At Geneva Watch Days, Breitling dropped a birthday bomb – three new Perpetual Calendar models, all in 18k Red Gold with a new Calibre inside. And here they are!
Normally when a brand celebrates a milestone, it does so with an anniversary piece. Maybe it’s a change of colour, or a revived reference from years gone by, or something simple like a limited edition with engraving on the back. Many times it’s subtle and nothing too special. However, with this being Brietling’s 140th Birthday, they’ve gone big! Just over a week and a half ago at Geneva Watch Days, they dropped three new models to celebrate and it wasn’t a colour change or an engraving on the back, it was three new Perpetual Calendar models – A Premier 42, Navitimer 43, and a Super Chronomat 44 all in 18k Red Gold, and all with Breitling’s new in-house Caliber B19 Perpetual Calender movement inside. If that wasn’t enough, the Super Chronomat 44 has a skeletonised dial (A first for the brand), adding to the Premier’s stunning black Sunray brushed dial and the Navitimer’s all red gold dial. Mic drop Breitling!
Watch Advice was fortunate enough to see these models last month, before the launch, and get hands-on with all of them to test and try them out. We’ll be bringing you a full hands-on review of the 140th Super Chronomat 44 next month, so be on the lookout for that.
“The Premier, the Navitimer, and the Chronomat are the most impactful collections in Breitling’s history, we couldn’t single one out to showcase the new Caliber B19 for our anniversary—it had to be all three.”
Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling
Breitling Premier B19 Datora 42 140th Anniversary
The first piece in the 140th Anniversary collection is the Breitling Premier B19 Datora 42 Perpetual Calendar. The Premier was a model line Breitling revived several years back, and since has proven to be super popular with collectors and enthusiasts alike. Originally launched in 1943 as a gentleman’s chronograph, the revival has brought back Breitling’s vintage-era watches, so it makes sense that this model has been chosen for part of the 140th Birthday celebrations.
The 42mm model is done in an 18k red gold case with a thickness of 15.6mm and a lug-to-lug of 50.03mm. While some people maintain the thickness isn’t ideal, I personally love a slightly thicker dressier watch that has some presence on the wrist. At the end of the day, this isn’t a dress watch, but more of an elegant, dressier sports watch, which was its original intention over 80 years ago. The dial’s black sunray finish contrasts beautifully with the red gold case and added to this, the separation of the black tachymeter scale and red gold outer ring tracking the seconds add to the complexity of the dial.
The sides of the case are brushed, rather than polished which gives the piece a less formal look along with the three grooves cut into the sides, and offsets the highly polished chamfering on lugs and bezel. On the left side of the case, the adjusters for the perpetual calendar sit nicely balanced at 10 and 8 o’clock. Breitling has completed the Premier with a high gloss black alligator strap and red gold folding clasp.
Navitimer B19 Chronograph 43 Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary
Perhaps the most iconic collection for Breitling is the Navitimer. With such a strong association with aviation, the Navitimer is to Brielting what the Speedmaster is to Omega and the Submariner is to Rolex. It was the first watch for pilots to combine a chronograph with the brand’s proprietary wrist-worn circular slide rule which assisted pilots greatly when needing to do calculations on the fly. The Navitimer was originally developed in 1952 for members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), but it quickly found favor with a broader audience. And fun fact, in May of 1962 it became the first Swiss wristwatch in space (The Navitimer Cosmonaute), just beating Omega who went to space in October of 1962, ironically both part of the Atlas 7 program!
For the 140th Anniversary model, Breitling has chosen the Navitmer Chronograph 43 and again, done in the 18k red gold complete with a Perpetual Calendar. Rather than doing a panda or reverse panda-styled dial, Breitling has given the 140th Anniversary Navitimer a red-gold dial that is offset by the black outer slide rule track. The Sunray brushed dial is spectacular in person, and possibly my favourite out of the three pieces, with the circular-grained sub-dials adding the depth needed to break up the monochromatic look.
Measuring 43mm in diameter, 15.62mm thick and 49.07mm lug-to-lug, it wears as it should – not too big or too small. I generally find the Navitimer 43 to wear a little smaller than stated, and this in red gold does have more heft to it, but in a good way so wears fairly true to size and doesn’t look overly thick either thanks to the case design. The matte black alligator strap with white topstitching and red gold folding clasp completes the look of the watch and provides yet another elegant and sporty piece for those lucky enough to get their hands on it.
Super Chronomat B19 44 Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary
The Super Chronomat is the last of the three 140th pieces, and perhaps, it’s a case of saving the best ’til last! Why? Well, this is the first time Breitling has done a skeletonised dial on a watch, and combining this with a chronograph and Perpetual Calendar in an 18k red gold piece is the icing on the cake.
The Chronomat was originally launched in 1983 in conjunction with the Frecce Tricolori, Italy’s aerobatics team as their official watch. The design proved popular and was released the following year to the general public and was instrumental in restoring the popularity of mechanical chronographs after the Quartz crisis. The Chronomat since has been one of Breitling’s most popular model lineups, due to it being a good all-around sports watch that bridges the gap between aviation and land so to speak. With the Super Chronomat 44, size does matter, and while other collections have shrunk down their case sizes, Breitling has kept this piece larger for those who want a little more wrist presence, coming in at 44m, a case thickness of 15.35mm and a lug-to-lug of 53.5mm.
The 140th Anniversary edition Super Chronomat 44 has all the hallmarks of the Chronomat design, from the raised tabs on the bezel every 15 minutes, to the onion screw-down crown, which on this model is done in both 18k red gold and black ceramic. Breitling has chosen to give the 140th edition a black ceramic bezel and chrono pushers to compliment the overall look of the piece, which I feel it does nicely. Added to this, rather than a leather or gold bracelet, the Super Chronomat 44 in equipped with the rubber Rouleaux strap and red gold folding clasp. This addition not only makes the piece look the sportiest of the three 140th pieces but is super flexible and allows the watch to wear better, cutting the weight down on it, as it is already slightly weighty with the case. But don’t construe that to be a bad thing, as it feels great on the wrist (more on this in my review).
As mentioned, this is the first time that Breitling has done a skeletonised dial, and it works wonderfully on the Super Chronomat 44 Perpetual Calendar. Rather than black, the skeleton dial has been done in a grey colour which allows for more light to seemingly penetrate it, and letting the sub-dial registers of the calendar stake centre stage. As such, your eye is drawn to these and makes them stand out, so you can read the detail just that little bit easier when compared to other skeleton dials on the market. And given this is a pure sports watch, you have decent amounts of Super-LumiNova on the hands and large indices. It is also 100m water resistant, so should you desire, taking this for a plunge isn’t an issue.
The Movement
Normally I would mention the movement in each, but in this instance, Breitling has developed a new Perpetual Calendar movement with the chronograph function for all three pieces – the B19. This is Breitling’s first Perpetual Calender movement and Breitling being Breitling, they had to make it a chronograph – one of the hallmarks of the brand. The movement beats away at 4Hz or 28,800 VpH, and pivots on 39 jewels. Even though the B19 is a Chronograph and Perpetual Calendar, Breitling has still managed to squeeze an incredible 96 hours of power out of it, so you’re good to leave whichever watch you choose for up to 4 days before it needs kick-starting again.
As an ode to its 140 years of history, Breitling has decorated the movement with a 22k red gold rotor that showcases an engraving of Breitling’s historic Montbrillant Manufactory at 3 rue de Montbrillant in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. What was unique about this Manufacture is it was both a place of work and home for three generations of the Breitling family, with the west wing done as a villa-style residence – such was the dedication to their craft!
Initial Thoughts
Breitling is one brand that seems to be going from strength to strength of late, and since Georges Kern has taken a look back at their history and gone back to some of its vintage roots, the brand has had a bit of a resurgence. So it’s no surprise that the 140th Collection is a mix of Breitling’s history, heritage, and modernity with the three references here. The Premier takes the elegance of the old-school vintage sports chronograph and gives it some added joie de vivre, the Navitimer all in red gold really gives the 43mm pilot’s watch a great look and even better wrist presence, and the Super Chronomat 44 gives those that want a more robust watch an option, harkening back to the larger Breitling days.
As for the new in-house Caliber B19, this is a great move from Breitling to incorporate this into their proprietary chronograph movement and design this for the 140th Collection. The added touch of the engraved rotor of the Montbrilliant Manufactory is a nice touch and one that will set this collection apart from others. As mentioned earlier, the use of the skeleton dial on the Chronomat is a great choice for this given the model, the aesthetics, and also the dial space to do so. With only 140 of each model available as well, it keeps these somewhat exclusive, and here in Australia, we’ll only see a handful of each variant, some of which have already been snapped up. And with each costing A$82,290, it’s good value for money given the precious metal, chronograph, and perpetual calendar movement offering!
References:
- Premier Datora 42 – RB19401A1B1P1
- Navitimer 43 – RB19101A1H1P1
- Super Chronomat 44 – RB19301A1G1S1
Specification:
- Case Sizes:
- Premier Datora – 42mm x 15.6mm and 50.03mm lug-to-lug.
- Navitimer – 43mm x 15.62mm and 49.07mm lug-to-lug.
- Super Chronomat 44 – 44mm x 15.35mm and 53.5mm lug-to-lug
- Case Material: Brushed and polished 18k red gold
- Dials:
- Premier Datora – Black sunray finish with sunken sub-registers.
- Navitmer – 18k red gold dial, circular grain subdials.
- Super Chronomat – Grey skeletonsied dial
- Movement: In-house Calibre B19 perpetual calendar chronograph movement.
- Movement Frequency: 28,800 VpH (4hZ)
- Movement Power reserve: 96hrs
- Water resistance: 100m (Premier and Super Chronomat) and 30m (Navitimer)
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal glassbox with anti-reflective coating
- Case back: Sapphire case back with anti-reflective coating
- Bracelet/Strap: Black alligator with 18k red gold folding clasp (Premier & Navitimer) / Black Rouleaux rubber strap with 18k red gold folding clasp
