Mechanical Watches and Hand-wound Watches - The history of Breitling's chronographs is the history of mankind's longing for the skies -

Every man has dreamed of the sky at least once.
For example, when you see a large eagle soaring majestically through the sky, you will be left breathless by its majesty.
The period from the late 1800s to the 1940s, when people began to pursue their dreams, was the period when the greatest amount of modern technology was developed in human history.
During that time, the airplane was invented.

At that time, pocket watches were the norm, and wristwatches were very luxurious items, so many people customized their pocket watches to turn them into wristwatches.
However, using a pocket watch was extremely inconvenient when on an airplane, a time when time management was most important.

The thing is, a wristwatch is more functional on an airplane.

During this era, many brands were busy developing functional watches for people who flew by plane.
A good example is the "Pilot's Watch" developed by IWC in 1936. Breitling is also one of the watches that has made a major contribution to the world of aviation.

■ History of Breitling

The history of Breitling began in 1884 when Léon Breitling opened a workshop in Saint-Imier in the Jura region of Switzerland specializing in precision measuring instruments, including industrial chronographs for sports and scientific research.

In 1915, Léon Breitling's son, Gaston Breitling, invented the first chronograph with a crown and separate pushers, and developed an improved version of this chronograph in 1923.

Then in 1931, an event occurred that would solidify Breitling's current reputation.

The first step was to create a chronograph specifically for use in aircraft cockpits.
Britain took notice of the chronograph and equipped aircraft used in World War II with Breitling chronographs.

In 1934, Willy Breitling, the third generation Breitling owner and son of Gaston Breitling, developed and patented a watch with a second push-button for a dedicated reset function.

This was the origin of the start-stop-reset clocks we see today.

During Willy Breitling's time, Breitling established a foundation of credibility in the world of aviation.
This happened in 1950, shortly after the end of World War II.

Breitling supplied many airlines with cockpit chronographs for each type of aircraft and was selected as the official supplier to the aviation industry.

In 1952, Breitling released the Navitimer, a model equipped with a circular slide rule for aviation.

This professional watch continues to fascinate aviation watch enthusiasts to this day.

In 1969, Hamilton collaborated with Dubois-Dépraz, Heuer Leonidas (now TAG Heuer), and Hamilton Buren (now Hamilton) to develop the chronograph, which was previously thought to be impossible to achieve with automatic winding, and released the world's first automatic winding chronograph watch.

In 1979, the Breitling family tradition came to an end, with Ernest Schneider taking the helm of the company.

Five years later, in 1984, they released the famous model "Chronomat."

In 1999, Ernest Schneider's son, Theodore Schneider, took over the helm and declared the company a "100% certified chronometer" that same year, marking a major turning point for Breitling in the 21st century.

One of these is the introduction of a new movement called "Super Quartz" that is equipped with a temperature compensation function and has an accuracy more than 10 times that of a regular quartz watch.

Breitling has a history of specializing in chronographs.
As many people will have noticed, the caliber inside is not made in-house but was outsourced.

The chronograph movements are made by ETA (Valjoux) and Lemania, and finally the parts are modified for each manufacturer.

A similar watch, the Omega Speedmaster, is also equipped with a modified caliber made by ETA.

Watches equipped with such calibers tend not to be popular among watch enthusiasts, especially those who like brands like Rolex, which have been committed to producing only one in-house watch since their founding.

But that voice is no longer audible today.
In 2002, Breitling opened a new movement development factory, Breitling Chronometry, and in 2009 released the 01, Breitling's first in-house designed and manufactured automatic chronograph caliber.

Since then, the company has consistently developed watches equipped with its own calibers.

This is the creation of a new chapter in Breitling's history.

So what is a chronograph?

When talking about Breitling, the chronograph is an inseparable part of the story.

The word chronograph is a combination of the Latin words "chrono" (time) and "graph" (measurement).
It refers to a watch that has a stopwatch powered by the same mainspring.

It was first developed by Henri-Ferriol Piguet in 1845.
The word chronograph may sound difficult, but it's basically the same as thinking of it as a watch with a stopwatch function.

Many watches have a first push button on the crown for the start and stop functions and a second push button for the reset function. Even inexpensive watches are now often equipped with this as standard.

Breitling's flagship model

Navitimer
In 1942, Breitling came up with the innovative idea of ​​incorporating a slide rule into a chronograph.

By rotating the bezel, you can easily perform multiplication and other operations.
Ten years later, in 1952, indexes were added to allow conversion between kilometers (KM), nautical miles (NAUT) and statute miles (SKAT) to suit air navigation calculations.

The "Navitimer" model was born from the combination of the two words "navigation" and "timer."

The Navitimer can measure a variety of times.

For example, it can calculate descent speed, average time, flight time, multiplication, division, and even currency conversion. It's a watch for professionals.

- Emergency Breitling will release a model in 2013.
That's an emergency.
The Emergency is a quartz watch, but it's not just any quartz watch.
It is the world's first chronograph equipped with a beacon that transmits two frequency bands.

The international search and rescue system COSPAS-SARSAT uses two satellite systems to catch distress signals and rescue people in distress. Emergency is equipped with a device that transmits two frequency bands 24 hours a day in accordance with the COSPAS-SARSAT standard.

The signal is transmitted by unscrewing the protective cap on the bottom right of the case and pulling the antenna out as far as it will go.
First, a 406Hz frequency signal is sent to the satellite to transmit a distress alert.
The second frequency, 121.5MHz, has the function of transmitting the current location to rescue aircraft dispatched to the scene of a disaster.

This Breitling emergency watch is an essential item for any adventurer.

However, this model is probably not available to the general public.
This is because only aviation personnel as defined in Article 24 of the Aviation Act and radio personnel as defined in Article 40 of the Radio Act can purchase it.
After purchase, it must be registered as an aircraft station radio equipment, making it truly a watch for professionals only.

Breitling watches invite men to the skies. These authentic watches are best worn with the feeling of becoming the pilot you once dreamed of being.