Breitling Wristwatches - The Navitimer

If you look in the window display of almost any jewelers you will see an array of men's wristwatches that are described as being 'aviator', 'pilot' or 'aircrew', but it's unlikely that any of them would be seriously considered by pilots to aid them with flight planning duties. These watches tend to be designer items whose primary task is to look good. If it's a real aviators watch that you are looking for then you simply have to go for a Breitling watch, and the Navitimer in particular.

Why Breitling? Well, for the past 100 years or so they have been the professionals choice, having forged strong relationships with the aviation industry, both civilian and military, through two World Wars and into the new millennium. Breitling watches were issued to RAF aircrew during the Second World War and have been the standard issue watch for air forces around the world ever since.

The Breitling Navitimer is now over 50 years old and is considered by many to be the epitome of an aviators watch. Testament to its design, is the fact that, despite many advances in watch technology over this time, its design and functionality have barely changed. This classic Breitling watch can be used to calculate fuel consumption, air speed, rate of descent and the conversion of standard miles into nautical miles. All of these calculations are made possible using the circular slide rule found on the side of the bezel - the first of its kind in the world, and developed by Breitling.

A famous variation of the Navitimer is the Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute. It got its name after it became the first Breitling watch to go into space in 1963, worn by American astronaut Scott Carpenter. It was specially made as a 24 hour version because it was impossible to tell in space if it was day or night. The Breitling Cosmonaute uses a 38 jewel self-winding mechanical movement with a power reserve that lasts over 40 hours. The chronograph function is accurate to 1/5 of a second and it incorporates a special anti-reflective coating on the watch crystal. It was, and still is, a truly remarkable piece of engineering.

There are several other variations in the Navitimer range, with models such as the World - the largest in the range, the rather ornate Montbrillant collection which was a special commemorative edition, and the Chrono-Matic, the worlds first self-winding chronograph.

Although modern technology has rendered many analog chronographs obsolete, there is still a strong demand for precision masterpieces such as the Breitling Navitimer watch. Not only are they technically superior in many ways, but they offer the wearer a sense of history and distinction that simply cannot be obtained from lesser brands.

Breitling Wristwatches - The Navitimer