Breitling Replica, founded in St. Imier by Leon Breitling Replica in 1884, is a brand that has built its name and reputation on purposeful, functional timepieces -- predominantly chronographs. Today we explore three of the Flying B's most iconic families; the Navitimer, the Chronomat and the SuperOcean.
Breitling Replica's most famous watch is, without doubt, the Navitimer. A catchy conflation of the words' Navigation' and 'Timer', the watch, which debuted in 1952, is built for pilots. At the core of the enduring appeal of the Navitimer is its unique circular slide rule positioned on the timepieces rotating bezel. This tool makes on-the-fly calculations such as airspeed, rate or time of climb or descent, distance and fuel consumption possible. And while in the modern era, sophisticated instruments and avionics have primarily made the distinctive dial instrumentation of the Navitimer an anachronistic talking point, when the watch debuted it would have served a very real purpose.
The Navitimer was developed for the US Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (breitling replica), and for the first few years, it was available exclusively to members. In 1956 the watch went public and has been a staple for the brand ever since. That's not to say it hasn't evolved over time. The movements have changed from the manual Valjoux and Venus calibres to more modern automatics, starting with the 1969 Chronomatic calibre. The 1970s saw a date added, and, as the decade moved on, Breitling Replica even introduced quartz Navitimers. And while today the Navitimer is less of an essential pilot's tool, it's still an essential watch in the brand's collection, offered in a range of sizes and configurations, all with that iconic slide rule. If it's good enough for John Travolta, it's good enough for you.
While the name Breitling Replica Chronomat dates back to 1941, the story proper begins some decades later, in a very different age -- in 1984. the 1980s were a turbulent time for the watch industry, the impact of quartz technology and quality mass-produced watches were decimating Swiss brands.Rolex Day-Date Replica It was a perilous time for Breitling Replica as well, with Ernest Schneider taking ownership of the company from the Breitling Replica family in 1979. One of the first products Schneider would develop is the completely reimagined Chronomat. Conceived as a modern pilot's watch, and resolutely mechanical in a quartz-dominated landscape, the Chronomat was announced in 1984, the 100th anniversary of Breitling Replica's founding.
Except the Chronomat appeared before 1984. The first of this new breed was made as a special edition for the Italian Jet Team, known as Frecce Tricolori in 1983, and bears three arrows in the Italian national colours on the dial.