The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hi all,

New to the forum, but been reading for a while.

I purchased a Superocean Steelfish in May 2011.
About a month later I noticed that it was about 5 minutes fast. I reset it, and didnt think anything of it... about a month later (July 2011) I noticed it had gained about another 5 minutes. I went back to the retailer that I bought it from, and they suggested that I monitor it and if I think there was a fault, I should take it back as it has a 2 year warranty.

I started noting the time difference weekly in my diary (against the talking clock). I noticed it was gaining about 1:30 mins each week.

I noted this down for 2 months, and bought a watch winder to put my watch on when I'm in bed. No difference.
I returned my watch to the retailer about 2 weeks ago and they sent it off to Breitling.

I got a call from the retailer this weekend telling me they had a quote of £275 to repair it, because accidental damage was not covered under the warranty. I was completely speechless...
They said that Breitling had seen some small marks on the "horns" that could indicate it had been dropped.

I can 100% guarantee that it has not been dropped, scratched, or even come into contact with any hard surface as long as I have owned it!

I dont know how I can prove this...
Since I bought this watch, it has not kept good time. I have an Accurist that I have owned since 1995... keeps time 100% and has had some tough wear for about 12 years.
Surely even a knock to a watch that is designed for diving, should not result in the watch no longer being accurate!

I have told the retailer to go back to Breitling and tell them this information, but what can I do if they disagree?

Bit of a rant... but this is my first Breitling and so far - not a good experience.

Ian

Sorry for your woes.

1min 30secs a week is a gain of circa 13 secs a day, which considerably outside of the -4/+6 secs of COSC certification, so yes, an intervention is required. Normally that should be a simple regulation by Breitling, and all done under warranty.

Incidentally, using a winder will just keep the watch wound : it won't markedly change the rate.

If the watch has sustained damage (from whatever source), then it would be considered accidental damage, which isn't covered by the warranty as Breitling say. Unfortunately, it's your word against theirs as to whether it has been dropped or not. That said, I'm a little surprised at Breitling taking such as hardline stance, especially if the watch was bought new from an official AD, as good customer service (and general good will) would suggest them just fixing it under warranty, but if they truly believe the issue is caused by dropping the watch, then they are under no obligation to fix it free of charge.

Just in terms of robustness and accuracy - I asssume your Accurist is a quartz model? If so, it will always be way more accurate (and more robust) than an automatic : it's the nature of the different mechanisms inside quartz as opposed to autos like your Steelfish. Under normal circumstances an auto like the Steelfish is more than capable of surviving the normal rigours of diving, but if (and I stress IF) it has been dropped onto something solid, then that is a hard knock for an auto to take and unfortunately impacts can throw automatics off.

If you are adamant nothing untoward has happened to your watch, I'd suggest strongly pressing the issue with Breitling UK direct. (I assume by your use of "£" that you are UK based).

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Driver8

Site Moderator

Very odd.

The default assumption for a realtively small error like this would be a regulation so I don't understand why Breitling are automatically claiming that a service is needed. If regulation had failed to solve the problem then a more detailed analysis might be needed that shows up other problems, but not as a first assumption.

I agree with Driver8 that I would escalate this and push to get it regulated.

Thanks for your replies.

I spoke to Breitling direct, and they were very helpful.
The lady got my watch out of their safe and inspected it whilst I was on the phone. She said there is a significant dent in one of the horns on the watch.
I was not aware of this, and I'm not sure what significant means (visually).

They are going to send me photos of the damage.

I am 100% certain I havent dropped the watch, and there was no damage reported when I took the watch into the dealers.
My thoughts now are that the dealers may have dropped it - although this seems unlikely, and wouldnt explain the watch gaining time since I bought it!

When I first took my watch to the dealers to report that there was a problem, the dealer put it on a cushion, wore a fabric glove to handle it etc...
When I went back to drop my watch off for repair, the store was closed for refurbishment. I had to take it to another store.
The lady in this store had it sat round her 4 fingers on her hand whilst writing with the other hand!
Looking back - I should never have left it with them.

Breitling say that any damage should have been noted by the dealer when they accepted it. - No damage was listed!

Another update...

Breitling UK have sent me the photographs, and report of the watch.
The damage is much less than I was imagining, and could easily have been sustained from a small knock in my opinion.

However - on a better note, they have offered to repair it free of charge as a goodwill gesture because the watch is so new.
This is great news, and I am glad I spoke with Breitling direct. Thanks for the advice!

It worries me that this very minor knock could cause my watch to need a complete overhaul... but I'm just going to leave this case for now, and hope everything is sorted when I get it back (in 6-8 weeks time).

Ian

I don't think that you should assume cause and effect.

Breitling is seeing a watch with an accuracy issue that also has a ding. Understandable that they would connect the two, but not necessarily correct.

Absolutely. It's certainly conceivable that the watch was already gaining time and in need of a simple regulation, or gaining as a result of a more fundamental problem that may have been there from the outset. In the interim your watch could have been dropped by the dealer, causing the lug damage, which Breitling have (quite justifiably) attributed the timekeeping issue to.

Unfortunately either way, it's still a "your word vs their's" issue.

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Driver8

Site Moderator

I did drop my Steelfish it landed on the crown of all places. It reulted in a dent also. The service center explained that yes they could regulate it but they recommended a full service to see if anything else was damaged, all I paid for was parts. I went with the service to be on the safe side. The crown, tube and stem were replaced along with the gaskets. It ran dead on until it got magnetized somehow back it went and is dead on again.

always take pictures of the watch before you send it, if your anal like me i include the day copy of the news paper and posted the same day, it is open to some sort of abuse but if i know it's 100% right i'll fight. mind you i did/used to send mine direct to BUK

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