Louis Breitling founded his watch company in 1884 in St Imier with the specific purpose to develop chronographs and counters for scientific and industrial applications. In the early 19th century, Breitling expanded into creating high-quality timing instruments for automobiles and airplanes, beginning a long history of creating timing instruments for the aviation industry. In 1952, the Navitimer was launched, a wrist watch equipped with a so called “navigation computer” that allowed pilots to calculate flight plans.
Buffeted by the ebbs and flows of of the ever-changing whims of fashion, Breitling proves that solid, dependable watchmaking never goes out of style with this silver-tone stainless steel version of its signature Chronomat Evolution automatic timepiece. Originally created to equip the famous Frecce Tricolori flight team, the Chronomat has constantly evolved over the years, both technically and aesthetically, while retaining its unique style characterized by the rotating rider tab bezel. The self-winding Caliber 13 mechanical movement has a power reserve of 42 hours and has been certified as a highly precise chronometer by the Controle Officiel Suisse des Chronometres (or COSC, the official Swiss chronometer inspection body).
It’s topped by a ratcheted rotating bezel, and the white face is framed by a tachymeter (circular slide rule). The dial also includes large rectangular silver hour markers (with luminous tips), luminescent hands (with signature Breitling seconds hand), a date window at 3 o’clock, and three tonal chrono subdials. The chronograph can measure events to 1/4 of a second, and features 30-minute and 12-hour totalizers. It’s matched to a handsome quintuple-link stainless steel bracelet band.
Breitling watches are all equipped with scratch-resistant sapphire crystals and glareproofed on both sides, which eliminates 95 percent of the reflections perceived by the naked eye. Other features include luminescent hour markers, a screw-locked crown, and water resistance to 300 meters (1000 feet).
