Breitling Watches
Leon Breitling began making watches in the Jura mountains of Switzerland in 1884. At first, manufacturing focused on producing precision counters for the scientific and industrial sectors. In 1904, Leon died and was succeeded by his son, Gaston and the direction of the company changed. In 1915, Breitling made the World's first ever chronograph wrist watch. In 1923, a Breitling watch became the first to have an independent chronograph pushpiece - start and return-to-zero (flyback) had previously been done by performed the winding-crown.
Breitling watches have a long relationship with the World's air forces - a relationship first begun in 1936 when the company supplied watches to the Royal Air Force. In 1942, the American armed forces also became a client. In 1942 the Breitling Chronomat was first released, followed in 1952 by the release of the Breitling Navitimer. The Breitling Emergency watch was released in 1995, In 2000 the company relocated to its present location at Grenchen, Switzerland.
Breitling Navitimer Watch
The Navitimer by Breitling has an unmistakable appearance, featuring a circular slide rule on the bezel of its chronograph version of wrist watch. They are automatic, mechanical timepieces (no electrical component), many come with complicated movements such as fly-back, date and split-second. Currently there are several models to choose from, starting with the Breitling Navitimer watches - available in steel and steel/gold. The case diameter is 41.8mm and a case thickness of 14.6mm.
The Breitling Heritage Navitimer has a slightly larger case of 43mm with a thickness of 15.4mm.
The legendary Breitling Cosmonaute watch, featuring a 24-hour dial, was developed after the American astronaut, Lt Cmdr Scott Carpenter, contacted breitling and requested that they produce a 24-hour version. On 24 May, 162 Carpenter's watch became the first Breitling to go into Space.
The Breitling Montbrillant Legende is the latest model in the Navitimer collection and is the largest in this collection with a case diameter of 47mm. It has one less subdial - hour. There's a large date display at the 6 o'clock position. Nice features include the imperial metric conversion chart on the back of case and the raised, rather than stamped, Breitling 'B' logo.
Breitling Windrider Watch
The Windrider collection was developed in conjunction with Frecce Tricolori -the elite flight team of the Italian Air Force. Models in the range include Chronomat Evolution, Cockpit, Chrono Cockpit, Cockpit Lady, Starliner, Ladies Callistino.
The Callistino is a beautiful Breitling ladies watch (pictured right). It is available in stainless steel casing and bracelet with 18kt yellow gold embellishments on the quarter positions of the bezel as well as the crown. The face is pink mother-of-pearl. There's also a plain stainless version with white mother-of-pearl.
Breitling Bentley Watch
No review of Breitling watches would be complete without discussing the Bentley. The Breitling for Bentley collection is in commemoration of Bentley's fifth win in the 24 hour Le Mans race.
Bentley 6.75 is the model which celebrates the Bentley’s 6.75 liter version - its largest engine. This timepiece represents the synthesis of convention and performance. It has a large aperture calendar which displays the digits through 2 rectangular windows at the 12 o'clock position - one for the single digits and one for the tens. There is a limited edition in rose gold available for the elite connoisseurs.
The Breitling Bentley Mark VI celebrates commemorates this special car with a sporty timepiece.
The most unique watch in the collection is the Breitling Bentley Flying B watch (pictured left). It features a rectangular case embellished with a sophisticated design. A special feature is the hour indicator in the form of a disc which replaces the 12 o'clock slot. Seconds are displayed through a sub-dial below the center positioned at 6 o'clock.
Other Breitling collections include the Emergency, Aerospace, Superocean,
Avenger, Crosswind, Colt and Blackbird.