Breitling Aerospace woes
 

Anybody had this problem or know the solution, please?
My Aerospace kept perfect time and was seemingly fine until a few weeks ago when it showed classic signs of battery run down. Sort of died during coldish night, revived when worn again. And yes, 2.5 to 3 years since last battery change.
Sent off through well-known High Street jewellers to Breitling. Breitling insisted it needed a service, as last full service 6 years ago. Would not just do a battery change. Oh and 'recommended' options, along with service would take the bill from £510 to £810! Decided: to hell with the full service history, would get a local jeweller (who had a repair man who seemed to know it would need pressure testing) to do the job.
Watch came back...all digital displays lit, top and bottom, and what seems to be an error code on top digital display.
Local jeweller cannot clear...
Call me paranoid, but is this some kind of 'maintenance mode' known only to Breitling workshops?
Any advice gratefully received....

Someone is making a huge killing. You could do a major service on a car for €800.

I had a similar error code two years ago. It went off to Breitling and the Full Monty service cost £325. On return, I noticed new hands and functions I'd never seen before. The service consisted of new hands and totally new guts. Mine went in via Northern Goldsmiths in Newcastle.

There is a long discussion on this subject on the Breitling Thread on the Military section.

Had my Aerospace for 29 years with only 1 major service, about $400 in the US.
Changed battery probably 7-8 times, but never seen no error codes, it just keeps on ticking and can take a licking:)

Try this site: forums.timezone.com
The Breitling brand has a few knowledgable people.

Thanks for responses so far. Any more gratefully received. Will also follow up suggestions.

Which country are you in?

I send mine directly to the UK service centre, not cheap but a fraction of the price asked by high street jewellers and faster turn around time.

They do not publish their address as far as I know and it and the envelopes are discreet.

Miles...
Thanks. U.K.
Have had a lot of help on the forum elsewhere on pprune recommended here..
One option is service by authorised Breitling service centre from whom I bought watch second user nearly 7 years ago.
And yes, seems it was returned from Breitling in 'test mode'. I know now how to reset. But now away with local jewellers who said they could but cannot, so cannot progress until watch comes back this week. So obviously they can't even do the test mode reset! Aaaagh!

I have to question the wisdom of paying high prices for what are clearly badly built watches that need servicing frequently. Perhaps, as certain ladies used to say of RAF aircrew:

"Big watch, small p***s, pay by cheque...must be air force officer!"

I have a decades old Seiko and it still tells the time accurately with only the battery needing changing every few years.

I've had my Super Avenger for over 13 years now, and it works just like the day I bought it; no servicing required yet...

Via another thread I came across a chap called Sean Yates who seems really to know his stuff and to whom the watch will go as and when I have any more problems. Meanwhile said Aerospace came back on 27 March from local jeweller's repair man, who said he could do nothing with it, in seeming perfect order, has kept perfect time since, and had 2 time zone resets as result of work trip to Canada: so curiouser and curiouser! Methinks perhaps somebody did a battery change and then forgot to put the dud one back in before returning the watch! I use my old Casio for swimming and sailing, so will not trust waterproofing 100% until after the next battery change.
Thanks to all for your help.

My Citizen Ecodrive was given to me as a birthday gift in 1998. It has never been serviced, only given a scrub in soapy water every so often, or if it's really dirty, a dip in my ultrasonic cleaning bath. It keeps time that's perfectly adequate for my job, a few seconds gain every couple of months.

I keep my Breitling in my sock drawer; nice to look at but not so practical and too complicated for my liking.

ShyTorque - why did you buy it then?!

Perhaps was a gift?

Purchased back in 2006 a Tissot T-Touch (with bright Orange strap) for $800 US and was too scared to mark it and also had second thoughts about the Orange strap, couldn't return it as shops in Moscow rarely allow this (and if they do a huge fuss), ended up somehow in its box to the present day in my wardrobe, dead battery (I assume), somehow can't get myself to wear it, but can't bear to part with it.

Omega "Dynamic" manual wind. £15 from an Indian run watch shop in Main Street, Gibraltar July 1970. Still keeping time to plus a minute or so a month. Been back to the Watch Doctors in Hertfordshire about ten years ago to replace a broken glass and they serviced and cleaned it for about - I seem to remember - £120. All a Breitling does is remind you and others that you paid a lot of money for a posh name.

My 10yo B1 has had its minute hand skipping and not advancing, and I just got quoted at $1200AUD for a service and a new electronic module. Also told of moisture inside the watch - has only ever been to Brietling... Didn't get it done, so it's back to the top drawer.

Meanwhile my 25yo $50 lorus I bought at uni with a chip out of the side of the glass when it fell 50m off my wrist to the rocks below whilst rock climbing has a new battery and is as waterproof and reliable as ever. Shower, swim, ocean never leaves my wrist.

Assuming its the same one, a colleague had Brietling remove them for same reason. He got quoted for their reinstallation at last service!

ShyTorque - what model do you have?

My 1986 Aerospace gets a new battery every now and again, cost £15. Hasn't been serviced for years, works fine.

How about something hardcore?
 

I have had a few:-

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W

"It is a "modest masterpiece" says design critic Stephen Bayley."[1]

Just get a new one when the strap breaks, as they do. I think it's an age thing since they seem to break (5 yrs) even if not worn much. Got mobile phone.

But perhaps not if you visit US!!!

"... Guantanamo ... possession of the F-91W – available online for as little as £4 – suggests the wearer has been trained in bomb making by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan."[1]

OH! OH!. I think I have one somewhere.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....9496076f9d.jpg

My older brother flew PPL with a Breitling. A Breitling was the first thing I bought when I started my apprenticeship though when I started flying I preferred a cheap Lorus as I could set local and UTC on it. Both our Breitlings are now worn out, can't justify the cost to repair.

afaa - what Breitling models do you have that are 'worn out'?

If you wont to sell them, just PM, I don't mind if they are worn out.

These are your friends.

https://www.watchdoctors.co.uk/

I have a Breitling Chronomat, stainless and gold band with blue dial/gold bezel - the older model with the 15 & 45 swappable. Had them reversed so I have count up on the chrono then minutes countdown on the bezel. Slide rule is useless airborne though I've found it convenient for currency exchange rates that sort of thing. Was a gift from my departed wife when I passed the Flight Paramedic board exams & earned a place flying CSAR roughly the same time. It is my 2nd most treasured watch, behind a Tag Grand Carrera chronograph on a crocodile strap she gave me when she gave me the pleasure of marrying her.....the strap wears & loosens on the clasp, it slipped off my wrist on morning as I walked toward the door last year and has remained in the safe ever since. Anyway the '45' marker fell off week before last, probably lack of locktite by my local jeweler friend....tis $250 for that small piece of gold. Considering sending it for service they recommend 5 years it's been much more than that. But it keeps time something better than 1 second a month synched to the nuclear clock, several of my friends with Rolexes have 30-35 years of hard use without service and perfect function. Interestingly the core mechanism is identical in the Breitling and Tag both.

A Rolex Submariner in black cerachrome or whatever they call it & brushed stainless was my first Swiss mechanical certainly the simplest. It is off for it's bi-annual service, lifetime warranty BUT only if you send it in every other year by the cut date. There is a newer model now this one's the so-called 'scrambled serial number.' Imagine most of the parts are new each time they just say "ultrasonically clean, measure to tolerances and replace with new components as needed.' Interestingly after the Swiss movement houses stopped selling their base movements insisting the big names pay them for a finished piece not $20 for a $10,000 watch (much more work done of course) a Rolex chap told me they lost a lot of engineers being the only completely in-house maker as all the other Swiss names bought engineers from them along with the watch houses to develop their own movements.

Wear the Rolex or Breitling daily, the former having seen some very hard duty. A Casio Pro Trekker does duty in the mountains. Appreciate the mechanicals but yes it's a personal indulgence and status thing. No quote yet, local Breitling rep not very helpful. In the US but will pass contacts to any needed assuming I ever get them. Stay safe,

DM

DM - what model Sub do you have? Bi-annual servicing sounds a bit severe (I assume you mean 'biennial'?!) I have the latest ceramic Sub as a daily wearer which is on 10 year schedule, though I probably wouldn't leave it quite that long.

I assumed watch repair was a vanishing trade but perhaps not ?

https://www.eternaltools.com/blog/27...ound-the-world

Breitling Aerospace watch problems
 

I have a Breitling Aerospace watch that unfortunately every time I fly, the analogue hands become desynchronised with the digital time. The analogue hands loose time by around 3 minutes over a 6-7 hr flight. The watch has gone back and forth to Breitling. Their customer service is somewhat lacking to say the very least too! They say there’s no fault yet it continues to do it. They also claim that strong magnetic forces might cause the problem that I have. I only wear the watch when I go to work. I fly the B777 and B787. Is anyone else facing the same issues as I'm having?
Regards

Flameout

I have had watches from Rolex, Omega, Seiko and others, every one loses time when worn despite being certified chronometers, fine when on a watchwinder.
Something to do with my personal magnetic fields, my Mother has the same problem. They do gain when I am undergoing a period of depression.

Looks like the stepper motor for the analog hands looses steps. The strong magnetic field theory would make some sense if there was such a source, but I can think of none. If the watch it still waterproof, I doubt it could be the slightly lower cabin pressure, or hygrometry. Flying high measurably increases errors in computer DRAM due to single event upsets from cosmic rays, but I doubt that it could have some effect on the driver of a stepper. Remains temperature (cold air), position, vibration. Stick shaker :-) ?

[I was given a similar electronic+mechanic watch from another Swiss brand. I experienced two different reliability issues. After 6 months the handle for minutes suddenly stopped moving at all. On the replacement (under warranty), a 4mm spot developed on the side of the digital display, with the same contrast as the digits. I'm living with that later defect. Never had troubles related to flying (as a PAX) with any other watch].

All I can suggest is to replace it with a cheap Chinese replica. It will still lose the minutes, but you will feel much better overall... :P

WATCH PROBLEMs
 

I have a TAg Heur divers watch and although l fly all the.time I have never had the.problems as described.
Zelly jewellers in Bishops Stortford are into Breitling specialists they might be able to come up with an ecplanation.
Regards
KARNACK

What andrasz said. I bought a replica Omega Seamaster in Thailand 10 years ago for next to nothing, still keeps perfect time and looks and feels the business.