The Breitling Navitimer

The Breitling Navitimer – A Genuine Piece Of Aviation History

Article:Author: Robin OBrien
While many manufacturers make and market aviators’ watches only
a few can really claim to make watches that actually are.
Watches like the Omega X-33 and Seamaster 120 Multifunction; the
Omega Flightmaster; and the Rolex GMT. And of course, one could
not fail to list the Breitling Navitimer.

The Navitimer has been in production for over 50 years. The name
of this Breitling watch collection comes from the combination of
the two words; Navigation and Timer. The Navitimer practically
made the reputation of Breitling, certainly to the general
public. It is an iconic timepiece and remains the company’s most
famous collection.

The design and development of the watch came about as a
partnership between the company and the AOPA (Aircraft Owners &
Pilots Association) in 1952. The AOPA made it its official watch
and all watches made bore its official wing logo displayed on
the dial. The Breitling logo and name only appeared on the case
back. The first movement used was the Valjoux 72. In 1955, the
movement was replaced by the Venus 178. Watches with the Valjoux
72 are rare and it is the watch most prized by collectors.

The famous circular slide rule was displayed against a black
face and black subdials – the only color available then. From
the 1960s on, the subdials began to be made in white and the
Breitling name appeared on the face for the first time.
Eventually sometime during the late 60s the AOPA wings stopped
appearing on the watch face forever.

In 1962, Lt Cmdr Scott Carpenter, an astronaut in the NASA space
program requested Breitling to make a Navitimer with a 24 hour
watch; in space it was easy to forget whether it was day or
night. The request led to the development of the Navitimer
Cosmonaute – a model that is still in production and has hardly
changed in over 40 years. The Cosmonaute was the first Breitling
watch togotoSpace.

In the early 1970s, the watch went through some major changes
(many aficionados believe the Navitimer stopped being the
Navitimer at this time). The date window was introduced, they
grew in size and, most importantly of all, the Venus 178
movement was replaced with the Valjoux 7740 – the movement still
used today.

Today, the Navitimer collection includes the Cosmonaute, World,
Montbrillant, Montbrillant Olympus, Montbrillant Datora and
Chrono-Matic.

The World is the largest of the Navitimer collection with a
casing diameter of 46mm. It has 25 jewels and a 2 time-zone,
self-winding mechanical movement. The casing comes in steel, 18k
gold or red gold.

The Montbrillant takes its name from the location of the
original Breitling factory. It’s a very decorative watch
featuring gold hands and hour markers among other embellishments.

In 1969, Breitling developed the World’s for self-winding
chronograph movement, the Caliber II. The watch collection was
called the Chrono-Matic and still is being produced and sold.
The watch was easy recognized as the crown was placed on the
left-hand-side of the casing – it still is. The watch has 38
jewels and the casing diameter is 44mm and is available in steel
or 18k gold.

The Navitimer is a very special Breitling watch due to its
association with the early days of aviation. It may be over 50
years old but it still looks as hi-tech and fashionable as it
did when it first appeared.

Incidentally, after Lt Cmdr Scott Carpenter splashed down to
earth, the watch needed to be repaired as it wasn’t water tight.
It was sent back to the factory in Switzerland for repair but
somewhere along the way it went missing and was never found. A
piece of Breitling watch history was lost forever.

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