Breitling Watches: Navitimer, Chronomat and What Collectors Look For

Léon Breitling founded the company in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, in 1884, making chronographs and precision counters. Breitling is now based in Grenchen, with production in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Ernest Schneider bought the name from the founding family in 1979, CVC Capital Partners took control in 2017, and Partners Group became majority owner in December 2022.

Breitling is Swiss. It was founded in Saint-Imier in the Swiss Jura in 1884, has its headquarters in Grenchen and makes its watches in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Its watches are marked Swiss Made, and its mechanical and quartz movements are submitted for chronometer certification by COSC, the Swiss testing institute.

The Navitimer was launched in 1952. Breitling had added a circular slide rule bezel to its Chronomat in the 1940s, and the Navitimer made that bezel its signature, with the logo of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association on early dials. The name joins navigation and timer. The first automatic Navitimer followed in 1969.

Breitling is known for pilots' chronographs, above all the Navitimer with its slide rule bezel for flight calculations, and for chronometer certification of its movements. Astronaut Scott Carpenter wore a Breitling Cosmonaute on the Aurora 7 flight of 1962, and the Breitling Emergency carries a distress beacon transmitter.

For most of its history Breitling used movements from Valjoux, Venus and ETA. In 2009 it introduced its first in-house movement, the B01 automatic column-wheel chronograph, with a 70-hour power reserve and COSC certification, first in the Chronomat 01. Many current models use B01-family calibres; others use outside bases.

Both. Most Breitling chronographs and divers are automatic mechanical watches, but Breitling also makes quartz models, including its high-accuracy SuperQuartz watches such as the Aerospace and the Emergency. A quartz Breitling has a battery and usually a ticking seconds hand. The case back or papers name the calibre.

Breitling watches are water resistant to different depths. Superocean divers are rated for diving, while many Navitimers have pushers and slide rule bezels rated for less. Do not operate chronograph pushers under water unless the model allows it, and have the seals tested at each service. Treat a vintage Breitling as not water resistant.

Vintage Navitimers, especially the 806 of the 1950s and 1960s, early Chronomats, the Cosmonaute and the Top Time chronographs are the most collected vintage Breitlings, particularly with original dials. Solid gold models add metal value. For modern watches, complete sets with box and papers are what buyers look for.

Check the reference and serial numbers engraved on the case back against the papers, the sharpness of the dial printing and slide rule scale, and the smooth action of the bezel and pushers. A genuine Breitling has a signed, numbered movement; many modern ones carry COSC chronometer papers. Fakes often get the slide rule scale wrong.

Send photographs of the dial, the case back and any papers to a specialist for a free valuation. We buy Breitling watches, modern and vintage, working or not, from anywhere in the UK: post by Royal Mail Special Delivery or free insured FedEx collection, or visit our Mayfair or Braintree office by appointment.

Look at the case back: Breitling engraves a reference number, such as A13356, and a serial number there, and the model name, such as Navitimer, Chronomat or Superocean, is usually on the dial. The warranty card or chronometer certificate names it too. Send photographs and we can identify it.

Yes. Breitling straps and bracelets are held by spring bars or screwed pins, and a watchmaker can change them without risk to the case. Use a strap of the correct lug width, and keep the original bracelet or strap and buckle, as they add to value when you sell.

Ordinary Breitling watches cannot be tracked; they contain no GPS or transmitter. The exception is the Breitling Emergency, which carries a personal locator beacon for real emergencies, transmitting on distress frequencies. To protect a valuable watch, record its serial number and insure it.

It depends on the movement. Automatic and hand-wound Breitlings have a seconds hand that sweeps in small, rapid steps. Quartz and SuperQuartz models, such as many Aerospace, Emergency and some Superocean and Colt watches, tick once a second, which is correct for them. The dial or papers say which you have.

Follow the service interval in your watch's papers: mechanical Breitlings need a full service every several years, and quartz models a battery change and seal check. Service sooner if it stops, loses time or shows moisture. If you plan to sell, have it valued first, as we buy Breitlings as they are.

No. Breitling is Swiss, founded by Léon Breitling in Saint-Imier in 1884 and based today in Grenchen, with its watches made in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Since December 2022 its majority owner has been Partners Group, a Swiss investment firm. Breitling watches are marked Swiss Made.

Yes. The Breitling Emergency contains a real personal locator beacon: pulling out its antenna sends a signal on the 121.5 MHz distress frequency used by search and rescue, as a backup to aircraft beacons, and a military version transmits on 243 MHz. It must only be activated in a genuine emergency.

The rotating bezel and the fixed inner scale form a circular slide rule. Line up two known values, such as distance and time, and the matching value, such as speed, appears opposite the reference mark. Pilots used it for speed, fuel, climb rate and unit conversions, and it can also multiply and divide.

Most Breitlings are automatic and wind themselves as you wear them. If one has stopped, unscrew the crown if it screws down, then turn it forward gently twenty to forty times to start it, set the time and screw the crown back down. Hand-wound vintage Breitlings need winding daily until you feel resistance.

Ask for the serial number from the case back and the papers, check the seller's identity and proof of ownership, and use a watch theft register or report concerns to the police. A dealer who records serial numbers and checks identification protects both sides. Never buy a watch whose numbers have been removed.