Luxury Watch Service & Repair Guide

Marcus Hanke · 2023-12-23T13:20:09Z

Marcus Hanke shares his frustrating experience with a new Breitling Navitimer B01 and its recurring chronograph issues, sparking a community discussion on service quality.

In November, I acquired this strikingly beautiful Breitling Navitimer from the current line. I really fell for the copper dial with the black subdials. ONly two or three weeks thereafter, I found something weird with the chronograph readings: they seemed not to match my subjective feeling of the times elapsed, but alsways showed considerably shorter times than I had assumed. Upon closer inspection and comparison with other stop watches, I found that the chronograph's minute counter sometimes stuck - in different positions, and always also influenced the hours counter. I could clearly observe the minute counter hand not moving when the stop second hand passed the 12.

Of course I was annoyed: a brand new watch and defect. Yet this was nothing new to me, having experienced similar problems with several other watches as well. However, it was the second time that a Breitling calibre B01 was defective immediately after I purchased the watch. The first one had to be sent in for warranty repair three times until it functioned as it should. Not a good omen ....

So I brought the Navitimer to the local Breitling boutique, complete with a written report of the problem. It was sent to the national Breitling service center, where it stayed for full six weeks, until I received the phone call two days ago that I could pick it up at the Breitling boutique. I was overjoyed, since I wanted to wear the beauty during the holidays. The service center's repair note consisted of a one term: "switching lever"

I am sure you can second my massive disappointment, when during timing my first dog walk yesterday, once again I had that strange feeling: This can't be, we are walking for much longer than fifteen minutes! So I checked the Navitimer on wrist and then on the table, until it was clear the minutes and hours counters had stuck, as can be seen in this series of pictures. The changing positions of the stop second hand proves the chronograph function is engaged and running, but the counter hands are not moving; not even after more than fifteen hours elapsed since starting the chrono.

So: Two out of three Breitling B01 movements in my possession (four, if I count the Tudor chronograph as well) were either defective on delivery or after a very short while. And both of them needed several trips to the service center until really being repaired. With my first example, this procedure consumed two full years!

I have sincere doubts that the service watchmakers really checked my Navitimer thoroughly, since it repeated the same malfunction already on the first day after it was returned. Now I have to go the hassle again to claim another warranty repair and hope for the best.

Btw, the other defective Breitling, my Chronomat "Raven", too is at the service center since six weeks. During the effort to define the Navitimer's problem, I checked it against the Chronomat, which has been reliable ever since its final repair effort in 2017. Now I realized that - while both the chronograph second and minute counter hands worked properly, the hour counter was running far too fast, gaining no less than seven hours within a 24 hours interval. I was notified from Breitling that this watch is likely to stay for another month in the atelier. Apparently, the B01 movement is too complicated for the service staff? Or maybe they should let Tudor do the work, because my Pelagos chronograph is working perfectly - for now.

Marcus

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