15 years and they all work fine. When I bought them years back they were "a watch for life" and no mention of a service was ever made. Today they suddenly seem to need servicing and I view this as but a means to make money. Similarly, when they aren't being worn, they stay in the drawer, not in a watch winder, and similarly there has never once been a problem when I put them back on. What do others think? Is this just a fashion, a means to exploit us?

[Garlick]

lowdrag said:

Frankly, I've never had any of my Breitling's serviced in 15 years and they all work fine. When I bought them years back they were "a watch for life" and no mention of a service was ever made. Today they suddenly seem to need servicing and I view this as but a means to make money. Similarly, when they aren't being worn, they stay in the drawer, not in a watch winder, and similarly there has never once been a problem when I put them back on. What do others think? Is this just a fashion, a means to exploit us?

Interesting, could save me a few hundred pounds, i'll see what the general opinion is

[TonySim]

Garlick,

Just had my 1991 Chronomat serviced for the second time. They replaced the crown and push buttons and it cost £340 all in. It did come back in a nice travel case so that eased the blow a bit.

[tricky 100]

lowdrag said:

Garlick said:

Asterix said:

Probably outlast the Breitling mate

I hope not

Having this new one does mean I can finally send the Breitling off for a service, although I am a little worried that nobody can tell me how much that service will cost until I send it away!

Frankly, I've never had any of my Breitling's serviced in 15 years and they all work fine. When I bought them years back they were "a watch for life" and no mention of a service was ever made. Today they suddenly seem to need servicing and I view this as but a means to make money. Similarly, when they aren't being worn, they stay in the drawer, not in a watch winder, and similarly there has never once been a problem when I put them back on. What do others think? Is this just a fashion, a means to exploit us?

Yes i agree , just wear it untill it breaks then get it fixed . Everytime ive had the battery replaced in either of my Tags they are always trying to sell me a service and have the seals replaced , surely the seals should last more than a couple of years !

[Garlick]

TonySim said:

Garlick,

Just had my 1991 Chronomat serviced for the second time. They replaced the crown and push buttons and it cost £340 all in. It did come back in a nice travel case so that eased the blow a bit.

Another Breitling owner I know was charged circa £300, so I guess I need to expect to pay somewhere around that figure too.

The main reason for me keeping the servicing up to date is purely to keep resale value high. I don't plan to sell but you never know, also if I end up handing it down in years to come I want it to have retained as much of it's value as possible. Interesting to hear other views though.

[anonymous-user]

As far as resale, to me if someone can say "serviced x months ago with reciepts" that would be enough for me. I wouldn't want to see a full service history.

TBH, it depends on the watch and movement. Much of servicing is about checking and replacing seals and waterproofing. Some watch makers will also give the case a good clean removing scuffs or scratches.

If your watch is in good condition and working fine and you don't dive or spend much time with it under water I wouldn't bother.

As usual each to their own etc.

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 28th April 12:59

[swanny71]

Not a Brietling but I've had my automatic Seamaster for going on 6 years, worn everyday in ships engine rooms/oil/dirt etc. Its never missed a beat and never been serviced. Only scratches are on the metal strap and they buff out on the bench grinder (using polishing wheel obviously).
It'll get serviced when/if it ever stops.

[Seb d]

Good choice Paul, I have a Seiko diver for when I don't fancy wearing one of my 50 other watches