Breitling watches
Established: 1884Price range: € 1,830 - € 68,180
Breitling was founded in 1884. The brand counts among its earliest achievements the invention of the independent chronograph pushpiece in 1915 and the separation of the start/stop functions from that of resetting in 1923.
The connection of Breitling with the world of aviation is said to have taken off in the early 1930's, when the brand started creating onboard chronographs intended for
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aircraft cockpits. With the introduction of the Navitimer in the first half of the 1950's, Breitling had created what would prove to be one of the most iconic and everlasting pilots watch designs yet: the model hasn't been out of production since. A variation of this model accompanied Scott Carpenter on his orbital flight aboard the Aurora 7 capsule in 1962.
In the sixties, Breitling was part of the 'Project 99' consortium that was created with the aim of creating the first self-winding chronograph movement - the one that would become the caliber 11. Although the so-called 'Quartz Crisis' had hit Breitling hard, the brand would be one of the first to launch a completely new mechanical chronograph in the mid-eighties: the Chronomat. This watch would become another icon for Breitling and would serve as a catalyst for the industry as a whole. Besides the Navitimer and the Chronomat, the Emergency is arguably the third most emblematic model - featuring a never-before-seen transmitter system that couldn't have been conceived by any other brand than Breitling.
The 2009 introduction of the caliber 01 gave Breitling a in-house chronograph movement and it would serve as the base for a number of variations over the next few years.
Breitling is the only company of this scale to submit 100% of its movements for COSC-certification, including the quartz calibers.
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