Cheap Breitling Watch service
Discussion
Ive had a friend mention 123watch specialist before. Said were pretty knowledgeable.
Not used yet myself, but have got to repair my fathers Armani,
but might try my TAG first and see how they get on.
Not used yet myself, but have got to repair my fathers Armani,
but might try my TAG first and see how they get on.
king months too.
MiltonBaines said:
The servicing price list I have shows that a simple service could be as low as £125, all depends if you want a service or service and refurb and what model you have
Bear in mind that their "maintenance service" does not include full servicing of the movement. It's basically a case clean, water resistance check, and either battery for quartz or clean / re-lube of the escapement (that's just 4 points) for mechs. They also throw in a function check which, cynically, is more useful as way for them to advise further work than for anything else!I paid about £250 for a service on my Blackbird,(outside of the network) which was running slow. Despite 2 further attempts to get it to run a bit more accurately than the c. 1 minute a day slow, nothing has changed. Makes me think that the devices that workshops use to measure accuracy over a very short period are not very good, although the time taken for the service negates that point. Can the 7750 really not work top a tolerance of much less than a minute a day?
Number 7 said:
I paid about £250 for a service on my Blackbird,(outside of the network) which was running slow. Despite 2 further attempts to get it to run a bit more accurately than the c. 1 minute a day slow, nothing has changed. Makes me think that the devices that workshops use to measure accuracy over a very short period are not very good, although the time taken for the service negates that point. Can the 7750 really not work top a tolerance of much less than a minute a day?
Most watchmakers will have access to a timing machine, which will be able to accurately measure the rate (seconds per day) the amplitude of the balance wheel and the beat error (the difference in time between the tick and the tock). Basically you can do those tests with the watch in various positions in about 30 seconds per position. If a watchmaker can't get a 7750 to be more accurate than 60 seconds a day, then you need to try another watchmaker, IMHO. Putting the thing on a timing machine and analysing the results will highlight whether the watch needs to be merely regulated, or whether there is something awry with the movement. Be aware though that part of the issue with having watches serviced outside the breitling approved network is made more tricky by the fact that they won't sell parts to non-approved watchmakers. So if it needs parts..........
Riff Raff said:
Be aware though that part of the issue with having watches serviced outside the breitling approved network is made more tricky by the fact that they won't sell parts to non-approved watchmakers. So if it needs parts..........
For an extra 50 quid, that would have come back from Breitling ruinning at COSC specs. You pays your money though...
Just to correct my earlier post (the old memory's going), my Blackbird was running about 30 secs a day slow, which the repairer said could be improved on - he is an approved Rolex repairer, so presumably has a degree of skill, although I guess that won't help with parts supply. Still as slow as ever, and probably worse, but I haven't properly checked it lately.
Anyone know what the generally accepted timekeeping tolerance for this movement is?
Anyone know what the generally accepted timekeeping tolerance for this movement is?
yeti said:
Can your guys supply Brietling parts though?
It's very unlikely indeed that they'd need to unless the watch had suffered accidental damage like a serious knock or water ingress.When manufacturer's service departments describe inspecting and "replacing any movement parts showing wear" during service, what they actually mean is "inspecting then reassembling because we've never found significant wear in one yet". Bith are true, but the first makes it sound far more important to send it to them than it really is. Obviously, that's assuming no actual damage.
I've had 40 and 50 year old watches through my workshop that can still happily meet COSC standards for rate, stability, and positional error with all their original parts. I don't have facilities for checking temperature response, but afaik no makers actually put a serviced watch through the full COSC test either.
"original seals" are also a bit of a hype. In the majority of cases the seals are rubber O rings that the maker "designs" by using a standard available spec for material and size. Breitling etc do NOT make O rings! The same seals are available, from the same standard spec makers, just not in the same packets.
That's common throughout industry, btw. Out of school I worked for Rolls Royce in Crewe. They had a guy in the parts depatment who opened the Bosch boxes containing window motors, put the contents into a Rolls Royce box, and the price went from £58 (local Factors price) to £750 (RR service dept price). But try selling a Rolls owner a 60 quid motor.....
Incidentally, COSC average rate is -4 / +6 sec per day, which isn't actually all that taxing. It's the positional adjustments that take time, and most people in real life won't know if their watch is meeting them anyway
Edited by Variomatic on Thursday 27th March 19:12
Edited by Variomatic on Thursday 27th March 19:13
Number 7 said:
yeti said:
Too grade of 7750 is chronometer rated. What does it say on the caseback? The older ones weren't COSC rated. If COSC, then within 5secs/day (+4 to -2 I think).
"chronographe certifie chronometre" - I bought it new in 2001.
And thanks Vario for the run down on servicing
Edited by yeti on Friday 28th March 09:06
No problem
To be fair to Breitling etc, they do include a very nice case refurb which I don't beyond tidying up serious damage. Good case finishing is an art in itself and it's frighteningly easy to mess it up - we've all seen the horribly over-polished cases with all their edges rounded off on EBay etc. The makers have guys who do it day in, day out, with access to crowns, pushers, bezels etc as well as full specs for the appropriate finishes for each model. They really are hard to beat if you want that "factory fresh" look.
On the other hand, in my experience at least, a lot of owners don't actually want their watch returned "like new" cosmetically - if they did they'd just buy a new one!
To be fair to Breitling etc, they do include a very nice case refurb which I don't beyond tidying up serious damage. Good case finishing is an art in itself and it's frighteningly easy to mess it up - we've all seen the horribly over-polished cases with all their edges rounded off on EBay etc. The makers have guys who do it day in, day out, with access to crowns, pushers, bezels etc as well as full specs for the appropriate finishes for each model. They really are hard to beat if you want that "factory fresh" look.
On the other hand, in my experience at least, a lot of owners don't actually want their watch returned "like new" cosmetically - if they did they'd just buy a new one!
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