Matt Clymo 
Breitling has extended the B19 Perpetual Calendar movement they released last year as part of the 140th Anniversary Collection into a new 43mm Navitimer in steel and Ice Blue. And it looks amazing!
Last year, Breitling went all out to celebrate its 140th Birthday. With celebratory events, travelling exhibitions, and a trio of new Perpetual Calendars in rose gold, it was a great year and one that signals Breitling is not mucking around with the new direction under CEO Georges Kern. And speaking of the 140th edition Premier, Navitimer and Super Chronomat which all housed a new Perpetual Calendar movement, the Calibre B19 which was a first for the brand, today, they’ve extended this into one of their core collections in the form of a new Navitimer 43 and in my humble opinion, looks amazing.
The Navitimer is an icon of not just Breitling’s collections, but also the watch world. You can spot a Navitimer Chronograph a mile off with its dial configuration and the unique slide rule bezel. Originally designed for pilots in 1952 via the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), it was one of the first watches that was able to do complex calculations on the fly (or while flying in this case), the world’s first wristwatch flight computer.
Last year as part of the 140th celebrations, Breitling introduced a new Perpetual Chronograph movement to the market, the B19. This was in all three models that were released as part of the celebrations and was the very first Perpetual Calendar for Breitling.
RELATED READING: Breilting Unveils Their 140th Anniversary Collection
With this release, it signals their intention that this will now start to become part of the core collections. And what better way than starting with one of the most iconic Breitling models out there – the Navitimer Chronograph.
The new Navitimer B19 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is in the 43mm steel case, is 14.94mm thick and measures 49.07mm lug-to-lug. In my experience, this is a piece that looks great on the wrist, and thanks to the design of the Navitimer, doesn’t feel as big on as the size suggests. I’ve always felt the 41mm was on the smaller side, and the 46mm a little bit too big on my 17.5cm wrist, but the 43mm hits the mark perfectly.
Breitling has used an ice-blue dial for this model, and this, like all new Breitling pieces with an ice-blue dial, has been reserved for those watches with a Platinum bezel. While the rest of the case is steel, this piece will feel a little more solid thanks to the weight of the platinum in the bezel. On the dial, you have all the information displayed on the 4 sub-registers. At 12 o’clock, a moonphase indicator, at 3 o’clock the day of the month on the outer track and a 30-minute chronograph counter on the inner. At 6 o’clock there is a month and leap year indicator and at 9 o’clock, the day of the week and the 60-second small seconds register.
The B19 movement is a full automatic chronograph movement with a Perpetual Calendar housed in it. One of the major achievements of this movement is the fact that Breitling has been able to squeeze 96 hours of power out of the movement, and as with all Breitling movements, is COSC certified ensuring accuracy. The chronograph is a column wheel and vertical clutch so this also alleviates much of the wear and tear on the movement, not to mention the lag when starting the timing function.
Initial Thoughts
The Navitimer has always been a bit of a favourite of mine from Breitling, more so in recent years. Weirdly, I have owned a Super Avenger and a SuperOcean Heritage II Chronograph from Breitling, but never a Navitimer for no other reason other than the timing has never been right. This piece has got me thinking about one again. Now, I’m not a Breitling fanboy, I’ve just always liked the look of their watches when I was younger, but over recent years, especially since Georges Kern took the reigns, I’ve come to appreciate Breitling on a deeper level. Added to this, they have been doing some great things with their pieces. The Navitimer B19 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph is no exception.
Breitling has also priced this piece very well too. At A$44,290 on the bracelet or A$43,590 on the leather alligator strap, this piece punches above its weight given most other steel perpetual calendars are sitting above the A$50k mark and these don’t have the added chronograph function. Could this piece be a little bit slimmer? Maybe, but with the chronograph module, I’d say it would be hard to slim it down too much more at this stage, although over time, I could see Breitling working on this. But, this is still a functional pilot’s watch and is designed for being used while in the air, and a smaller watch would hinder the real-world use it’s designed for with the slide rule. That aside, it is a good-looking watch and showcases Breitling’s intentions with the Calibre B19 moving forward.
Specification: PB1920251C1A1 (Bracelet) / PB1920251C1P1 (Leather)
- Dimensions: 43mm x 14.94mm and 49.07mm lug-to-lug.
- Case Material: Brushed and polished steel with a platinum bezel
- Dial: Ice-blue sunray dial with a moonphase, day/date/month/leap year indicators & chronograph seconds, 30-minute register & small seconds.
- Movement: In-house Calibre B19 perpetual calendar chronograph movement.
- Movement Frequency: 28,800 VpH (4hZ)
- Movement Power reserve: 96hrs
- Water resistance: 30m
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Case back: Sapphire case back with anti-reflective coating
- Bracelet/Strap: Black alligator with steel folding clasp or stainless steel seven-row bracelet with a butterfly clasp
