Breitling Digital Passport and Warranty Card QR Code Explained

Breitling says owners can register their Breitling watches on Breitling.com and access related documents, such as the digital certificate of ownership, the COSC certificate, the user manual and the warranty status, through the Breitling Passport. Its digital passport page also mentions product details and a complete ownership history.

Breitling describes the passport's benefits as transparency, traceability and tradability, and says tradability means transferring ownership to a new owner through a blockchain-based transaction. Press release titles on Breitling's site name Arianee as the blockchain partner.

Ledger Insights reported in October 2020 that Breitling had extended Arianee blockchain passports to all its watches, and Robb Report also reported that every watch sold would come with a digital passport reached by scanning the QR code on the warranty card.

For new watches, Breitling says a landing page with a Register my watch button opens when you scan the QR code on the new Breitling warranty card. Breitling also says warranty information is available by scanning that QR code or at any official Breitling retailer.

Breitling says the serial number, which identifies the individual watch, is on the documents handed over at purchase or on the case back. That number is what ties the watch to its papers and to any passport.

Breitling says you can register an account directly on Breitling.com or use the Register my watch button that opens after scanning the warranty card's QR code. It says the passport is only available for watches produced since 2013.

For a watch produced before 2020, Breitling's FAQ says to sign in or create an account, open My Watches, select Register a new watch and enter the watch details. The watch is then added to the account and its passport appears in the account wallet.

Breitling's FAQ calls that last registration step completing the authentication by entering your watch details. That step works from the details entered, while Breitling's separate answer on authentication says the watch itself must be sent to a Breitling Main Center.

Breitling says the current owner logs in to the account where the watch is registered, finds it in My Watches, selects the option to transfer ownership, enters the recipient's details and confirms. The new owner then receives a notification to accept the transfer.

In a private sale, agree before payment when the transfer will be started, and check that the serial number in the passport matches the case back of the watch you receive. A seller who says there is a passport but will not start the transfer needs to explain why.

Breitling describes the passport as a way to reach documents and ownership history for a registered watch and to transfer ownership. When the passport was extended to all new watches, press reports described it as helping owners show authenticity and legitimate possession on resale, but Breitling's own FAQ keeps authentication as a separate service.

A passport record describes a watch by its details, so it does not by itself show that the watch in front of you is that watch or that its parts are original. Warranty cards and QR codes can also be copied or separated from the watch they came with.

Treat a passport, warranty card or COSC certificate as supporting context that must agree with the serial number, reference, dial, bezel, case and condition of the actual watch.

Breitling says that to authenticate a watch, it must be sent to one of its Breitling Main Centers. An owner can send it to any Breitling service center or bring it to a Breitling boutique and request a Certificate of Authenticity, and the watch is then passed on.

The FAQ reviewed does not list a fee or turnaround time for this service. Ask the service center or boutique before sending the watch, and agree in writing how a pending request affects a sale.

Use the passport, warranty card and COSC certificate alongside the reference, case back serial, dial, bezel, case, bracelet, condition and seller evidence. Breitling's warranty excludes damage from tampering by anyone other than an authorized Breitling service center, so ask who has serviced the watch.

For an independent second opinion, Vereev reviews complete photo sets and is not affiliated with Breitling. For a brand-level answer, Breitling's Certificate of Authenticity service requires sending the watch to a Breitling Main Center.