The Breitling Navitimer – A Genuine Piece Of Aviation History

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.