Surprisingly, Breitling Copy celebrates the seventieth anniversary of its iconic pilot’s timepiece with a bold color theme that is as much about authenticity as it is to fly.
“We don’t use the word ‘icon’ lightly,” Breitling CEO Georges Kern said in a press release. “The Navitimer is one of the most recognizable watches of all time…originally offered to pilots A tool that today holds profound meaning for everyone who owns this watch on a personal journey. “
The knobby bezel of the Breitling Navitimer is so common on red carpets and on the tarmac, it’s easy to forget just how deeply aeronautical tool it really is.
In 1952, Willy Breitling developed a chronograph with a slide rule complication vital to flight, and two years later the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) made it the official timepiece The legality is locked forever.
Since then, it has become a beloved co-pilot for civilian and military pilots around the world. Astronaut Scott Carpenter even wore his watch on the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission in 1962, and it became a “space watch” watch before NASA even had official gear specifications for a “space watch.”
This year’s anniversary model has seen some design updates and revisions, but we’ll get to that later. We need to start with the dial color. While the 2022 Navitimer has more traditional combinations like the reverse panda (i.e. white sub-dial on a black dial), Breitling’s design team hit the afterburner this year with a surprisingly bold dial color.
Appropriately, the smaller Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 and Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 stainless steel collections are the most colourful, with black sub-dials on shimmering silver, metallic copper, ice blue and mint green dials, as well as the expected reverse Version for the Panda 43mm model.
Meanwhile, on the 41mm model, the white sub-dials on the mint green or cream dials feature a white bezel. But the 41mm model also includes a more technical, stealth-fighter-like blue-on-black version with a black border. There is also a 41mm 18K red gold model with a cream dial paired with a brown alligator leather strap or a 7-row red gold bracelet.
Happily, the new dial colors are available for the larger Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46 series. For example, the exceptionally cool silver dial appears on the elegant 46mm 18K red gold model (there is a similar version for the 43mm model), while the deep forest green dial appears on the 46mm stainless steel model. The 46mm also has the more traditional white-on-black and white-on-navy dials.
Aviation authenticity, redefining
For the anniversary model, the slide rule measurement has been flattened, and the slimmer oscillating weight is visible through the open caseback. Meanwhile, the traditional AOPA wing logo has returned to its retro position at 12 o’clock. But the real highlight of the Breitling Navitimer 2022 collection is that it is an aviation chronograph in any situation, big or small, even in arguably the trendiest mint green colorway. Even from across the room.
Wide choice of straps – black or brown alligator leather strap or 7-row Navitimer stainless steel bracelet from the 46mm collection; one black alligator leather strap or 7-row 18 karat red gold bracelet for red gold 46mm and 43mm Versions; black alligator strap or 7-row bracelet for the 43mm stainless steel version; and black and gold-brown alligator strap or 7-row stainless steel bracelet for the 41mm collection.
Rock-solid COSC certified in-house Caliber 01 column-wheel chronograph movement with 70-hour power reserve and 1/4-second, 30-minute and 12-hour counters? Well, it’s just something that doesn’t need any embellishments.