A7750 Movt Service by "14060 or 16610"...

[GC 4,534]

As some of you know my Breitling Skyland movt stopped, so after some research and selling a watch to fund the service I decided to send it to a member on RWI name "14060 or 16610". He offers a complete service on 7750s Asian or Swiss, is US based and from his feedback and posts I felt that he is meticulous enough to work on my Breitling. Here is an email with pics documenting the progress... I have to say "14060 or 16610" is a real pleasure to deal with and I very happy with the CS and have every confidence that my Skyland will be better than new when she is back (which I'm very anxious to say the least!)

 

 

"Hi Gaetano (or Guy - which do you prefer?),

 

Just a quick update to let you know disassembly, cleaning, and 10x inspection is complete on your Skyland. Please see attached pics. A few notes:

 

* There was some light swirling and marring on the caseback prior to starting. Just want to point out it was already there (not from me).

 

* I found a reddish-brown eyelash tangled in the movement. It looked trapped, though, and wasn't moving around freely, which is a good thing.

 

* There was a tiny amount of some stiff cloth or torn thread fused to one of the pallet stones. I will attempt to clean this later.

 

* I found some type of screw-type part jammed pretty tightly within and between the escape and seconds wheels. It resembles a slotted-head screw with an offset shaft. I don't think I've seen one like it before; it's definitely not an A7750 part. I believe this is what killed your movement. After cleaning I inspected these parts and there is a bit of marring on the escape wheel and possibly on the teeth of the seconds wheel. It's so faint that I can't capture it with my limited equipment. There is a chance these parts will need to be replaced, but I won't be sure until reassembly.

 

* The mainspring displayed good shape and curvature and will be reused after proper lubrication with Moebius 8213 and 8200.

 

* Your rotor seems to be rusting from the inside out. Not sure what it's from. It's pretty light, though, so there's probably no need to worry about it right now.

 

That's pretty much it. I'll send another email with the next update soon.

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Thanks.

 

G"

 

 

[greg_r 83]

Impressive attention to detail. How much is he charging for this service?

[mondeov6 0]

Looks like your watch is in very good and capable hands GC!

Very interresting post to!

[GC 4,534]

Impressive attention to detail. How much is he charging for this service?

 

G, he quoted a standard price of $175 US + return shipping costs (more if replacement parts are needed).

 

Not the cheapest, but definitely not the most expensive. Cheapest quote i got was $150 with out total movt dismantle, the most expensive quote i got from a local watchsmith was $450...

 

For the cost I'm very happy to see all the attention to detail and the individual pics and documentation of the process.

[Silverspeed 10]

Providing those pics is great service...

price is not bad for a US based watchsmith, considering the amount of time needed for

a full service

[Brightlight 0]

Great service! But where does he get the time to photograph everything as well and email the pics. If I did that I'd get nothing done! I also love the way he's identified the eyelash, how does he know that's an eyelash? Very impressive all in all and there's no doubt the guy knows what he is doing.

 

It is interesting to see that the 7750s are no better in terms of quality control than any other chinese made movement.

[greg_r 83]

Impressive attention to detail. How much is he charging for this service?

 

G, he quoted a standard price of $175 US + return shipping costs (more if replacement parts are needed).

 

Not the cheapest, but definitely not the most expensive. Cheapest quote i got was $150 with out total movt dismantle, the most expensive quote i got from a local watchsmith was $450...

 

For the cost I'm very happy to see all the attention to detail and the individual pics and documentation of the process.

 

 

That's a darned good deal. Very impressed with the photos - I have no idea how he manages to justify taking the time to do those at that kinda price - helluva good service.

[sconehead 5]

...the G Curcio label looks photoshopped to me...B)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...just joking, pretty thorough service he's done there, one question though...eyelash or pube?

 

:yoda:

[cigator 0]

How much does it cost to just replace the movement?

[Brightlight 0]

How much does it cost to just replace the movement?

 

That's one of the problems with the A7750. Ajoe over on RG had them brand new for if I recall $115 shipped, somewhere in that ballpark anyway.

[KBH 7]

I think I'd rather pay $175 for s serviced one than $115 for an unserviced one and still have to worry about swapping them out.

[Luthier 1]

Gurcio, deeeaaarrr... PM me his email, pleeeaaasseee... just in case I'll need him.

THANKS!!!

[Brightlight 0]

I think I'd rather pay $175 for s serviced one than $115 for an unserviced one and still have to worry about swapping them out.

 

I tend to agree, given the choice I'd have the serviced movement, though I'd probably put that money towards a Swiss movement at around $300. A lot of people would find it difficult to justify spending more than the cost of a new A7750 movement for a service though I guess. Difficult one.

[JoeyB 0]

Where about in the U.S. is he located?

[GreenHornet 0]

Great attention to detail. No doubt in highly capable hands.

 

But at that price, I think I would just opt for a new rep completely.

[GC 4,534]

...the G Curcio label looks photoshopped to me...

 

 

...just joking, pretty thorough service he's done there, one question though...eyelash or pube?

 

 

To be honest... do I really want to know?

btw: according to his comment, it's a red/brown eyelash...hmmm... obviously not a Chinese eyelash!

 

 

How much does it cost to just replace the movement?

 

I have no idea. I'm guess'n the cost of the movt + the cost of swap'n it out.

 

 

How much does it cost to just replace the movement?

 

That's one of the problems with the A7750. Ajoe over on RG had them brand new for if I recall $115 shipped, somewhere in that ballpark anyway.

 

True, and i did the math before i decided to have it serviced. I figure $115 for an unserviced movt + the cost to have it swap'd out would still leave me with an unserviced movt for the price of having the existing movt serviced. For me it's about piece of mind, after a service the A7750 should run flawlessly for many years to come.

 

I think I'd rather pay $175 for s serviced one than $115 for an unserviced one and still have to worry about swapping them out.

 

BINGO! we have a winner!

 

 

Gurcio, deeeaaarrr... PM me his email, pleeeaaasseee... just in case I'll need him.

THANKS!!!

 

Will do Luth

 

 

I think I'd rather pay $175 for s serviced one than $115 for an unserviced one and still have to worry about swapping them out.

 

I tend to agree, given the choice I'd have the serviced movement, though I'd probably put that money towards a Swiss movement at around $300. A lot of people would find it difficult to justify spending more than the cost of a new A7750 movement for a service though I guess. Difficult one.

 

Honestly I couldn't justify the cost of a swiss movt because the Skyland cost less than $300.

 

 

Where about in the U.S. is he located?

 

Texas

 

 

Great attention to detail. No doubt in highly capable hands.

 

But at that price, I think I would just opt for a new rep completely.

 

hmmm.... if you mean a new Skyland, you would still have to have the movt serviced eventually. If you mean a totally different watch you would be missing out on one of the best Breitling Reps around.

[GreenHornet 0]

Great attention to detail. No doubt in highly capable hands.

 

But at that price, I think I would just opt for a new rep completely.

 

hmmm.... if you mean a new Skyland, you would still have to have the movt serviced eventually. If you mean a totally different watch you would be missing out on one of the best Breitling Reps around.

 

Would you say that most or all of the A7750's, whether it's a Skyland or not, are going to need servicing sooner or later? Seems I hear that some guys claim they have watches 5 - 7 years old with no problems. If true, even at $300 +/- price point, I opt to just replace. But that's just me.

 

I'm sure everyone has their own preferences.

[GC 4,534]

Would you say that most or all of the A7750's, whether it's a Skyland or not, are going to need servicing sooner or later?...If true, even at $300 +/- price point, I opt to just replace. But that's just me.

 

I'm sure everyone has their own preferences.

 

Regarding the eventual servicing of any A7750, yes. Some opt for a service before the movt stops, others, like myself, opt to have it serviced after it stops. But it is widely accepted that they should or would greatly benefit from a service. The biggest reason sited is no or poorly lubed parts, added to that poor QC and foreign debris due to poor work environments.

 

Happily it is said that once serviced an A7750 is on par with the Swiss 7750.

 

I can respect that you would opt for a Swiss 7750 replacement at +$300 + labor, i unfortunately could not justify it.

[Guest 14060 or 16610?]

Hi all, just found this forum and of course saw this thread. Couldn't resist commenting:

 

Great service! But where does he get the time to photograph everything as well and email the pics. If I did that I'd get nothing done!

 

Time to take individual photo = 2 seconds. Time to resize, caption, and attach several photos = 15 to 20 minutes. Value to customer = priceless.

 

I think I'd rather pay $175 for s serviced one than $115 for an unserviced one and still have to worry about swapping them out.

 

Some of my customers tried the $115 swapout and ended up with worse results. They end up coming back for a full service anyway. $115 + $175 = $290. Should've just serviced it to begin with.

 

though I'd probably put that money towards a Swiss movement at around $300. A lot of people would find it difficult to justify spending more than the cost of a new A7750 movement for a service though I guess.

 

"Just install a Swiss" is commonly thrown about as an easy cure-all. Have you actually done one? Because in reality the hands of most current A7750s won't fit. If you have an older low-beat A7750 they *might* fit, but there's no guarantee. Also, the case may need modification to accept the Swiss - it's not always an easy drop-in replacement as you suggest. I've sent watch and Swiss movement back to the customer before because it didn't work out as they insisted it would.

 

But at that price, I think I would just opt for a new rep completely.

 

And receive one with more flaws than your current watch? If you have a watch that you really like, and it's a keeper, then just have it serviced and forget about it for the next few years.

 

Seems I hear that some guys claim they have watches 5 - 7 years old with no problems.

 

In my experience that's precisely what it is - they have watches, as in many watches that rarely see more than a few hours of wrist time here and there. If your wrist time is spread out among 10 or 20 watches, each one isn't going to see more than a few days of use in a year. You won't find too many unserviced A7750s that go for 5 to 7 years with no problems.

[Brightlight 0]

Hi all, just found this forum and of course saw this thread. Couldn't resist commenting:

 

Great service! But where does he get the time to photograph everything as well and email the pics. If I did that I'd get nothing done!

 

Time to take individual photo = 2 seconds. Time to resize, caption, and attach several photos = 15 to 20 minutes. Value to customer = priceless.

 

I agree. But that 15 to 20 minutes is the issue. Like you, I have a day job (in IT also) and some days it is not possible, not if the customer wants a quick turnaround.

 

 

though I'd probably put that money towards a Swiss movement at around $300. A lot of people would find it difficult to justify spending more than the cost of a new A7750 movement for a service though I guess.

 

"Just install a Swiss" is commonly thrown about as an easy cure-all. Have you actually done one? Because in reality the hands of most current A7750s won't fit. If you have an older low-beat A7750 they *might* fit, but there's no guarantee. Also, the case may need modification to accept the Swiss - it's not always an easy drop-in replacement as you suggest. I've sent watch and Swiss movement back to the customer before because it didn't work out as they insisted it would.

 

No this is not something I have done so I made assumptions based on what I have been erroneously led to believe. I bow to your greater knowledge though, I was not aware of problems with hands or fitting. You may have saved me a lot of pain in the future! I still maintain though that people will compare the price of a replacement movement with the cost of a service and in ignorance go for the new movement. In a similar way I have found so many problems with the 'clone' ETA 28xx movements (screws not tightened or missing, parts floating around loose, dirt and detritus in the movement) that I would recommend having these serviced immediately but I guess most people will wait till they go wrong.

 

On a more general note, this is one of the problems you find throughout the rep forums, there are too many 'experts' providing inaccurate or purely wrong information. If I've seen one posting where someone has suggested regulating a watch that is running more than a minute + out a day, I've seen dozens. I don't have to tell you that this is not possible and indicates some issue with the movement.