The Breitling Watch Source Forums

hello all

another watch forum i am on, encouraged me to post my question on your site for advice....

on a recent bus trip to milan, i was passing by a window shop and saw about 15 vintage high end watches 50 + yrs old... including Rolex, Vacheron Constantin, Ulysse Nardin, Breitling, Omega, etc

the shop was in a 'non touristy' part of town, in a pretty quiet section of town actually...

i was intrigued...

i went inside to discover that it was actually a service center (therefore, not primarily sales oriented) and the technician there, (said he) would buy old watches from his customers and resell them

well.... despite not knowing much (i am new to the watch fixation...) ... i took the chance and bought one...

he told me it is a breitling manual winding chrongraph from year 1960- also, gave me a 1 yr guarantee of his own

i thought it was beautiful it is much nicer than the pics i'm attaching (not very talented with the camera )

i paid 1200 euro for it (not at all an insignificant amount, for me)

it was totally an impulsive buy

should i regret it? does it look fake? not worth the money i paid? any thoughts???

also, the watch is not keeping time correctly (discovered this when i got back) ... i'm planning to stop by my local breitling service center to see what they say... but this has only made me more anxious about the purchase...

thanks for you help

* ps - if it is a fake, please take it easy on me - i'm gonna feel like a real ()&%%/$%)

http://img461.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn4701lv0.jpg

http://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn4703ob1.jpg

http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn4704pv2.jpg

http://img295.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn4711nh5.jpg

http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn4722dw4.jpg

http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscn4733bh6.jpg

Hello dcatigirl,

the watch looks fine to me, although, I think the pricing is a little bit high. The condition of the case is not really excellent.

BG
Thomas

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this watch looks like a complete fabrication to me. There are a number of glaring faults. Firstly the back of the watch doesn't represent what we normally would see on a vintage Breitling. The 2002 is actually a reference number used on a late sixties to early seventies Breitling Top Time. That ref number would also have a serial number close by and that's why I think the back cover was fabricated and not original. The real 2002 case is completely different also. The dial would lead you to believe the movement would be a Venus 170 based upon the layout so I would think that's what's inside but whether it's original or not would be anyones guess without a picture. The dial itself looks like a repaint and I don't remember seeing any vintage Breitling Chronos with 17 Rubis on the dial. The case is unusual in that it's a round pusher type case with earlier flat pusher style dial and movement. Not totally unusual but I've never seen one outside of a book. What I'm trying to get across is that the watch appears to be an assemblage of spare parts and not anything original. We won't talk about that home made buckle. Unfortunately, this is the stuff we're seeing coming out of Italy, Turkey, and South America. You're not the first to spend a lot of money on something that's not genuine. I report bogus watches to Ebay when I can because I see people spending good money on poor recreations all the time.

Sorry.

Paul L

Ciao, bella Ducatigirl,

Firstly, you're not a real ()&%%/$%) , as you stated. This happens all the time since there so many dealers out there of dubious reputations. I have to agree with Paul though - the round pushers, the re-dial, the inferior looking engraving on the buckle (sloppy looking job), and the newer Breitling logo on the back all look like a fabrication. In as far as my personal experiences with pieces like this, the dials are usually the indicators of actual vintage pieces. If they look new, they probably are. Re-dialing a watch should always be a last resort since patinas are what most collectors look for in a vintage watch. I have never met a watch dealer or collector who EVER suggested a re-dial unless the original was so badly deteriorated that one cannot see the markings. The case itself doesn't even look like a Breitling from that time. Very, very sorry but hopefully, you have fond memories of your trip to Milan - great city! I was there myself. I love Italy but then, I am Italian.

Hmmmmm... I saw the exact same post on another watch forum, but the other forum had the watch as a rolex. It seems like this story is being recycled. I wonder if people who know they have a fake will take a story like this and post pictures in order to find out whether or not anyone can tell it is a fake.