Premier B01 Chronograph 42

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Premier B01 Chronograph 42 - Breitling
The Premier returns, 80 years after it first took the chronograph from tool watch to style statement

Introducing six new Premier models, updated with a heritage-inspired design and equipped with the Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01. Their launch coincides with a new book chronicling the genesis of Breitling’s most collectible chronograph.

The latest iteration of the Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01 found in the new Premier chronograph was redesigned in 2022 and features a trimmer profile and more compact oscillating weight that can be admired through the transparent sapphire-crystal caseback. The movement comes with a five-year warranty and provides an approximate 70-hour power reserve. In order to marry usability with elegance, the Premier now comes with a 100 m (10 bar) water resistance.

Premier B01 Chronograph 42

To create the design of the new Premier, Breitling preserved distinctive vintage-Premier design details, including the smooth fixed bezel, twin-register dial, streamlined rectangular pushers, and applied Arabic numerals. At 42 mm, the case diameter is slightly larger than the 40 mm found on the existing B09 (manual-wind) models.

The tone-on-tone subdials with chronograph minutes at 3 o’clock and running seconds at 9 o’clock lend a polished style, while new dial shades in salmon, blue, green, black, and cream add a contemporary twist to the stainless-steel models. A further variation in 18K red gold features a classic cream dial. The watches come on a choice of classic alligator leather strap or sleek 7-row metal bracelet.

Premier B01 Chronograph 42

The Premier's journey revealed in a new book

The launch of the new Premier B01 Chronograph 42 coincides with the publication of Premier Story, part three of the Watch Stories series that chronicles some of the world’s most celebrated timepieces. Author Fred Mandelbaum, Breitling’s official brand historian and the world’s foremost Premier collector, guides readers through Willy Breitling’s ultimately successful (but often tumultuous) quest to take the humble chronograph out of the aircraft cockpit and onto the wrists of the world’s style-setters — a journey that began 80 years ago.

Premier B01 Chronograph 42

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