Are Breitling having a laugh?

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the finer things in life, but I'm not blinkered enough to pay significantly more for an item that performs its primary purpose worse than a budget item.
 
Im not snob far from it, infact im pretty skint most of the time, but if i could afford a luxary watch i would same with cars and everything else, to me £600+ for a watch service to me is rediculas, but i fi had the money then id be more than happy to do, not sure why im saying this, but hey, who cares lol
 
my 911 turbo costs me an arm and a leg to service,
my watch is a casio g shock

i prefer my car to my watch
 
Nouveau riche want nice toys they pay nice prices, but moaning about them just shows how poor you are.
 
Thanks for all the predictable 'get a Casio LOL' responses. I also have a Casio watch which runs very well 9 years into it's 10 year battery life. This doesn't preclude me from wanting to own another device that performs the same function in a different style.

I also have a quartz Omega Seamaster which is faultless - it had a battery replacement recently which cost £15.

I love the smug posts here effectively saying 'serves you right for buying something you can't afford to run'. The fact is I can easily afford to have this work done - it just isn't cost effective to pay £600+ to overhaul a watch that would probably only fetch half that amount if I sold it. I only paid $1000 for it 20 years ago! My beef here is with the Swiss watch industry blocking supply of parts to independent repairers. Here is the text of an email I got from an independent watchmaker in reply to my enquiry about Breitling repairs:

'This company (Breitling) will not supply watch case parts such as straps, gaskets and seals, pushers and crown, or bezel and bracelets or new cases and also where the internal mechanism is specific to this brand , to non stockist of this brand.
They wish to supply these parts through their sales outlets as an encouragement to stock their brand of watch.
This is a restricted parts supply situation which may be contrary to European Legislation
but at this time we cannot do anything about it.

Basically it is a method of maintaining high charges for after sales service.

If you would like to sign a Petition re: the availability of parts for Swiss watches
Please click this link to the European Confederation of Watch & Clock Repairer's Associations
http://www.ceahr.org/index.php?cat=rev&lg=en

For further information regarding restrictive supply of watch parts also go to :http://www.andre-fleury.com'

That repairer could have done the work for less than a third of the price. I know Rolex got into trouble for restricting spares supplies years ago in the US and were fined.

I have asked for the watch to be returned unrepaired.
 
wozza2k said:
How is your Breitling worth only £600 at most?
Click to expand...

It's quartz, not mechanical. Was a low-end model in the range (Intruder). I no longer have all the original packaging and documents.

I saw one go on the bay for about that figure a while ago, and that was a minter with all the documentation and packaging.

I wasn't looking to refurbish the watch to sell it - just wanted to get it back up to scratch and usable.:)
 
That email basically sounds like the high-end motor industry where servicing is restricted to their own garages (before anyone jumps i know many indi garages can do repairs).
 
Dutch Guy said:
Ouch, 110 quid for a leather strap that is replaced in 5 minutes, no wonder they refuse to give spare parts to others :(
Click to expand...

that probably includes the strap though so it's not bad

the overhaul cost is ludicrous though as there is nothing much to overhaull in a quartz watch, just get a new battery and reseal for about 50 quid
 
lakitu said:
Thank you Forde! - Unfortunately Brietling will not send parts to independent watchmakers. Brietling are asking for a lot of money but it is consistant with how much the big companies charge these days, considering they will probably just swap the quartz movement out with a new one costing them £5.
Click to expand...

I've just enquired on your website about getting my Seiko Premier serviced, would rather support a fellow OcUKer than send it off to Seiko :)
 
Rotty said:
like a lot of things the material don't equal the cost, a decent watch strap is £100-150
Click to expand...
I understand what you mean, some things are hard to manufacture or require a long time to make but we are talking about a leather watch strap, how labour intensive or special is a Breitling strap compared to a cheap watch?
 
Dutch Guy said:
I understand what you mean, some things are hard to manufacture or require a long time to make but we are talking about a leather watch strap, how labour intensive or special is a Breitling strap compared to a cheap watch?
Click to expand...

I agree. You are really paying for the name often.
 
Dutch Guy said:
I understand what you mean, some things are hard to manufacture or require a long time to make but we are talking about a leather watch strap, how labour intensive or special is a Breitling strap compared to a cheap watch?
Click to expand...

No idea re Breitling but most decent watch straps are hand made
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom