The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Hi All,

I have been timing my new Breitling Colt for the past week and it's running at 20 seconds per day slow, COSC specs say it should be -4 to +6 per 24hrs.

Admittedly I've only been timing it in the box it came in ( giving it about 40 winds of the crown each day ) and not on my wrist as I haven't had chance to wear it properly as of yet.

I went into the AD yesterday and mentioned it was running slow, by chance the manager had just arrived and she's apparently the Breitling 'expert', she told me that I had to wear it for at least 6 weeks for everything to settle down and if after that time it was still running out of COSC she would then sent it back to Breitling for them to check it out.

I would have thought that with it being COSC certified it should run within the specified perimeters straight from the box, or am I very much mistaken?

Regards,

Chris.

You are mistaken. The watch will take several weeks to settle to your routine and if all it has done is sit in the box so far then that time hasn't really started.

Thank you for the reply.

I am wearing the watch as much as I can but it's only at home as I can't wear anything decent at work due to the nature of my job so it's still not getting much 'wrist movement'.

I have noticed that it's running even slower on my wrist, currently 26 seconds slow over 24 hrs.

Regards.

** UPDATE **

Hi all,

I have been wearing the Colt since Sunday, the more I wore it the more time it lost - 28 seconds a day up to now.

Took it back to the AD today and it's going back to Breitling for them to take a look at it.

The AD says I should have it back......early June.

A responsible AD would have refused to take it back until after it settled, 4 to 5 days is nowhere near enough time.

I phoned the AD first thing this morning and was told the watch had been picked up just before I phoned.

I mentioned about the 'Sale Of Goods Act' and was told that because there was no 'visible' fault with the watch it had to go back to Breitling to be assessed.

About an hour later I had a very apologetic call from the manager, apparently because she wasn't in the store the day I purchased the watch she hadn't realised that the watch was under 2 weeks old ( although I did tell them when I returned it to them ), she said I should have been offered a replacement straight way.

My replacement will be in store either tomorrow or by the latest Monday.

Wow, a replacement for a watch with no known problem, I hope you realise how accommodating the store is being.

A mechanical watch will take time to settle, at least 4-6 weeks of regular wear. Please do not try and get it adjusted before that period if it is outside of COSC specs, all that will happen is it will be regulated to COSC and then you will wear it, it will settle and likely be out of COSC again. Wear the watch for several weeks, then see what the rate is and get it adjusted at that point if necessary.

An AD replacing a brand new watch that at worst needed a 30 second regulation in a few weeks' time is rare indeed!

Hi.

I have now got my replacement Colt and I am very pleased to report that just sitting in its box it is running at +7 seconds over 24 hours.

That's awesome and you received amazing service!
The "settling in" topic I just don't believe. I admit, I'm very new to all this but it seems quite illogical to me. COSC watches will leave the factory within spec, not almost 30 seconds off. I do not believe that a week or a year is going to change that. In my opinion that watch was defective from the COSC spec.

Also, from my research on here, A watch will run slightly faster (1-2 seconds) when in the box and dial facing up, as appose to wearing it.

There's no such thing as a COSC watch, COSC certified uncased movements, not watches. If you think the process of casing and shipping has no impact on rate then more power to you. Further, if you think the move from not running in a climate controlled showcase / vault to constant movement and environmental exposure has no impact more power to you. Bottom line is watches take time to settle and I think the OP's AD has set a horrendous precedent.

Roffensian, granted you know a lot more than I do but for arguments sake, let's say the "settling in" is a thing, do you really think that 30 seconds is within the "settling range"? I know some talk about settling in when in excess of a few more seconds outside the -4/+6 COSC spec (much like the OP's replacement with its +1s outside the COSC range). Again, I don't claim to be an expert at any of this by any means. Just more for conversation sake.

10+ seconds is common, 30 seconds isn't unheard of, but that's not really the point. It's a brand new watch out of COSC specs. 99+% of such watches have nothing wrong with them, they just need to be regulated, a process which takes literally seconds. Until the watch has settled the regulation is a complete waste of time, regulating to +/- 0 in week two is simply going to result in an error after week six as set to ng in continues. Far better to time the watch at the end if that six week period and then regulate if necessary.