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Old 30th Mar 2019, 14:49
  #12 (permalink)  
BEagle
 
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Quite near 'An aerodrome somewhere in England'
Posts: 26,823
Received 271 Likes on 110 Posts
I've had my 1994 model F56062 Aerospace (titanium and gold) for 25 years now and it's generally been fine - a new battery now and then, plus a free Z-spring replacement in the bracelet clasp has been all that it's needed.

Several years ago the new battery ran down rather quickly and I took the watch back to be checked. They diagnosed a failure of some component and the repair cost around £600. But they included another new battery and the watch came back with a better, more accurate movement. I hadn't had it serviced over the years, so I couldn't really complain....

In 2015 I noticed that the bracelet clasp had lost its spring tension, so I guessed that a new Z-spring would be needed, costing about £25. But when the technician started working on it, the spring was in bits but the holes into which the clasp fitted were almost worn through - threatening to come apart at any moment. So a new bracelet clasp was required....£370 !

A couple of weeks later the display started flashing, indicating End of Life for the battery. So, off to Breitling Boutique in New Bond Street again - the new battery cost £90 but was supplied well within the quoted time. I'd managed to scratch the new bracelet clasp somehow, but the technician buffed it out free of charge and my faithful Aerospace looks like new again. Until my girl friend's French Bulldog had a go at it....but as he's such a sweetie otherwise, he was forgiven.

But I really, really don't like the styling of the latest Aerospace. In fact I think that they've been going generally downhill since the 1994 model - see Breitling Aerospace FROM ALL AGE .

When I was at the Breitling Boutique, I mentioned that I was surprised at the high cost of spare bracelet links on eBay - about $95 for a single titanium and gold link. They told me that it's probably because they no longer make the bracelets from that era, so spare parts are hard to come by.... I've got a couple of spares though.

And yes, before the watch nerds wake up, I KNOW THAT OTHER WATCHES ARE AVAILABLE!!
BEagle is online now