Press Release PDF - Professional Watches

Navitimer:the cult watch of pilots andaviation enthusiastsBy immediately choosing to specialize in chronographsand timers, Léon Breitling, who foundedthe company in 1884, soon gained favor amongaviation pioneers who needed sturdy, highperformanceinstruments. During the 1930s, thebrand launched its first onboard chronographs,which were to equip World War II fighter planes,before accompanying the boom in air transportin the cockpits of the finest propeller planes, andlater jets. In 1952, the “official supplier to worldaviation” created a “wrist instrument” speciallydesigned for pilots and other aeronautical professionals.Equipped with a circular slide rule,the Navitimer chronograph serves to handle allcalculations linked to airborne navigation: averagespeed, distance covered, fuel consumption, rate ofclimb or descent, conversions from miles to kilometersor nautical miles, etc. Chosen as the officialwatch by the AOPA (Aircraft Owners and PilotsAssociation), the world’s largest association of itskind, the Navitimer has asserted itself as the mosticonic Breitling model – and a cult object for allaviation enthusiasts. In its “Cosmonaute” versionwith a 24-hour graduation, it accompanied ScottCarpenter on his orbital flight aboard the Aurora 7capsule (1962), thus becoming the first spacegoingwrist chronograph. Continuously made since 1952,the Navitimer is the world’s oldest mechanicalchronograph still in production. By now adoptingan “in-house” caliber, it is writing a new chapter ina rich history of major achievements and thrillingmoments.