Many many moons ago, about 5 years or so, I worked out a trade on a local forum. The guy i traded with wanted a couple of guns and a knife and I wanted to get into the watch game. So we worked out a trade and he gave me the watch in the pic along with, what I thought at the time, was legit paperwork etc. Long story short, can’t find the paperwork, but saw this when I went into our safe last night and pulled the watch out to wear it today. The watch has been handled very gently over the years and stays in a little safe when not in use. I can’t imagine that a true Breitling would separate like this. I tried checking online for signs that your Breitling might be a fake, but everything I’m supposed to look for isn’t showing up on this watch, so now I’m 50/50 on it’s legitimacy. Thoughts? Anything I might be able to spot that will tell me if this is a fake and my fears are true?
I'm no watch expert and know nothing about Breitling, but I assume the area that you have highlighted is an LCD screen of some sort, correct? Those screens seem to go out from time-to-time on real Breitlings, based on this thread: https://forums.watchuseek.com/f15/replacement-cost-led-screen-aerospace-4568467.html
Liquid crystal displays in general have a finite lifespan. Most of what I've read states 10 years give or take. That said, I have some much older then that still going, and a few under 5 years that show signs of degradation. No idea on authenticity, but I'd say LCD failure is not an indicator.
As far as I know, there is no good fake for Breitling Aerospace. Fake are usually very easy spot and looks very bad. There are more than a few Aerospace iteration in that case size, and the dials are different for them. I am pretty sure yours is a genuine Breitling. And for the module, there's no "fake" module, since they are all made by ETA. My guess would be, either the LCD was damage before and now its showing. Maybe module was installed incorrectly and pushing the LCD against something. Or the battery installed was wrong and its too thick, pushing it against the LCD, and eventually causing a leak. Or the battery died and swell, pushing against the LCD and caused it to leak. Service / module replacement by Breitling is, to say the least, not cheap, maybe upwards of $800.
Bring it to a watchmaker and ask for an estimation for the repair. They’ll tell you the rest. A watch usually needs a service from time to time anyway, and they never come cheap. Sent from my Glade Air Freshener
Thanks for all the advice guys. I took it to a local shop and the guy confirmed that it definitely is real. The downside is, a new module will need to be installed and it’s going to run about $750 for the updated version. He said I might me able to find an older one on fleabay for around $300, but will be taking a risk with quality.
