Did I get a lemon Breitling?
 

Just returned from a 20 day amazing adventure in Mainland China. Seperate thread on that coming soon. I spent the last day in Hong Kong, getting reacclimated to civilization and made an impulse buy at the local Breitling dealer in Kowloon. I got a Hercules and am just in love with it. I bought it at 7:30pm. They sized the bracelet, set the time, shook it to get the movement working and I was off. A few hours later I felt really tired and looked at my new watch. It read 10:30pm. I asked my friend what time he had. It was 12:30am!!!!! I figured it was an automatic watch and had probably sat in the display case a while. But, while the watch had stopped hours ago, the second and 24-hr. chronographs were still moving. I had been walking around for a few hours, so the watch had had plenty of movement. Of course, the store was closed by then and I had to leave for the airport the next morning before they opened again.

I reset it according to the instruction manual, wound it 40x, etc. Same thing. It lasted about 3 hrs. before it stopped. I did this on my LONG return flight a few more times. No dice. I landed in Newark and was at the Breitling dealer in my hometown in NJ when it opened this morning. The lady there said it looked like a manufacturing defect and that I'd best drop it off at my local dealer in VA for a warranty repair. So on my way back to Fairfax I went to the shop in Tyson's Corner where I bought my Avenger Seawolf a few yrs. ago. The lady was a Breitling enthusiast and we talked a while. She said the same thing the first lady said, photocopied the paperwork, wrote up a warranty repair ticket and said they'd mail it to Breitling USA in CT. She further said I'd have to pay for shipping and insurance - $36 and it would probably be a month turnaround.

I have no doubt this is a real Breitling, as I had been to the shop in Kowloon last year and they are listed as a retailer on Breitling's website. Obviously, I plan to appeal to Breitling USA to get the $36 reimbursed. But does anyone have any experience with something like this? Is this a lemon? Is their customer service any good? Will they take pity on me and just mail me a new one? Very frustrated with this.

Yeah, thats irritating with such an expensive watch.

With Breitling reputation I would hope they will step up with a new watch or at least take care of the problem. Matter of fact I very surprised they let a defective watch slip by, at their price point you would think quality control and customer service would be a little better (or a lot better).

There are fake Breitling out there but I'm sure the dealer you took it to would have spotted it in a heartbeat.

I had the same experience with a genuine Breitling from a reputable dealers retail store. Paid 1950 pounds and walked away wearing it - same as you it stopped within and hour - took it back - they couldnt get it to start so I had a refund.
I would have prefered to have the watch - but they had only one of its type in stock.

Unfortunately these watches sit unwound for some time in the stores. That has a negative effect on the mechanism of an automatic winding watch. I bought a winder for my Breitling several years ago, and recommend that if you don't have one already.

Good luck getting your new purchase "right".

Mechanical watches, like Porsches, do not like to sit around. It probably just needs a little lube and run time on the winder.

I was in China last week, mine was a different sort of adventure, stacked with business and government meetings.

Alf

Good luck,

I love your watch brand and it will be my next purchase if not a Rolex. I currenty have a Tag Heuer and just had the batery replacaed after 5 years at no charge. Good service and a good watch.

Rick, We met at the Phoenix Pelican gathering at Jeffs house.

Hope you find better luck with you watch.

MIKE

Thanks guys. Glad to know I'm not the only one who's had this happen. Sure is frustrating to pay all that money and then still have to wait a few weeks to enjoy the watch.

if the seconds hand was moving, the watch had to be working. watches have slip mechanisms to allow changing of time without over stressing the geartrain.i think your problem should be a minor adjustment and reoiling of that slip device. still stinks that you have to wait.
steve

Geez that reminds me, my Breitling has been going 6 years on one battery... How long do these things last?

It varies according to how often you use the night lighting, and battery size. Some last as much as 10 years.

Just got the call from the dealer, who said Breitling in CT can find nothing wrong with the watch. When I took it to the local dealer to have it sent back to Breitling, I chatted with the lady for a good 10-15 min., during which time the hands did not move on the watch. Only the second chronograph worked. She shipped it off and Breitling says it's working just fine. Still waiting for a callback from Breitling to discuss. But do these things take a few days to get going again? I bought it on a Thursday night in Hong Kong, flew to the US the next day and took the watch to the dealer here on Saturday. Three days must have been enough to shake it into working, no? Why would it work for them after sitting in the mail and on their work shelf for two more weeks?

Unless it's electrically power, they'd have to put it in a winder to keep it going. IIRC, they will run for about 40 hours without being worn or in a winder.

I don't know about Breitling but I have three or four auto Seiko's and I can pick one up, shake it a few times, set the time, and I'm good to go for the rest of the day. One day of wear will usually not wined it up enough to last into the next day. I rotate them so they don't get much use, if I wear one for more than two days that will keep them going.

The plot thickens.

The local Breitling dealer called today to say my watch had arrived. The lady said she'd wind and set it and see me when I got there after work. As soon as I walked in she told me she had just left me a vm saying that the watch had stopped again. She wound and set it at 2:00pm this afternoon and went to check on it just before I arrived. It had stopped at 2:35, but the second hand was still moving. ARGGHHHH!!! She reset it in front of me and in the 15 min. we chatted, the watch was already 2 min. behind the clock on the wall to which she had set the watch.

Now I'm getting irritated. Breitling USA says there's nothing wrong with it and the watch is going back there tomorrow. I'm calling Amex tonight to put a hold on that charge and I'm calling the shop in Hong Kong tonight (tomorrow morning there) to see what they can do about it. I got this watch for about $350 less than it would have cost here. The lady at the local shop said, if the HK shop takes it back, she'd sell me one and have it sent to my office in DC to get me out of sales tax. But it'd still be around $200 more out of pocket. What do I do here?

Scrap it, trade up for an Omega. :)

Seriously, if the local shop agree's its not right I would make them warranty/repair it. I would find who runs North America distribution/sales and send them a friendly letter.

Good luck

Oh, Breitling USA will be getting a letter from me regardless, since I have to pay shipping on all this nonsense. So far it's at $36, but I'll rack up another $36 if it goes back to them tomorrow. To HK it would probably be $75. I will get this back out of them one way or another. No interest at all in an Omega. Breitling or bust.

Just spoke with the sales guy in HK and he said to bring it on in next time I'm in HK. Then he said I can have a friend bring it in for me - ha ha. He suggested maybe I had used the stopwatch features too much before having it fully charged. I assured him I did not get that far. He apologized a lot, but said he can't do much unless he has the watch in front of him. So I'll have the shop here (I left it with them today) mail it back to Breit. USA in CT tomorrow and make a forceful phone call to tell them there is definitely a problem. Breitling may take them more seriously than they did me last week. Amex said if I had to ship it back to HK, they'd deduct the shipping cost from the amount due the store. Very frustrating.

Rick, if i were you, i'd send it to Breitling in Switzerland. I had an Omega Broad Arrow back and forth with the US service folks and they did not get it right, twice. One trip to Switzerland and they overhauled the entire watch, replaced a bunch of parts that were updated and shipped it back in a cool box, a nice letter and 12 more months of factory warranty. IWC same thing, US service sucked, sent to Germany and came back better than new. Have not tried Rolex yet, they do not want to break :)

Update.

Got the watch back yesterday and wore it for about 5 hrs. and then put it in my winder box before bed. Got up this morning and the watch had stopped at 1:00am. I am so irate. I didn't even enjoy the gun show I went to this morning, I was so steamed about this. What the hell can I do? Dealer is Hong Kong. Breitling has had it twice and swears it works fine. Local dealer is very helpful, but I didn't buy it from them. Should I just mail it back to the original dealer in HK and dispute the charge on my Amex? Write a flaming letter to Breitling and demand they replace, not re-repair it again? Arrrrgggghhhhhhh!

What's the phrase? Oh yeah, caveat emptor. The HK dealer sounds like a snake. What puzzles me is Breitling saying the watch is the real deal, working perfectly. I'd send the watch directly to Breitling? If they do nothing? Well, I guess we ALL learned something through your posts. Thanks for sharing...

Had similar problem with TAG that I had. Owned it about a year, and it stopped working. Took it to repair place, who suggested I contact TAG. Sent it back and forth to them a few times, never would work.

It now sits in a dresser drawer. Can't quite bring myself to throw it away, it did cost hundreds of dollars after all.

HK dealer is legit. They're an authorized dealer and I have no doubt whatsoever about them. It's just that I'd have to spend about $70 to send it to them insured and then see if they'd send me a new one. I don't have much confidence in Breitling's ability to diagnose and fix the problem. I'll only be satisfied if they replace it for me. Anyone know how Amex is with disputing charges?

An interesting watch site...all sorts of designs...

http://www.timex.com/features/feature_compass.html

ha! I was going to suggest the Swiss Army Knife watch site :p

My Rolex Explorer 1 works great, but frankly I rarely wear it. I'm afraid it will get damaged, and I feel kinda self-concious wearing it (the ex bought it for me...don't think I would have ever bought one for myself).

I wear a Breitling everyday and have not had a lick of trouble from it. I loses a minute or two every few days, but that's about it. It's a favorite possession of mine and I can understand your frustration. If I were in your situation I think I'd arrange to send it back to the HK dealer and be done with it. They can work things out with Breitling. I'd look for one locally and then you'll be dealing with the person who sold it to you face to face.

Jerry, I also have an Avernger Seawolf and it's as reliable as they come. I love it! Should I just tell Amex to block the charge and send the watch back to the HK dealer? Or should I give the HK dealer a chance to send me a new watch, which will take a LONG time?

Just an off topic (but really not) observation:

A company with as inexpensive a product as Zippo lighter will repair one for free. Just send it in with a return address and the only thing they ask is to remove the flint.

Seems like the more expensive the item, the more reluctance on the part of the company/dealer to be accomodating.

Just my observation...As you were...

If you saw the thread I started yesterday on the 1911 I've been waiting seven months to be built for me, imagine my frustration with this watch, which cost 4x as much as the gun.

Rick, Work out whatever you can with the dealer or Amex if need be. But make it clear you/ve had it and just want to return the watch at this point. Having to keep messing with this is pointless. You've tried. Now you just want out. Good luck.

My experience with automatic watches is they don't keep accurate time--even Rolexes. And chronographs are prone to malfunction.
The other concern these days is the huge replica market out there for expensive-name watches. Rolex, Breitling, Cartier, etc. You can even get certificate of authenticities. Buying these watches, for example, on ebay is very chancey. They look like the real thing until you wear them in the shower a few times.

Fortunately, no such problem buying old 911s. Hard to replicate.:)

I caught a guy who had switched VIN tags from "T" to "S"...what's silly is that he did it strictly for ego reasons...pretty dumb considering that tampering with VIN tags is a federal felony...:eek:

There has to be some one at 'corporate' you can help you. I dont see how it should matter who makes the warranty claim, as long as you are dealing with authorized dealers.

Since I reset it Sat. morning, it's been running like a top. Maybe I'm just so lethargic that it's not enough to keep it charged. Not sure what to do.

Rick
Wear it every day for a week. Dont need to sleep in it, but give it a good handwind then wear it, everyday. You might wish to wind it, at the same time everyday, also.

Most auto movements have an autonomy of 40-44 hours from fully wound. Regualr use for a few days will ensure it gets fully and properly wound. Its a machine, it needs to run.

I realise your concern is keeping the mutha running, but as an experiment, get a known digital timer (for example the stop clock in my Palm Pilot is spot on) and time the watch over night. Always rest the watch, for these purposes, in the same postion (you heard of "adjusted to five positions" in regard to watch movements).

If the problem persists, its Breitlings, not the dealer, Id have thought.

Corse, it might have flat battery...-)

Well, thats not why you own mechanical watches. Why do you drive a 911? A WRX does the same job lots better.

The watch makers art is to built a machine that can be adjusted to time a given rate. A movemnet that consistently lost 2 secs per day would be considered accurate, a movement that that gained 15 secs one and lost 15 the next would not. Look at a movement from A. Lange, JLC or Patek or any of the great Swiss houses -even Rolex- with same eye you cast over your flat six.

The more complications a movement has, ie chronograh, the complex the mechanism, the more prone to require maintenance. On the other hand, I have watches from the 1950s that still run faultlessly and keep time to -2 sec per day. I doubt my G-Shock will be running in 60 years.

my nephew works at breitling in CT, I will see what I can do for you

Thanks Nick. I've spoken with a woman named Maria Kalmindif (sp?), who's a service liaison for dealers. The first time my watch went there, she just said there was nothing wrong with it and sent it back. Second time, she could only tell me the techs. had replaced a bunch of stuff. But she couldn't say what was wrong with the watch. It's working fine now. I think, since they shipped it 2nd day air back to the local dealer, the charge had run out. The guy who opened it called me to say to come get it. I asked him to put it on a winder box until I got there and he said they don't do that. Whatever. I got there and it was running. So I assume someone there had wound it up, probably incompletely. Then it stopped a few hours later. I've been on the road the last two days and slept with the watch on. When I take it off at home, it goes on the winder box. It's fine now though. Not sure if I want to keep pursuing this.

he has been there a while and his father (he married my neice) has been with them for like 20+ years i beleive(he started in europe)

Update!!!!! Arrrgggghhhh. Nick, any ideers? Just came back from a 6 day business trip, during which I left the watch on my winder box and wore my old faithful Breitling Avenger Seawolf. Came home tonight at 12:00am on the dot and the Hercules on the winder box read 12:10. I am irate. What the hell can I do now?