Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Breitling began as Léon Breitling’s 1884 precision-chronograph workshop in Saint-Imier and became one of Swiss watchmaking’s defining professional-instrument brands. Its history is a chain of practical inventions: crown-operated chronographs, the modern two-pusher layout, slide-rule bezels, dive watches, a space chronograph, a rescue beacon, and increasingly exacting movement standards. By 2021, the catalog combined rugged Avenger, SuperOcean and Professional watches with heritage-led Navitimer, Chronomat, Premier and Aviator 8 collections.
Origins: Léon Breitling and precision chronographs, 1884–1910
A workshop built for measured performance
Léon Breitling, born in 1860, opened his workshop in Saint-Imier in 1884. His focus was not decorative dress watches but high-precision chronographs and stopwatches for military, industrial, scientific and sporting work. As production expanded, the business moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1892.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Breitling Superocean Heritage B20 Automatic Blue Dial Watch UB2010161C1S1 | $6,900.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Breitling Avenger Chronograph 45mm Mens Blue Watch | $5,550.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Avenger B01 Chronograph 42 | $5,250.00 | Buy on Amazon |
Breitling’s 1889 patent integrated the chronograph pusher into the crown, reducing the number of separate components. The company later promoted the Vitesse, whose 1905 tachymeter measured vehicle speed over a fixed distance. Brandon Baines’s 2021 Fratello Watches history says the device was used on Switzerland’s first speeding ticket; the source presents that anecdote rather than established legal history.
Scale arrived quickly. Fratello’s 2021 account reports more than 100,000 chronographs and stopwatches sold between 1892 and 1902, while Breitling’s official history separately dates production of its 100,000th timepiece to 1910. Those figures use different milestones and should not be treated as a single sales statistic.
#1 Best Overall
- Breitling Superocean 42mm Heritage B20 Automatic Blue Dial Watch UB2010161C1S1
From wrist chronograph to aviation specialist, 1913–1938
Gaston moves the pusher
In 1915, Gaston Breitling introduced a wrist chronograph with its operating pusher at two o’clock. This made timing easier to operate on the wrist and established a layout that would become familiar across the industry.
Willy creates the two-pusher standard
Willy Breitling took control in 1932. His 1934 patent added an independent reset pusher at four o’clock, separating start/stop from reset. As Fratello summarized it, “Two pushers are now common in the watch world, but that wasn’t always the case.” This is the basic architecture used by most modern mechanical chronographs.
The Huit Aviation department
Breitling created its Huit Aviation division for professional wristwatches and cockpit clocks. The name referred to an eight-day power reserve. Breitling’s official history dates the division to 1937 and mentions its British War Office connection; Fratello’s historical account gives 1938. The one-year discrepancy reflects different dating in the two sources, not two separate businesses.
Chronomat, Navitimer and the professional-instrument identity, 1941–1959
Chronomat: a rotating slide rule
Patented in 1940 and produced in 1941, the Chronomat placed a rotating slide rule inside the bezel. Its scales handled multiplication, division and speed–distance conversions, turning the chronograph into a compact calculating instrument.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Navitimer: aviation calculations on the wrist
In 1952, Breitling adapted the slide-rule concept for pilots. At the request of the U.S. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the Navitimer combined chronograph timing with calculations for fuel consumption, distance and nautical miles. It was first offered to AOPA members before a version for the general public.
Rank #2
- Breitling Avenger Chronograph Automatic Blue Dial Men's Watch A13317101C1X1
Fratello’s 2021 article says that “by the late 1950s, virtually every pilot traveling overseas was wearing a Navitimer.” That is a vivid period-style description, not a measured market-share statistic. The model’s enduring importance is clearer: it made aviation calculations the visual and functional center of Breitling’s best-known watch.
Two new specialist directions
| Model | Year | Purpose and documented specification |
|---|---|---|
| SuperOcean | 1957 | Breitling’s first dive-watch line, offered as three-hand and chronograph watches with stated 200 m water resistance. |
| TransOcean | 1958 | A watch aimed at intercontinental air travelers, using a COSC-certified chronometer movement. |
Space, rescue and the end of family ownership, 1960–1982
Cosmonaute and the 24-hour dial
Scott Carpenter helped design the 24-hour Navitimer Cosmonaute for spaceflight in 1962. A 24-hour display distinguishes day from night at a glance when normal sunrise and sunset cues disappear, extending the Navitimer concept beyond conventional aviation.
The Schneider transition
Financial and health problems led Willy Breitling to liquidate the family business. In 1979, the Breitling name and trademarks passed to Ernest Schneider. Schneider registered Breitling Montres S.A.; the historical account dates the headquarters’ move to Grenchen to November 30, 1982. This ended direct Breitling-family ownership while preserving the name and its professional-watch positioning.
Emergency: a watch that could call for help
The Emergency combined an ana-digital watch with a distress beacon. Fratello’s account says the beacon could transmit a directional signal up to 167 km. That figure belongs to the 2021 historical description and should not be generalized to every later Emergency configuration or current rescue network.
Accuracy as a brand policy: COSC and the B01
The 1999 all-COSC commitment
In 1999, Breitling announced that every movement—mechanical and quartz—would receive certification from the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). The thermocompensated quartz movements were described as meeting an average daily-rate standard of ±0.07 seconds. This was a brand-wide accuracy policy, not merely a specification for flagship mechanical models.
Rank #3
- Chronograph Movement: Self-winding
- Case Size: 42mm Stainless Steel
- Dial Color: Black
- Water Resistance: Up to 300 Meters
The 2009 in-house B01 chronograph
Breitling introduced its in-house B01 chronograph in the Chronomat 01 in 2009. Fratello lists a 70-hour power reserve, a column wheel, a vertical clutch, a modular service-oriented design and COSC certification. The movement marked a strategic shift toward proprietary mechanical technology while retaining the certification-led accuracy message.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.New ownership and a heritage revival, 2015–2021
Connected watches and leadership change
Breitling’s 2015 Exospace B55 used an ana-digital display and smartphone controls for time zones, alarms and notifications. It represented the brand’s attempt to add connected functions without abandoning the cockpit-instrument aesthetic.
Ernest Schneider died in 2015. The Schneider family sold 80% of Breitling to CVC Capital Partners in 2016 and the remaining 20% in 2017. CVC appointed Georges Kern as chief executive in 2017, beginning the current ownership era covered by the 2021 history.
The 2021 catalog: modern tools and historical lines
| Collection or model | Design language | Professional or historical link |
|---|---|---|
| Avenger | Large, rugged modern cases | Contemporary professional and aviation-oriented positioning. |
| SuperOcean | Modern dive-watch construction | Continuation of the dive line launched in 1957. |
| Professional | Instrument-focused ana-digital and electronic watches | Includes the rescue and technical-watch tradition associated with Emergency. |
| Aviator 8 | Heritage aviation styling | References the Huit Aviation lineage. |
| SuperOcean Heritage | Vintage-influenced dive design | Reinterprets the SuperOcean family. |
| Chronomat and Navitimer | Heritage chronograph designs | Carry forward the slide-rule and professional-chronograph story. |
| Premier | More refined, retro-leaning cases and dials | 2021 examples included the Zorro-dial Top Time, B15 Duograph 42 and B25 Datora 42. |
Which Breitling models matter most?
The answer depends on the professional problem each watch was designed to solve rather than on a single “best” model.
| Model | Why it matters historically | Core complication or capability |
|---|---|---|
| Chronomat | Established Breitling’s slide-rule chronograph concept. | Rotating slide rule for arithmetic and speed–distance work. |
| Navitimer | Became the signature aviation chronograph after the 1952 AOPA request. | Slide-rule calculations for fuel, distance and nautical miles. |
| SuperOcean | Opened Breitling’s dedicated dive-watch line in 1957. | Three-hand and chronograph formats; the original line stated 200 m water resistance. |
| Cosmonaute | Adapted the Navitimer for Scott Carpenter’s spaceflight context. | 24-hour time display with chronograph and slide rule. |
| Emergency | Extended the professional-instrument idea into rescue equipment. | Ana-digital watch with a directional distress beacon. |
| Chronomat 01 | Introduced Breitling’s in-house B01 strategy in 2009. | Automatic chronograph with column wheel, vertical clutch and 70-hour reserve as listed by Fratello. |
What Breitling’s history actually means
Breitling is not only an aviation brand. Aviation supplied its most recognizable design—the Navitimer—but the company’s defining thread is broader: making timing instruments for work. Chronographs came first; slide rules made them computational; SuperOcean brought the same tool-watch logic underwater; Cosmonaute and Emergency addressed space and rescue; COSC certification and the B01 made accuracy and serviceability explicit technical priorities.
By 2021, the brand’s identity was therefore a deliberate balance. Avenger, SuperOcean and Professional watches carried the rugged modern side, while Navitimer, Chronomat, Premier, Aviator 8 and SuperOcean Heritage mined specific chapters of Breitling’s past. That combination explains why the Navitimer remains the historical centerpiece without being the whole Breitling story.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
