How I totally screwed up my first Breitling purchase

[SpeakWithMichael]

So I was on vacation in Spain visiting family the last 10 days as I try to do every year or two, and while I've been trying (desperately, really) for a two tone Submariner, the current Rolex situation now seems nearly impossible and one I'm rather fed up with, especially living in Naples. Well it wasn't any easier in Spain. Nothing available, and nothing my old salespeople could do where I have purchased a Rolex or two from previously. That's how I got to be fed up with Rolex.

But I still wanted a watch and I dare say I've accomplished a lot lately, so I thought I'd treat myself to something far easier and less expensive to obtain. So I got what I had also been checking out over the past few months, which was this:



Granted, it looked slightly big on me in the store where the lugs overhang a bit, and it felt a little chunky and heavy, especially after trying on the Tudor BB58 Blue which feels rather small, but I didn't care much. I rather liked these things, and I loved the legibility. It makes for a great year-round Florida watch on a rubber strap. So I did the thing (minus 15% discount in store and then the VAT return of around $465 at the airport), and ended up paying around $2700 or so all told. I haven't done the actual math, but more or less. I was happy not to pay full retail or most of the tax. And I love the watch. It's comfy and the glass disappears when looking at the dial straight on.

First funny part... I accidentally threw away the blue warranty card when I tossed out the store bag. The bag looked empty to me, but apparently there was a red envelope in the red bag. Oops! I still have the store's receipt anyways. Life goes on. Out of curiosity, is that something Breitling can replace?

Second funny part... I visited a Breitling boutique about a week later as I was still in Madrid just to browse since Rolex had nothing nearby, and I come to find out I had actually bought the 44mm Superocean rather than what I thought in my mind the whole time was the 42mm. I mean, my sales lady didn't mention it was 44mm and I didn't ask. My wrist is 6.3 inches, rather on the smaller side. I find it comical how I managed to be so impulsive as to not check such a thing. The dimensions of the 42 would have been quite perfect, and the 44 has dimensions that are obviously bigger than I'd like on paper now that I've actually checked what those dimensions were, but on the wrist it's really not so bad. Do I wish it had 50mm lugs instead of 53mm? Yea, but overall it's not bad enough that I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. That said, having lost the warranty card now I'm pretty stuck with it, as I can't even trade out for a 42 of the same type, since papers are pretty important and I'd probably lose some money on it. Ah well.

So anyhow, I now have a blue 44 Superocean on rubber. One of the things I wished the 42 would have available when I was looking online over the last few months was that yellow rubber strap, and now that that I accidentally bought the 44 I can actually get it, so that's an unexpected plus. Blue on yellow strap seems like a fun color combo to me.

And that's the story of my first Breitling Thanks for reading!