The Breitling Watch Source Forums

First and foremost this is my first post on this forum a​nd thank you for taking your time reading this. I'm an amateur, when it comes to watches of any kind, therefore any advice/ suggestion​ i​s highly appreciated.  
I've been wanting to get the Breitling Navitimer 1461 48 mm ever since it came on the market back in 2014/2015. The 1000 piece limited edition time piece was love at first sight. But because of my financial condition, I wasn't able to afford one.
Now, (back in 2017 December) I saved up some money and wanted to purchase the watch. I contacted Breitling and came to find out that they do not have that watch anymore and it was discontinued. Roaming through their website I found out all the authorized dealers and contacted every single one of them and Tourneau happens to be one of them that I contacted and they have the time piece.
Tourneau gave me the retail price of the watch around 12k that they're not going to be able to reduce, if I wanted to get their no interest financing. But after negotiating for few weeks, they gave me the price of $8042 instead of the retail price of almost 12K for a deployment clasp and a alligator Brown strap. After a lot of thought I decided to pull the trigger as I have been wanting this watch forever. Called them up paid a $500.00 diposit and asked them to hold on to the watch. I asked them to also send me some pictures of the watch to make sure it’s the same watch, which they did (Front and Side, but not a very good quality photos). And every thing looked okay. I asked them on the same text if the watch was preowned, they replied “its new”.
All said and done, after 5 days, (Dec 22nd) I went to their boutique store and filled out all the paperwork to get the financing done. They Approved me for 8k and the total watch price came up to $8580 (W/ Tax). After all the paperwork’s, they asked me to go to the outlet store (40 Mins Away) and pick up the watch from there. Because the price was lower that's why it was in the outlet store, they claimed.
All excited I'm going to pick up the watch and to my horror The Watch looked horrible nothing like what I have imagined. The inside of the strap looked like it had body oil all over it from continuous wearing. The strap was scratched due to the deployment clasp. And the travel case had skin peeled off. I wish I was lying, but it does not look like a brand new watch from any angle. The watch was not even thoroughly cleaned before they put it in the box.
So needless to say I refuse to pick up the watch and asked for refund. The outlet store contacted the boutique and I heard all kinds of commotion in the back that they're claiming “you cannot sell our inventory from you store blah blah blah. I contacted the boutique the same night and ask to refund my deposit and cancel the credit that they have opened for the watch, they said, they will do it the following day as they were almost closed.
‘So the following day, I contacted the outlet store, I was trying to see also that if they can get me a better deal on the watch since it was clearly pre-owned. After speaking with them back and forth I get contacted by the manager, who assures me that they will get me up brand new strap directly through Breitling (Alligatior Black color) and I can go ahead and pick up the watch and it is brand new and the price can not be down anymore. I go to pick up the watch, looks clean the box was changed, however, the travel case was the same skin peeled off. I showed it to the manager and he switched the travel case with another one that he happens to have in his office. I open the paperwork and there was no COSC Certificate. They look in the back I couldn't find it and he says that he can contact with Breitling and he can get me another cosc certificate. Not to mention the watch also did not come with any e-warranty card, which I'll come back to later. All they had was a warranty booklet (Yellow pages) and on the back page they write the dates. First they said its 2 years from breitling and 3 years Tourneau warranty. Its two years because its not an inhouse movement. They also mentioned that the price can only be lowered because its in the outlet store. They get all the unsold watches from tourneau boutiques and sell the watch at the discounted rate which the boutiques cant.
I put the watch on my hand and look against the light and I see that there is a scratchon the sapphire. Very light but if you really look for it you will see it. I showed it to the manager and first he doesn't see it and then he finds out. To which we she says it's on the sapphire crystals anti-reflective coating.
With me hesitating again to pick up the watch the manager asked if he can order me a brand new watch and replace it with this one. I was amazed and agreed right away to wait for the new watch to arrive. The manager for that store made it so seem-less and a very not to mention even after running back and forth, I was not upset because if their customer support.
After couple of days (31st Dec) I get contacted by the manager, and he said he has got a brand new watch directly from Breitling and it's ready for me to go pick it up however it does not have a Cosc certificate again which they're waiting on Breitling to provide. Also an extra alligator black strap that they have offered me initially. I refused to go pick up the watch without the certificate or the strap as I told them I will pick them up together. Also concering, why the watch will not have COSC Certificate, is that normal?
The first time when I was there I took pictures of the First Watch along with the serial number and I contacted Breitling boutique store and they asked me to contact Breitling USA and ask if the watch has been submitted for service or if they can give me the history of the watch, or authenticate as brand new. With that advice I went to contact Breitling USA Today, and with my luck they said they're not going to be able to give me any information without the watch being present in front of them. Even with the serial number they cannot do anything.
Last week I have asked the outlet store's Manager to send me some picture of the new watch along with the serial number which they still haven't send it to me as of now. I asked about the E warranty card, and he claims it only comes when you buy the watch from the boutique. The hand written warranty card is as good as the E-warranty card. Is it true??
So I'm asking for all your advice given the circumstances, what would be my correct course of action since the watch can not leave the store and if it does, then there’s no return.
Should I just cancel it or go see the second watch when the COSC cert gets there. What do I also look into the cost certificate and how to tell if the watch is authentic?
Do any of you guys have this issue that I am going through?
Any advice suggestions is highly appreciate it.
Thank you again for reading my Essay and helping me. :/

Get your money back and run. Run away from that place. Run fast, run far.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

My gut reaction is that you should just move on and buy a Breitling from a reputable AD.

It is absolutely not true that the e-warranty card comes only with a boutique purchase. It comes with a purchase from any AD. On that basis alone, since they are not being truthful with you, I would pass. The whole thing seems to reek of contrived answers that are less than honest.

It's unfortunate, since I'm sure you are very excited about the Breitling. If it were me, I would move on and do business with an outfit that would make me feel great about my purchase.

_________________
Cheers,
Jim

I understand your frustration, in the end you will have to make the final decision. I have bought watches from Tourneau in new, pre-owned condition and new from their outlet store. If you buy new from their "Boutique" you will pay MSRP with a discount of maybe 10-15 percent possible. They usually use the interest free financing to negate any further discount. In their boutique they have preowned watches, these watches normally do not come with the original paperwork, even when the watches were traded in with it. The paperwork is "discarded" and any warranty is strictly through Tourneau and not the manufacturer. For example, if i sell you a Breitling watch, with an in-house movement that I have owned for a year, you would still have the remaining fours of warranty from Breitling, present the e-card and away you go! With Tourneau, you would not receive the remaining four years of warranty, you would receive whatever warranty they were offering. This is just their policy!?! When you buy from Tourneau's outlet, I have only seen one in Orlando, Florida, you are buying a watch that their "boutique" have not been able to sell. Usually they are discontinued pieces from the manufacture, slow movers, or from brands that Tourneau no longer carries. Are they new, yes they are, or otherwise they would be held accountable by the various consumer affairs agencies. However, that does not mean they have not been put on display, tried on, etc etc etc. This may account for the condition of the watch that was offered to you. In the end you will have to make the decision on whether to purchase it or not. My suggestion is to go into an AD and tell him what watch you are interested in. They will be able to do a search and see if there are any available in the country and then may be able to have it shipped to them. You should be able to negotiate a discount because of the discontinued status of the watch. Good luck on your search, and remember if you are not happy then don't buy the watch, it is way too much money to spend and not be 110% satisfied!

Sorry but I think you are being unrealistic here. If you want the Nordstrom experience, then go to an AD and get the traditional 15-20% negotiated discount off list. Otherwise you get the Nordstrom Rack experience with 33% off. You can't expect them to give you a 33% discount, which it sounds like that's what they are offering, and then expect a brand new fresh from the factory with all the wrappers and packaging in place and in flawless condition watch. Sounds like they have been reasonable with the offer for a new strap. I would not be worried about the warranty as long as it is from an authorized Breitling dealer and they fill out the warranty card. If it is a third party warranty then I would probably pass as this is a 6K watch with an aftermarket warranty from Govbergs and other resellers. Part of what you are paying a premium for is the breitling warranty.

_________________

Save some money and pick from these 3.

On Bracelet

Brown Croc

Black Croc

In my opinion, the one on the bracelet is by far away the best deal. If you need someone to call there, let me know and I can send you some contacts.

_________________
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

12k new and 6k used. That’s not a good value retention.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Only if you bought at MSRP! Numerous threads on how it is necessary to research the pricing of any new Breitling!

I would cancel the deal with them and move on. Justin gave you links to three used ones for sale at Govberg. They have a good reputation and can probably give you some kind of financing package along with their warranty and I would suspect any problems would be taken care of with no drama. Good luck getting this sorted out to your satisfaction.
Kevin

There is a financing option on each link but I'm not sure how it works. They do offer a 15 month warranty on all preowned pieces.

_________________
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

I'd have walked when they tried to sell me a used watch as new.