![]() ![]() The nature of my email to them was strictly framed around feedback, my issues with this watch, how it ended up costing me more than the worth of the watch for after-sales services alone. I decided to contact Breitling USA Customer relations. Past couple of days, I've thought about this. Moderator, WatchUseek Breitling and Pilot/Military forums Kern himself and let us know how the company helps (or doesn't help) with disposition of your issues. If you have difficulty contacting that person, an email to BUSA with a link to this thread might help your case. I don't know if this suggestion will help but please consider calling the service director at BUSA (1-20 or 1-80) and discussing your issues with him (or her). Like Nokie and so many others here, I have enjoyed owning and using my Superquartz B-1 for many years (since 2005) and consider it to be the all around finest and most useful aviator wrist watch ever built in my personal opinion. ![]() Like you, I am very disappointed in your owner/service experiences with the watch. If a replacement movement is indeed necessary (again) for your B-1 I suspect the price difference (BUSA service or Ebay/your service) would favor choosing the Breitling warranted service as distasteful as that may be to you. Further, the installer would need to be a watchmaker familiar and experienced with thermo compensated quartz movements to confirm operation (including back lite for the digitals) and accuracy after install. That said, without knowledge that another user/owner has actually successfully installed a 20351 in his Bomber the risk for success is your assumption. Another is the seller has three available and although "seller refurbished" it seems to be reasonably priced and carries his guarantee as an established seller in the Middle East. A positive note on your Ebay "used" 20351 is the script "Breitling" next to the movement serial number 1258483. One could assume the revised 2010 "new layout" would portend non-compatibility with the B78 but IMO that is somewhat nonsensical. Reference documents I barely recall (from the time prior to 2010 when your PDF was revised) specified the 20341 movement for the B78. Because your B-1 is 22 years old it was obviously a B68 originally which was replaced with a new B78 at least twice during its service history. Your PDF 20341 document does seem to indicate a 20351 could supplant a 20341 but it also shows (page 20) the basic document in 2004 was revised to a "new layout" in 2010, long after the B-1 itself was discontinued in 2006. ![]() Reason at the time was supply shortage of movements from ETA. The caliber B78 thermo compensated version did not replace the caliber B68 in Breitling's B-1 until late 2003 or 2004 IIRC even though other Breitlings transitioned from caliber 5X or 6X movements to 7X movements almost a full year earlier. Here is some tech info i found online, closest to this movement (page 15 shows some detail of the hand mounting shafts): Here's a reference to the issue, analog hands appear to be unsynced/sticking. ![]() somewhat got put off after being told for a 3rd time in it's ownership that the movement went bad. Recently got the watch back from Breitling after I refused the estimate to repair it. they simply passed this designs' technical issues onto the customer to pay to fix. But as far as I was concerned, with Breitling having the full service history of the watch and seeing how much work was done already, i wasn't offered any help, not even some reduced charge for yet another complete overhaul. in the past more of their models had the ana-digi arrangement but it looks like they thinned out A LOT, suspect because those movements were problematic. It's something that's disappointing to see with this watch and what is being done by Breitling. Should i have expected an ETA ani-digi to break down or go out of spec more than once in 10 year span of ownership ? it got excessive enough for me to say i no longer wish to service the watch to keep it running correctly, especially after having done a movement swap 2 times before and now it needs another swap just 4 years after the last one. but in the past 22 years, Breitling has told me the movement was found to be out of spec 3 times. and i would send it in to breitling at intervals to change the battery and seals. ![]()
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