Is Breitling a good watch?
At Andrew Michaels Jewellers (amjwatches.co.uk) we sell about 1500 Breitlings each year. Primarily this shows how desirable Breitling watches are, given their luxury, albeit justified, price tag. Secondly, we receive very few Breitling watches back for repair or warranty work. If we consider reliability and long term accuracy then a Breitling is a good watch. If we also consider desirability, leading to great residual values, they can, furthermore, be considered a good watch.
How much do Breitling watches cost?
Breitling watches start at just over £2000 (January 2020) and go up to over £100000 if you wish to create a bespoke gem set piece from the Diamondworks facility. The most popular model sold by Andrew Michaels is the Avenger Seawolf. A 3000m water resistant divers watch priced at £3300.
Do Breitling watches hold their value?
Breitling watches have constantly been in the top five luxury watch brands in the world for many years. This is a reflection of how potential customers covet this lauded brand, due to its well-known innovations, reliability, levels of endurance and strong designs. With this in mind Breitling watches will hold their value way above the industry standard.
Is Breitling a luxury brand?
Breitling can, most definitely, be considered a luxury brand. Some brands seem to rely simply on their price point to be perceived as luxury. However, Breitling’s price points are justified by high end materials, fit and finish to levels of perfection, in-house developments and strong aftermarket support. Again, luxury is in the eye of the beholder and Breitling sell a lot of watches and have a massive fan base to elevate them above the norm. We could also simplify this be entering the psychological debate of whether something is luxury if it beyond necessity.
Is Breitling worth the money?
Any item, be it within the luxury market or otherwise, is only worth as much as anyone is willing to pay for it. Given the amount of expensive, in most people’s opinions, wrist watches that Breitling sell year after year we can evaluate them as being worth the money. This statement is also given integrity by owners who remain happy with their purchase for years to come and ended up buying multiple examples from the Breitling catalogue.
What is the least expensive Breitling watch?
The Chronomat Colt range is Breitling’s so-called (but not relevantly identified) entry level wrist watch from their current catalogue. The materials and level of finishing are on a par with the rest of the Breitling family. The Chronomat Colt Automatic on bracelet currently retails for £2700. While the Quartz model is £2450.
How can you tell a fake Breitling?
The fake and replica market for all luxury products is now so ubiquitous that Breitling decided to innovate in 2016 with an electronic warranty system that can only be programmed by authorised dealers. This is your first point of verification. If you are interested in a Breitling with no provenance then your local Breitling authorised dealer will be able to offer a service that will allow them to get the watch inspected by a Breitling technician.
How long do Breitling watches last?
Breitling Automatic watches will last forever if they are regularly serviced, as per the manufacturer’s recommendations. Quartz models may have a finite lifespan but Breitling are currently committed to supplying movements or spares for most historical movements.
Are Breitling watches made in Switzerland?
Yes. Every Breitling has “Swiss Made” on the dial. Breitling have their own factory, The Chronometrie, in Le Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland.
Is Breitling COSC certified?
To add to the comments above about being Swiss Made, Breitling send every single one of their movements to the COSC for regulation testing. This is only available to movements manufactured in Switzerland.
Do Breitling watches need batteries?
All Breitling Quartz movement watches rely on batteries for their power source. However, some of these batteries, such as in the Emergency II and Cockpit B50, are rechargeable. All batteries have a finite lifespan and will need replacing in the future. Automatic and hand wound Breitling movements do not need a battery.
How often should I wind my Breitling watch?
If your Breitling watch is Automatic it will never need manually winding if it is constantly worn. If the watch is left unworn for 42 hours it will stop. Best practice is to manually wind the watch to get it running again. Manually wound watches will need winding about 40 times about every 40 hours (or 60 times every three days for the in-house movements).
What does Breitling mean?
Breitling is the surname of Leon who created the brand in St Imier in 1884. The brand was handed down to son, Gaston and then grandson Willy who each kept the family brand running until 1979 when Ernest Schneider took over. He kept the established name, Breitling, that we all know and respect to this day.
Does Breitling have in house movements?
In 2009 Breitling released their first in house movement, the B01, to much acclaim. With particular reference and pertinence to their illustrious history they decided to create what is considered one of the most difficult movements to master, the chronograph. Breitling did not simply plagiarise existing blue prints for this complex movement but decided to design from scratch, which gave them freedom to create a versatile and easy to service architecture. Furthermore, the power reserve was extended to a more user friendly 70 hours, the date change was made safe with a new patent that allowed for date changes to be made between 9pm and 3am (a notorious weakness of a standard movement) and also the it was safe to accidentally press the chronograph reset button as the stopwatch was running (a less notorious weakness with standard movements). Breitling have since amalgamated with Tudor watch to create a three hand in-house movement. All in-house movement carry a five year warranty.