Timeline Watch
1997

Breitling  Chronomat Longitude

Iraqi troops invade Kuwait, setting off the Persian Gulf War

1997 Breitling Chronomat Longitude GMT A20348, this rare Chronomat features a GMT hand and a 1/12 rotating bezel.

Breitling Chronomat Longitude GMT, red dial and automatic movement Valjoux 7750.

Launched in 1984 to celebrate Breitling’s 100th anniversary the new Chronomat.

The Breitling Chronomat is the forerunner of all modern Chronomats up to the present day, still one of Breitling’s biggest sellers.

The Breitling Navitimer chosen as the official timepiece of AOPA, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Something which Breitling has traded on ever since.

A 24-hour dial version, the Cosmonaute, was also produced in the early 60s.

The first generation Navitimer 806 came in the early 50s, they had Arabic numerals, black dials and sub-dials.

The second generation shows silver sub-dials and index instead of numbers.

Many early Navitimers didn’t have the Breitling logo but the AOPA wing on the dial.

Some rare dials show the AOPA wings and the letter B instead of the Breitling logo.

Breitling has been a leading innovator in high quality stopwatches and chronographs and helped define how chronographs look and function until today.

Breitling launched the first wrist chronograph with a pusher at 2:00 in 1915.

Presented in 1933 as the first dual pusher wrist chronograph with pushers at 2:00 and 4:00 o’clock, Breitling was one of the first manufacturers to recognize the need of early aviators for wrist watches incorporating such devices.

In 1942 Breitling introduced the Chronomat, the worlds first Smart Watch, a chronograph with a rotating logarithmic slide rule that allowed complex calculations with the turn of your fingers.

Throughout the 1930s to 50s, Breitling continued creating chronographs with different scales to suit different professions, such as tachymeters for production engineers and drivers, and pulsometers for doctors.

The Breitling Navitimer chosen as the official timepiece of AOPA, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Something which Breitling has traded on ever since.

A 24-hour dial version, the Cosmonaute, was also produced in the early 60s.

The first generation Navitimer 806 came in the early 50s, they had Arabic numerals, black dials and sub-dials.

The second generation shows silver sub-dials and index instead of numbers.

Many early Navitimers didn’t have the Breitling logo but the AOPA wing on the dial.

Some rare dials show the AOPA wings and the letter B instead of the Breitling logo.

Jerry Seinfeld, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Miles Davis all wear (or wore) a Breitling.