The Single Pusher Chronograph (1915)
Willy Breitling, the second-generation watchmaker whose father Léon founded Breitling, came up with a brilliant design idea that was the precursor of chronographs as we know them to this day. In 1915 came the first wristwatch with a pusher at two o’clock that could start, stop, and reset the chronograph seconds. This was literally a step away from the winding crown, which has thus far also housed the pusher. This was a much-needed commercial hit, which was instrumental for the company’s survival and growth in uncertain times of war.
The First Swiss Wristwatch in Space (1962)
Believe it or not, the timepiece connected with the moon landing came late to the space party. Seven years before that huge step for mankind yada yada, Breitling had supplied a custom-made Navitimer to NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter for his 1962 mission orbiting the Earth. When Carpenter reached out to Willy Breitling, he put pressure on the man: he required the watch to be ready in less than two months. And it was not about getting a run-of-the-mill timepiece. Carpenter’s wishlist included a customised slide ruler, a stretchy metal strap that would fit over his space suit, and an enlarged bezel to enable it to be grabbed by clumsy space gloves. He also wanted a 24-hour time scale rather than a normal 12-hour. Why? As anybody travelling in orbit could bear witness to, day and night tend to blend, as fast and orbital travelling makes you experience several sunrises and sunsets in quick succession.
In the end, the horological wishlist was completed in time, and the Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaut made three orbits around our planet on Mr. Carpenter’s wrist, before he came back to Earth with a literal splash, landing in the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately for the watch, Carpenter had touched down some 400 kilometres away from the intended point of return and had to spend three hours in a life raft before NASA could pick him up. As the watch was made for space, not the ocean, corrosive saltwater bit into the watch, leaving the dial severely damaged. Willy Breitling had the dial replaced, and the Breitling family still hangs on to the treasure of the first Swiss watch dial that travelled in space.
Breitling’s first exclusive perpetual calendar movement (2024)
In the Olympic summer of 2024, Breitling raised its watchmaking bar when it introduced a brand-new perpetual calendar with the in-house made movement B19. As all Breitling movements, this is COSC-certified, and shows that the Breitling manufacture has come a long way since it introduced its first in-house movements Breitling 01 back in 2009, often referred to as the gold standard of chronograph movements. That first creation could be seen as the result of “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, as producing an in-house movement became a necessity given the changed supply strategy of ETA in the noughties.
In 2024, Julien Gatinet, Head of Movements Development, showed that Breitling can again lead the way when it comes to new standards. In an interview for Breitling’s heritage blog, he stated that “Better power reserve, better accuracy, better quality – the new B19 perpetual calendar movement signifies what in the future will be the new normal.” In the same context Mr. Gatinet also noted that the movement undergoes rigorous testing, including a severe encounter with a G-force hammer in Breitling’s laboratory. “The mechanism must be really robust, and simple to adjust both for the customer and the watchmaker,” he said of the movement, which also features an integrated chronograph.
Upon its introduction in 2024 the B19 movement was available in three limited-edition 140th anniversary watches: the elegant Premier, the iconic Navitimer, and the rugged Super Chronomat. More versions will follow – as will new firsts.
