Breitling updates its historic watch : the Navitimer

On the occasion of the Watches and Wonders exhibition which starts today in Geneva, Breitling is revealing a new Navitimer collection to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the iconic model.

For the 70th anniversary of the Navitimer model, a genuine on-board instrument acclaimed by aviation professionals since its launch in 1952, Breitling is presenting a refined profile and three different diameters.

Under the leadership of Georges Kern, Breitling’s Managing Director, the company is methodically revisiting the recipes that have made it successful and bringing them into the present with its new timepiece models. Based on the observation that the designs of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s gave rise to genuine style icons, Georges Kern has undertaken to dust off and update the company’s emblematic pieces.

“We don’t throw the term ‘icon’ around lightly,” says Georges Kern. “The Navitimer is one of the most recognisable watches ever made. It is on collectors’ lists of the greatest watches of all time. What was originally a tool for pilots has taken on a deep meaning for every person who has had this timepiece in their personal journey.”

The style of the Navitimer faithfully reproduces its stylistic codes while offering dials full of fantasy. Developed in 1952 by Willy Breitling, the Navitimer was an instrument dedicated to aerial navigation. With its chronograph movement, its circular slide rule and its notched bezel, it can be used to perform all the calculations useful for piloting, from the speed of the aircraft to the duration of the flight, including the fuel autonomy. The historic logo, which disappeared in 2017, is making a comeback on dials that will appeal to aficionados of the brand.

Although the 2022 edition is immediately recognisable as a Navitimer, changes have been made, including the flattening of the famous slide rule ring that runs along the edge of the dial and the use of a domed glass, both of which serve to give the watch a more compact appearance. A smaller winding rotor also allows for a better view of the movement and the AOPA wings are returned to their traditional position on the dial, above the Breitling logo.

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All versions use Breitling’s COSC-certified B01 automatic chronograph movement (offering a 70-hour power reserve) and cover a range of dial colours, from soft metallic pastels, to sunbrushed blue and green, to panda and reverse panda configurations.

Available on the Breitling website for $9,000.

Hélène Cougot

Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.