Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44

It’s now been well over a year since the arrival of Georges Kern as CEO of Breitling. The first releases after his arrival fell into the new “Navitimer 8” series and while they were nice, some felt that they were a touch plain.

Personally speaking, I like them and I think the neutral reception from most was based more upon the shock of seeing Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 that weren’t in the vein of the blingy Bentley series than anything else. Still, it was clear that the watch world was waiting for something earth shaking and triumphant as a result of Kern’s leadership. While today’s subject still likely lacks the “shock and awe” that most seemingly desire, a closer look will hopefully convince you that Breitling is in far safer hands than it has been in a very long time. If nothing else (although I strongly feel there’s something far more at work here), the new Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph should be taken as a positive omen that serious goodness will continue to come from the revamped Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 brand.
One thing that so many of us watch curmudgeons disliked about Breitling over the past 20 years was its apparent disregard for its back catalog. Sure, the company was happy to proudly display its founding date, but they consistently threw sand into the eyes of the faithful in several ways such as wrongly reporting the year of the first Navitimer. Then, abominations such as the wrist-colossus Bentley pieces made their way to the market and it felt as if the brand had reached a point of no return; we’d never see nods to the brand’s glorious past. Well, enter 2017 and Georges Kern joined. In his prior role, he made IWC extremely successful, but some would say at the expense of keeping the brand’s subtle, technical, teutonic styling intact. So, what would we get with Kern at Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 ?
It’s no secret that I have a strong affinity for Breitling’s history and its simply ridiculous library of vintage chronographs – heck, I dedicated a good bit of my vacation to compiling the lengthy “Breitling Expert Interviews”. Furthermore, I “virtually” hang out with a gang of Breitling collectors and it’s no secret as to who leads this band of thugs: Fred Mandelbaum. What I can share with you is that prior to Kern’s arrival, it was as if someone was constantly poking a voodoo doll in the guise of Fred. Whether it was the release of another ginormous monstrosity from his most favorite marque or, worse, seeing TAG Heuer grab its, by comparison, relatively slim history by the horns and run with it, it was clearly bothering Fred. And so, when Georges Kern came on the scene, we heard that he had reached out to Fred and all of us slept a bit better that night. While I am not here to comment on Fred’s involvement with Breitling and its new designs, (we know that he travels extensively with the brand to help shed light on its history to collectors and dealers) something tells me that he at least threw down some guiding opinions on the new Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph.
The Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph joins a number of other new models within the reissued Premier line. In addition to the in-house 42mm B01-powered models (there are several dial variants including a beautiful green Bentley version – yes, a beautiful Bentley version), there are 42mm ETA 7750-powered models, 40mm automatics with sub-second dial, and 40mm day-date models. All of the models can be had on either leather or a stainless bracelet featuring links that are “cut on the bias” as a former boss once said. Today, though, we’re only here to talk about the range-topper and that’s the Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 .

Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 Night Mission

Breitling, which recently revamped its Colt collection as well as tweaked the look of its newest Chronomat Airborne watches, has also given a redesign to another popular line in its portfolio, the Breitling Avenger II watches series. The Breitling Avenger II collection includes two chronographs, one divers’ watch, and one GMT watch.

Breitling Avenger II watches has developed the Avenger II series to be “even more technical, functional, and sophisticated,” with a slimmer and more ergonomic case profile, aviation-style “stencil” numerals; an engraved, satin-brushed bezel with integrated rider tabs; and a lighter, titanium caseback with a conversion scale for metric measurements. The Avenger II retains the large screw-locked crown with non-slip grip; the thick, glareproof sapphire crystal; and large hands, numerals and hour markers, here enhanced with Super-LumiNova.
The Breitling Avenger II watches are available with several dial colors, with numerals or indices for hour markers, and on either a rubber strap or on a new Breitling professional bracelet with redesigned links. All of the Avenger II models have automatic movements and, like all Breitling’s watches, are COSC-certified chronometers.

Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44

Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44 has introduced an updated Avenger collection of pilot-inspired watches. Dating to the early 2000s, the Avenger collection has been scaled down and simplifed to make for a sleek update. The collection includes the Automatic 42, GMT 44, and the B01 Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44 – the chronograph uses Breitling’s manufacture caliber 01. While the new collection maintains the aviation inspiration and rugged profile of the Avenger, the updates align the Avenger with other updates we’ve seen across Breitling’s catalog.

Younger than many of Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44 other collections, the Avenger is a bit of a modern mash-up of everything that makes Breitling Breitling. The adjectives practically write themselves: big, bold, rugged, aviation-inspired, tool. The tweaks to the case, dial, and profile of the Avenger make it a bit more streamlined and contemporary. Gone are the big winged Breitling logo, and Arabic numerals, replaced with the simple stencil “B” and baton markers. The stainless steel case of the GMT and chronograph models measure 44mm, while the three-hander automatic measures 42mm. All are a downsize compared to the previous collection. Additionally, the case offers more detail and finishing, with bevels on the lugs and polished details on the tabs of the rotating bezel.
Swiss watch company Breitling recently held one of its still-new Breitling Summit event concepts here in Los Angeles. One of the new references launched was this duo of GMT watches, the Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 45 (reference A32395101C1A1 or A32395101C1X1 / A32395101C1X2) and the related Avenger Automatic GMT 45 Night Mission (reference V32395101B1X1 / V32395101B1X2).

First, a tangent about the brand’s activities. I’ve said multiple times recently that the brand has been one of the best performing luxury watch companies over the last 18 months, due to the re-energized Georges Kern and the ability for him to execute his ideas. If anything, Kern’s short time at Breitling Avenger Automatic GMT 44 (about two years) demonstrates the power of what you can do if a company’s financial arm allows for a CEO to spend and invest in the future, no matter the current state of global investor confidence. The good news for Breitling is that their efforts are paying off, even today.

Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica

Breitling has introduced an updated Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica collection of pilot-inspired watches. Dating to the early 2000s, the Avenger collection has been scaled down and simplifed to make for a sleek update. The Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica collection includes the Automatic 42, GMT 44, and the B01 Chronograph 44 – the chronograph uses Breitling’s manufacture caliber 01. While the new collection maintains the aviation inspiration and rugged profile of the Avenger, the updates align the Avenger with other updates we’ve seen across Breitling’s catalog.

Younger than many of Breitling’s other collections, the Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica is a bit of a modern mash-up of everything that makes Breitling Breitling. The adjectives practically write themselves: big, bold, rugged, aviation-inspired, tool. The tweaks to the case, dial, and profile of the Avenger make it a bit more streamlined and contemporary. Gone are the big winged Breitling logo, and Arabic numerals, replaced with the simple stencil “B” and baton markers. The stainless steel case of the GMT and chronograph models measure 44mm, while the three-hander automatic measures 42mm. All are a downsize compared to the previous collection. Additionally, the case offers more detail and finishing, with bevels on the lugs and polished details on the tabs of the rotating bezel. The Avenger collection has aviation inspiration all over it, and with that the chronograph remains the most important model of the collection. The updated Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 measures 44mm by 15.2mm (53mm lug-to-lug), using the manufacturer’s caliber B01, a COSC-certified, column wheel, vertical clutch movement with 70-hour power reserve. The manufacture movement represents a technical leap forward for the Avenger chronograph. It’s still a big watch that won’t be for everyone, but that’s what we expect – even ask – of Breitling. And with downsized offerings in other corners of the catalog, this keeps the Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica true to its original purpose. The Avenger Chronograph 44 is offered with a steel bracelet or military leather strap and four dial colors: blue, green, black, or sand. On a strap, MSRP starts at $8,000. Alongside the stainless steel chronograph, Breitling has introduced the “Night Mission” version, with the same specs, just a black ceramic bezel and case with a black or yellow dial (the crown and pushers are titanium!). MSRP of the Night Mission Chronograph is $9,300. The Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica GMT 44 measures 44mm by 12mm (53 lug-to-lug) and has an independently adjustable 24-hour hand thanks to the ETA base Breitling caliber 32, COSC-certified and with 42 hours of power reserve (a “caller GMT” in Stacey speak, as it’s the 24-hour hand, not the hour hand, that’s adjustable). The Avenger GMT has a bi-directional rotating bezel with the quickly indentifiable “Rider tabs” at the cardinal directions that are something of a Breitling signature. It’s offered with a black or blue dial, on a strap or bracelet, with prices starting at $5,250 on strap. Last, the Avenger Automatic 42 is the time-and-date model of the new collection, powered by Breitling’s COSC-certified caliber 17 (ETA caliber 2824-2). Measuring 42mm by 12.1mm (51mm lug-to-lug), it’s sized down from the complicated Avenger offerings, though a touch thicker than the GMT. It has a uni-directional rotating bezel, and is offered with a green, black, or blue dial; again, with or without strap. Starting at $4,600.

Together, the new Breitling Avenger Automatic Replica models represent a sleek and necessary update to a collection that was showing its age. They seem fairly priced, especially considering the chronograph uses Breitling’s manufacture B01 chronograph caliber.

Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42

The Premier collection stands out and apart from Breitling’s classic pilot and dive watches, while still leaving all its distinctive Breitling features intact. We review the flagship model of this recently launched line, with original photos by Olaf Köster. In marked contrast to the Navitimer 1 with its instrument-like tracks around the dial, or the Chronomat with its structural unidirectional rotating bezel, the timepieces in Breitling’s Premier collection embody understatement. But if we look to the past, we can see they’re clearly identifiable as Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 . Most people who choose a Breitling Premier today weren’t even born when the original Premier watches were launched in the 1940s. During that time of turmoil and new beginnings, watches in the Premier line were intended to convey reliability, value and a touch of elegance. These merits are welcome today as well and give us a chance to step away from our fast-paced world for a bit of peace and quiet.

And so the Premier collection not only recalls a different era with its name but also hits the same marks with its design as it did back in the 1940s. It is also “the first modern Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 collection that stands for elegance in everyday life,” according to Breitling CEO Georges Kern. Our test watch, the Premier B01 Chronograph 42, is the flagship of the collection. Its name makes it abundantly clear that it is equipped with Breitling manufacture movement 01, available with either a silver or blue dial with black counters. A special Bentley version is available with a British racing green dial and the Bentley Centenary Limited Edition is also available with a brown dial and a red-gold case. Our test watch was housed in stainless steel. For the sake of clarity, let us mention here that the collection also includes chronographs with ETA/Valjoux 7750-based movements and various three-hand watches with a small seconds subdial or weekday/date displays.

Speaking of the date, on the Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 , it is easily legible at its location at 6 o’clock. Its prominent placement is made possible thanks to the reduction of displays with the chronograph movement 01, which omits the 12-hour counter and lets the offset position of the date between 4 and 5 o’clock shift to a straight up-and-down position at 6 o’clock. The two black subdials at 3 and 9 o’clock present an attractive and readable “panda” face on a white background. This bicompax arrangement places the chronograph minutes counter at 3 o’clock and a permanent small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock. This gives the Premier B01 Chronograph 42 a very balanced appearance and follows the current trend of chronographs with only two counters. Of course this only allows the timing of intervals of up to 30 minutes, but let’s be honest – who among us in these rapid-fire times needs to record extended time spans, especially since the Premier B01 Chronograph 42 was designed for “powering down.” Powering down is no problem with this Breitling manufacture movement. With its power reserve of 70 hours, the timepiece can easily be taken off the wrist and set aside for an extended “time out” without any worry of its stopping, especially since the rate results are shown to be stable despite gradually falling amplitudes. The same is true for the operation of the chronograph. The timepiece runs at an average rate of +2.4 seconds per day with amplitudes around 265 degrees. It provides chronometer-level quality in every situation, a long-standing Breitling standard for all of its timepieces. But the Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 shows the instrumental nature Breitling is known for – more than merely chronometer performance. The center-mounted stopwatch hand has a red tip that travels around a delicate but fully legible tachymeter track, which is expertly printed on the black flange ring around the dial, and glides above the seconds track that is divided in thirds to reflect the 4-Hz rhythm of the Caliber 01 automatic movement. The precision and accuracy Breitling is known for is beautifully staged beneath a domed anti-glare sapphire crystal that reveals a certain retro charm. It is a nod to the past, just like the Premier logo on the dial: Premier models in the 1940s were the first Breitling watches to bear the product name on the dial. Its understated elegance extends even as far as the minimal application of luminous material on the hour and minutes hands – enough to barely read the time in poor lighting conditions. By contrast, legibility during the day is excellent. The watch’s sporty stainless-steel case boasts both polished and brushed-finish surfaces and is pressure-resistant and water-resistant to 10 bar (100 meters). Its 42.5-mm diameter meets current tastes – while it’s not nearly as large as other Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 , it’s definitely not small. Its 13.81-mm height is not readily apparent thanks to carefully considered architecture that ensures that the watch doesn’t look overpowering. A narrow, stepped bezel and angular threaded caseback with a sapphire viewing window overlap a smaller midsection with engraved grooves along its body. The crown does not screw down and is easy to grasp and turn for manual winding, and can be pulled out smoothly and firmly into the individual operating positions. The modern-looking, elongated square pusher at 2 o’clock requires some pressure to start the chronograph function. It’s much easier to stop and reset using a similar pusher at 4 o’clock. The lugs are steep and angular; polished top surfaces add to the overall elegance of the Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 . It also fits well and snugly on a smaller wrist as the lugs bend downward. The leather strap is fastened to the lugs with curved spring bars. But for a larger wrist, the strap almost feels a bit too short – especially if you need to insert the prong into the last hole to fasten it. Otherwise, the solution is comfortable with side buttons to open the elegantly simple, single-sided folding clasp.
The Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 delivers a timeless elegance that is not typical of other Breitling models. Equipped with a powerful, modern in-house movement that shows superior rate results, it is worth taking a fresh look for anyone who has ever found Breitling watches to be too bold.

Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41

Pilot’s watches are as popular as they are, not because there are a tremendous number of pilots in the general population, but simply because there are a lot of us in love with the idea of flying. And not flying in the way most of us fly nowadays. I’ve probably logged more miles in the air than Charles Lindbergh, but it’s been a completely passive experience. Air travel today is deliberately engineered either to make you wish you were almost anywhere else (in economy) or to distract you as much as possible (in business class) from the reality of being shot through the air in an aluminum tube, miles above the Earth, with several hundred strangers who are hoping as hard as you are that the crew up front knows what they’re doing, and that the aircraft can be relied on to not shed a wing in mid-flight. (I have an especially vivid memory of a flight to Las Vegas a few years ago and a patch of very nasty clear air turbulence over the Rocky Mountains; the plane shook as if Thor were applying his hammer to the fuselage and an elderly woman in the row ahead of me finally said, plaintively, “I hope this plane is made good!”) No, the kind of flying we’d like to do is the kind where we’re in the driver’s seat – where instead of being passengers, we’re in control, with just our skill, steady nerves, and knowledge to guarantee that we make it intact from point A to point B. White silk scarves, goggles, flight jackets, the sound of a propeller driven by a supercharged aircraft engine shredding the air, and yes, the nerves-of-steel atmosphere of aerial combat, are all part of the appeal. Of course, none of those things are features, nowadays, of modern civil aviation (well, the propellers are still around, but if you’re taking your Beechcraft Bonanza out to the Vineyard for the weekend, nobody’s going to try and shoot you down on the way) but that’s the world evoked by mechanical pilot’s watches. The environment in which mechanical Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 evolved was one in which utility trumped every other consideration, and it’s precisely that singular focus that allows pilot’s watches to transcend their utilitarian origins and evoke, powerfully, a bygone world. The original Breitling Navitimer is probably the most specific, in terms of purpose and function, of all pilot’s watches, but the term covers what’s actually a fairly diverse range of timepieces. The chronograph is strongly identified with aviation (to a significant extent, this is thanks to Breitling), but pilot’s watches can certainly be highly accurate time-only watches intended to aid in navigation (often with shielding against magnetic fields) and the category can include GMT and two-time-zone watches as well. Some of the most distinctive watches ever made were pilot’s watches, including the Longines-Weems Second-Setting watch and the Longines Hour-Angle. Like its brother-in-arms, the diver’s watch, the days of a pilot’s watch as an essential piece of gear in the cockpit are past; navigation today is a matter of GPS satellites and radar. But like diver’s watches, pilot’s watches still appeal, because the virtues of the world to which they are connected – bravery, the manifestation of hard-won skills, coolness under pressure – remain universally compelling. Behind every pilot’s watch is a dream of being, as they say, “a natural-born stick-and-rudder man.” As any student of aviation watches knows, Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 probably has more street cred as an aviation supplier than any other single watch manufacturer. The company started making cockpit instruments in its “Huit Aviation” department in the 1930s – its first aviation chronograph was made in 1936 (a black-dial model with radium hands and numerals). The first Chronomat, with a slide-rule bezel for general calculations, was produced in 1940 and of course, in 1952, the most famous of Breitling’s pilot watches was introduced: the Navitimer, with a bezel that’s essentially a miniaturized version of the E6B circular slide-rule flight computer (nicknamed the “whiz wheel” or “prayer wheel” by pilots) the first version of which was introduced all the way back in 1933. The interesting thing about the E6B is that unlike a pilot’s watch, it’s still an important part of modern civil aviation – albeit more often in digital form than not, but many flight schools still train student pilots on the E6B, many aviators still like having one in the cockpit (there isn’t an experienced pilot alive who doesn’t appreciate the value of backups to essential systems) and the FAA still encourages people taking knowledge tests for their pilot’s license to bring one along. The Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 is a very significant departure from what many of us had come to think of as the classic look of a Navitimer – that watch is rather more busy than not, and the flight-computer bezel, while instantly recognizable, is even more of an anachronism than the mechanical flight computer on which it’s based. I imagine there must be people out there who know how to use one but I’m not one of them – I have a Navitimer on my wrist as I write; I’ve had a couple of other flight computer bezel watches over the last couple of decades (from Seiko and Citizen) and I must have taught myself how to use the bezel on all of them at least half a dozen times but absent the incentive of sharpening real world flying skills, it never sticks. However, I still like that it exists and that at least in theory, it could be used for aerial navigation if need be; this despite the fact that as the years have accumulated, I’ve gone from finding the bezel, in use, merely hard to read, to finding it almost impossible to make out without a magnifying glass and very good light. The thought of having to use one in a poorly lit cockpit, with the primary navigation systems out, and with turbulence knocking my presumably small plane around the sky, is enough to make my blood run cold. It initially bothered a lot of people that Breitling’s new CEO, Georges Kern, introduced a family of watches with the Navitimer moniker but without the flight bezel – and I was one of them. It doesn’t bother me now though. For one thing, if you want a wrist-mounted whiz-wheel wristwatch, Breitling still has them (I count a dozen different versions in the current catalog. And for another thing, after spending some time in the cockpit of one of the most modern small private jets, I’m beginning to think that the emphasis the new Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 places on instant legibility over the inclusion of a functionality that, in a modern aircraft, is a backup of a backup of a backup, makes a lot of sense.

Before we talk about what the Breitling Navitimer 8 B01 is like in the cockpit, let’s talk about what it’s like wearing it where most people who own one are going to wear it: on the ground. In some respects, this watch is straight from the decades-old Breitling playbook we’ve all come to know and love – or not love, as the case may be. It’s a large, and on the bracelet it came with on loan from Breitling, rather heavy watch: 43mm x 13.97mm, which although definitely on the wide side, is actually smaller than the current-issue whiz-wheel equipped Navitimer 1 B01, which sits at 46mm in diameter. The absence of the flight computer bezel makes the watch seem to wear about as big, though; however, without the visual clutter created by the flight computer scales, the Navitimer 8 B01 is a far more legible watch, with excellent and pretty instantaneous readability day or night.

It does take a little getting used to, although not as much as you’d think – we’ve had a darned hot summer here in New York and I’ve been wearing a lot of dive watches (both on and off duty) and so switching over to a larger, stainless steel chronograph has been a lot less of a transition than it might be in fall or winter, when a smaller watch on a strap is more likely to be on your wrist (and mine). The bracelet is very well made, but for me it feels like rather a lot of metal – were I a gent of more imposing stature, this would of course be less the case – and were I to wear the Navitimer 8 B01 on a longer term basis, at some point I’d probably switch the bracelet out for a strap (Breitling makes a very nice alligator strap and of course there are a plethora of other third-party options). The movement is something Breitling’s had around for some time now but the company’s proud of it, and with reason: the chronograph caliber Breitling 01 was first introduced at Baselworld 2009, and since then, this modern, vertical clutch, column-wheel-controlled, in-house movement has earned a reputation as a solid, reliable piece of work as you could want in a 21st century tool watch. It’s even in use, slightly modified, by Tudor, in the Black Bay Chronograph. I’ve always found operation of the chronograph pushers in this movement to be a little on the stiff side, and in another context I’d be more inclined to take exception, but the unambiguous let-off for start, stop, and reset has the advantage of giving very clear tactile feedback as to whether or not the operation desired is underway. It’s not, despite Breitling’s somewhat deserved reputation in recent years for making rather flashy watches, a flashy watch – on the wrist it’s actually a pretty sober presence, which I think would make it, over a period of months or years, a pretty regular part of mine or anyone’s rotation. As a very solid entry in the under-$10k in-house automatic chronograph realm, it ought to be an interesting choice for anyone who wants a vintage-inspired watch that doesn’t overstate its connection to the past, has a technically up-to-date mechanism, and still feels strongly connected to the original environment that gave rise to the genre of which the Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 is a part. No, it doesn’t feel like a whiz-wheel Navitimer, but it certainly feels like a pilot’s chronograph (the size is actually a part of the reason why) and it very much feels, to this non-pilot pilot’s watch enthusiast, like a pilot’s watch and not, so to speak, an illustration of a pilot’s watch. One interesting feature of the Navitimer 8 B01 is that it does still have a two-way rotating bezel, albeit a very simple one with just a single discreet triangle showing where the bezel has been set. I wondered at first what the point might be of having two ways of measuring elapsed time intervals; within a couple of days of getting the watch in for a test drive, I found myself using it along with the chronograph to time simultaneously running dryer and laundry loads. That is about as resolutely ground-bound and unromantic a use for the watch as I can imagine, but I took the point that there are probably many situations where having both would be, if not essential, certainly practical and useful.

Now one of the most commonplace observations you can make about tool watches like pilot’s watches and diver’s watches is that for the most part, they won’t be used by pilots or divers – that is to say, they won’t ever see the ocean depths, nor in the case of a pilot’s watch, are they likely to be seen on the wrist of someone in the driver’s seat of a modern aircraft. In the interests of seeing just what this watch looks and feels like from that perspective, we reached out to Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 to see if, thanks to their many connections with aviation – the Breitling jet team is still very much a part of the company’s aviation activities, and recently Breitling sponsored the flight of a vintage DC-3 around the world – they could, as the kids these days say, hook us up.

Breitling Navitimer Automatic 36

Just released by Breitling is the new ladies collection of their iconic Navitimer pilot’s watch. Debuting in Breitling Navitimer Automatic 36 and 32mm case sizes, this new collection joins the brand’s collection’s existing ladies watch lineup which has been in the more “unisex” 41mm size. In typical Breitling fashion, there is a robust line up of pieces in this new collection which ranges from classic silver or anthracite colored dials to mother of pearl dials set with diamond hour markers. Before getting into the nitty gritty, it’s important to underscore Breitling’s commitment to responsibility and ethics when it comes to use of precious materials. As has been the topic of much discussion recently, Breitling has opted for lab-grown “better diamonds” here as part of their initiative to completely phase out the use of mined diamonds by the end of 2024. Additionally, the two-tone and full-gold pieces are done in “better gold” which means the precious metal is traceable to smaller gold mines that meet the social and environmental standards of the Swiss Better Gold Association. Let’s start with Breitling Navitimer Automatic 36 collection, all of which have the instantly recognizable Navitimer beaded bezel with circular slide rule. There are six steel iterations that come in either mint green, silver, or anthracite colored dials either on a bracelet or leather strap. The 36mm Navis also come in two-tone or solid-gold variants (also on matching bracelet or strap) with a stunning mother-of-pearl dial with the aforementioned lab-grown diamond hour markers. All of these Breitling Navitimer Automatic 36 models are outfitted with the COSC-certified Breitling Caliber 17 movement that has a 38-hour power reserve and operates at 4 Hz. These 36m wide cases are 11.42mm thick (with 50 m of water resistance) and have a lug-to-lug measurement of 41.7mm. Given today’s more creative and flexible style choices, don’t be surprised to see these ladies watches on the wrists of more than a couple of men (myself included). The Breitling Navitimer Automatic 36 versions are both smaller and do not include the slide rule which seems prudent for such a small dial size. What they do have, however, are some beautiful powder pink and light-blue mother-of-pearl dials which are a first for the brand. There is also a white mother-of-pearl dial in steel as well as the two-tone gold. Again, these are all available with a matching bracelet or strap.

breitling navitimer 32 watch

On September 6 at a star-studded party hosted by CEO Georges Kern at New York City’s Classic Car Club, Breitling unveiled a spectacular collection of its iconic Navitimer watches in two new, more slender sizes.

Featuring captivating mother-of-pearl dials, traceable red gold, and eco-conscious lab-grown diamonds, the breitling Navitimer 36 and Navitimer 32 made their grand entrance with the enchanting presence of actress, philanthropist, and brand ambassador Charlize Theron.

The Navitimer, born in 1952 as a pilot’s tool, has transcended its origins to become one of the most iconic and coveted timepieces in history. Often referred to as one of the greatest watches ever made, it has traditionally been on the larger side. The introduction of the breitling Navitimer 36 and Navitimer 32 versions caters perfectly to those who appreciate the charm of a smaller-diameter watch.
These new iterations feature pops of pastel shades and the distinctive beaded bezel of the Navitimer, creating timepieces with a jewellery-like allure. This infusion of elegance makes the legendary navigational watch a versatile companion for any journey.

The launch campaign, titled Navitimer – For the Journey, kicks off a series of short films featuring Breitling’s brand ambassadors sharing their stories in their own words. The lead role in this captivating film is played by Oscar-winning actor Charlize Theron, who recounts her personal journey from remote South Africa to Hollywood’s international A-list.

Mr Kern aptly describes the Navitimer’s recognition factor, stating: “You can spot someone from across a room and know they are wearing a Navitimer. It’s just that recognisable. Charlize Theron so wonderfully represents this line because she too is an icon known the world over for her strength, beauty, talent, and powerful journey.”
In celebration of its 70-year history, the Navitimer has formed its own ‘Squad,’ featuring prominent figures like basketball superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, dancer Misty Copeland, aviator Bertrand Piccard, and Charlize Theron, who serves as the face of the new models. Each member of the Navitimer Squad shares their unique journey in a series of films.

Charlize Theron reflects on her journey, saying, “My journey has always been about being up for any challenge. I traveled from South Africa to Los Angeles when I was quite young, and both that physical journey and the journey of being open-minded and ready for new experiences has served me well personally and professionally.”
For 2023, breitling Navitimer 36 and Navitimer 32 g expands its popular Navitimer collection with a pair of compact iterations. For the splashy release, the Breitling Navitimer 36 and 32 watches will be at the center of the new Navitimer – For the Journey campaign, starring Charlize Theron. Available in a multitude of metals, dial colors, and strap and bracelet choices, there’s no shortage of options for those looking for smaller and dressier versions of the Navitimer.

Breitling Superocean Heritage II 42 Sylt Edition II

The 1950s were a watershed decade for dive watches, if you’ll forgive the pun. Within a few years of each other, three different companies released three of the most enduring classics of the modern dive watch idiom: the Rolex Submariner, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, and the Omega Seamaster 300. All had certain essential features in common – excellent visibility, rotating timing bezels, good water resistance – and each has gone on to become an icon for the company that made it. In 1957, another classic of the era debuted: the Breitling Superocean watches , which was released in both chronograph and non-chronograph versions.
Early Breitling Superocean watches have gone on to become very collectible – the first two references, in good condition, are now high five-figure timepieces (nothing like the crazy money being spent on rare Submariners, but still very respectable). This year is the 60th anniversary of the Superocean, and to mark the occasion Breitling has released a new version of the watch which looks back to the originals for its design cues, while at the same time looking very much forward from a technical standpoint – including the movement, which is being supplied to Breitling by Tudor (with modifications).
There are two sizes available for the new model – 42mm and 46mm, with a 46mm chronograph available as well – and all three models are available in brown, blue, or black. We had the blue and brown models in the office and the brown model on a strap was the one I wore for a week. The blue version on a steel mesh bracelet is just as handsome as the brown model, and for the same reasons: clarity of design and great depth of color. I can only assume the black model would be just as handsome, although the rich colors of the dials and bezels for the blue and brown models is hard to pass up, if you’re going to go for color in a dive watch at all. (Officially, the colors are “copperhead bronze” and “gun blue,” per Breitling). The strap on the brown version is rubber-lined leather and it’s quite thick, giving every impression of being nearly as durable as the steel mesh bracelet. Ordinarily, I would prefer something a little less heavy, but as the 42mm Héritage Superocean watches are 14.35mm thick, the strap works well and actually harmonizes better with the overall feel of the watch than would a thinner strap (for comparison, the Tudor Black Bay is about 14.8mm thick). The buckle has a micro-adjustment feature, which lets you fine-tune the fit, although basic strap length is a little harder to adjust, as it requires cutting the strap to the approximate correct length first. The micro-adjustment mechanism is simple to use: Just push in to unlock it, and you can shift the point of attachment of the strap inside the buckle to suit. (Leaving nothing to chance, Breitling has helpfully labeled the relevant locking mechanism “push.”) Fit and finish on this sub-$5,000 watch is very good indeed. The hands and dial markers pick up light beautifully and the Superocean is, as it should be, instantly legible under pretty much any lighting conditions you’d care to throw at it (including total darkness). Aside from legibility, though, it struck me during the time I wore it as a genuinely beautiful watch, with a kind of elegance I’ve missed in some of Breitling’s more recent creations. The shapes of the hands and indexes, as well as the warm richness and saturation of the dial and bezel colors, goes to show you that making an aesthetically nuanced tool watch needn’t be an oxymoron (I still can’t quite believe I’m describing a Breitling as “aesthetically nuanced,” but there you have it).
The Breitling Superocean watches bezel feels slightly stiff, dropping into half-minute stops as you rotate it; the upside of a certain degree of resistance, of course, is that you feel when you set the bezel that it’s not going anywhere. One of the most interesting aspects of the Superocean Héritage is what’s under the hood – in this case, the Breitling caliber B20. This is sort of an in-house movement, and sort of not; it’s based on the Tudor caliber MT5612, which was first introduced by Tudor in the Pelagos. There are some differences between the MT5612, as used by Tudor, and the B20 – for one thing, the B20 has somewhat more traditional finishing than MT5612, which has an almost modernist look, with bead-blasted bridges rather than the Geneva stripes used in the Breitling version. The other major difference is that the B20 doesn’t have a silicon balance spring, which means less resistance to magnetic fields. However, a lot of the value of the movement is still there. The B20 is, like the caliber MT5612, a tough movement designed for hard use, with a balance bridge (providing somewhat better protection against shock) and a freesprung, adjustable mass balance – and, of course, a 70 hour power reserve.
Because of the closed caseback, you can’t see the Breitling Superocean watches movement, which is a bit of a shame, but you can definitely tell it’s there from the performance of the watch. Certainly, this chronometer-certified caliber came through in daily use – I’d expect the watch to drift a little on its rate over time but at least during the one week period I wore it, it gained exactly one second per day, which is stellar performance by any standard. Wider use by Breitling of this movement (and I can only assume they’ll deploy it elsewhere in the next year or two) would make a significant change in how potential buyers evaluate the value proposition of Breitling watches. This version of the Breitling Superocean Héritage will run you $4,500 (the blue dial version on the mesh bracelet isn’t much more expensive, at $4,700). After a week with the Breitling Superocean watches brown dial version I really felt like there’s a lot on offer from Breitling with this one. The aesthetics are really compelling (it’s one of the more handsome new dive watches out this year, for sure). And with a ceramic bezel, a very nicely made strap with a well-engineered bracelet, and that caliber B20 inside – which gave nothing short of excellent performance during the week I had it, and which has some very nice technical bells and whistles going for it – Breitling has here a very serious new contender in the $5,000 and under dive watch category. Definitely worth a serious look, and a great deal of what you get in more expensive dive watches, for several thousand less.

Breitling Top Time B01 Red Gold Bronze

Originally launched in 2021, the Breitling Top Time B01 Red Gold Bronze Classic Cars series is the brand’s tribute to iconic American sports cars from the 1950s and 1960s. Much like the original Top Time chronograph, the modern Breitling Top Time collection represents a lighthearted break from tradition, and the Classic Cars series further leans into this spirit with bright colors and automotive-inspired design elements. The original Breitling Top Time Classic Cars series consisted of three different models that were each inspired by a different classic American Car, and although they weren’t limited to a specific number of examples, the series was only produced for a single year. Following the success of the original trio of models, Breitling is bringing back the Top Time Classic Cars series for 2023, and in addition to adding a new fourth member to the lineup, the brand is also giving the other three models a significant update compared to their predecessors from just a couple of years ago.
The latest addition to the Breitling Top Time B01 Red Gold Bronze Classic Cars collection for 2023 is the Ford Thunderbird edition, which features a white dial and a bright red strap. The other three models making their return as part of this second generation of Top Time Classic Cars watches are the Ford Mustang edition with a dark green dial, the Chevrolet Corvette version with a bright red dial, and the Shelby Cobra-inspired model, which features a blue dial with contrasting white registers. Additionally, similar to the first generation of Breitling Top Time Classic Cars watches, the Shelby Cobra edition features a two-register layout, while the rest of the models all have three chronograph registers on their dials. The primary reason for the different number of registers is due to the shape of the Shelby Cobra logo. Unlike the other three logos, which can comfortably fit under the Breitling emblem on the upper half of the dial, the Shelby Cobra logo is circular and requires more space. Relocating the logo to the lower half of the dial and having it take the place of the third chronograph register ultimately allows for a greater sense of balance and a less cluttered display.
Although the dials fitted to the new Breitling Top Time B01 Red Gold Bronze Classic Cars watches all offer a similar overall appearance to those from the first generation, they also incorporate a number of small updates and refinements. While the registers still appear in the collection’s signature “squircle” shape (a mixture between a square and a circle), the order of the registers has now changed due to the use of a different movement, and the running seconds sub-dial has moved to 9 o’clock location. In addition to other small updates relating to the tachymeter scales that surround the periphery of the dials, the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, and Shelby Cobra models all have a subtle tone-on-tone racing stripe running down the center of their dials, which reveals itself when viewed in bright light.
From an external perspective, the new generation of Breitling Top Time B01 Red Gold Bronze Classic Cars models offers much of the same shape and profile as their first-generation counterparts. However, while the first generation features a 40mm case, the new Top Time Classic Cars watches have stainless steel cases that measure 41mm in diameter by 13.8mm-thick, with 20mm lugs and an overall lug-to-lug distance of 50.36mm. Similar to the first generation, a cambered sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides sits above the dial, while a signed winding crown at the 3 o’clock location flanked by two pump-style pushers offers access to the movement. Additionally, just like the previous generation, water resistance for the new Top Time B01 Classic Cars watches comes in at a fairly respectable 100 meters. With that in mind, one of the most significant updates to the case of the new Breitling Top Time B01 Classic Cars models is in regard to their casebacks. While the first generation had solid stainless steel casebacks, the new Top Time Classic Cars watches all have sapphire display casebacks that have the logos of their respective cars printed on the underside surfaces of the display windows. Generally speaking, I’m not the biggest fan of graphics on display casebacks, as they can often defeat the entire purpose of having a display window in the first place. However, the logos are quite small on the new Top Time Classic Cars watches, and since they sit right above the axle of the rotor, they ultimately do very little in terms of actually obscuring a view of the movement. Powering the new generation of Breitling Top Time B01 Red Gold Bronze Classic Cars watches is the brand’s manufacture Caliber 01 automatic chronograph movement. An integrated self-winding chronograph that operates with a column wheel and a vertical clutch, the Breitling Cal. 01 runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) while offering users a power reserve of approximately 70 hours. Breitling first unveiled its Caliber 01 manufacture movement in 2009, and in the years since making its debut, the Cal. B01 has steadily been making its way throughout the brand’s catalog, and it now serves as the foundation for a number of other related Breitling movements. In addition to being a proven design, the Breitling Cal. 01 is also a COSC-certified chronometer, meaning that the new generation of Top Time Classic Cars watches is guaranteed to keep time within -4/+6 seconds per day. All of the new Breitling Top Time B01 Classic Cars watches are available with the option of either two-piece calfskin leather straps or stainless steel mesh bracelets fitted with butterfly-style folding clasps. Tapering from 20mm at the lugs to 18mm where they meet their signed stainless steel deployant buckles, the leather straps for the new Top Time Classic Cars series come in complementary colors for the dials of the watches, with the Ford Thunderbird model receiving a red strap, the Chevrolet Corvette edition fitted with a black strap, and both the Ford Mustang and Shelby Cobra versions receiving dark brown straps. Additionally, regardless of color, all of the leather straps feature Breitling’s signature bright yellow lining and a racing-style perforated pattern on their outer surfaces.