Breitling played an important role in the golden era of aviation, helping crews track the full range of calculations related to navigation. The brand has now created a capsule collection of Navitimer 1 Airline Editions that commemorate the most emblematic airlines of that time. The collection is being launched, appropriately, with the Navitimer 1 B01 Chronograph 43 Swissair Edition, which will be followed by timepieces celebrating other important airlines of a very special era.
Breitling's first capsule collection captures the spirit of a memorable time for commercial flight and revives the cool and evocative style of the 1960s and 1970s. The Navitimer 1 Airline Editions pay an affectionate tribute to the pioneers of civil aviation and celebrate the most emblematic airlines of the era, starting with Swissair.
Breitling CEO Georges Kern says: "We are introducing these Airline Editions in a new capsule collection that is produced for a limited time and consequently in a limited volume, but the watches are not numbered. With these capsule collections, Breitling aims to tell specific stories rooted in the history of its core collection. This distinguishes them from our limited editions, which will retain their original intent: to be limited to a small, fixed number of watches."
Breitling's Chief Marketing Officer Tim Sayler also highlights the storytelling aspect of the capsule collections, adding: "We are delighted that our first capsule collection underscores Breitling's important role in aviation in the mid- to late twentieth century truly the golden era of commercial flight. The watches also focus on the young, cool design styles of the 1960s and 1970s, which are particularly relevant right now and have a huge influence on current design trends."
Breitling CEO Georges Kern points out: "For civil aviation history lovers and watch aficionados, the very mention of these legendary carriers calls to mind the excitement and adventure associated with long-haul flights. For a more fashion-oriented clientele, there's the allure of the style of a time captured in classic movie scenes of passengers enjoying the premium service provided by smiling, colorfully uniformed crew members. Breitling was the preferred supplier of more than 15 leading companies and aircraft manufacturers back in the 1960s, and, with our first capsule collection, we are really excited about commemorating the most emblematic airlines of that era, starting with Swissair."
This first Breitling capsule collection will be available from April 2019 at Breitling boutiques and official retailers for a limited period of time. This chronograph celebrates the former national airline of Breitling's home country, and will soon be joined by other fine watches honoring iconic carriers whose names are also synonymous with the golden age of commercial flight.
Technical Specifications:
The case, in stainless steel, measures 43mm x 14.2mm. It has a convex AR-coated sapphire crystal, a sapphire display back with printed Swissair logo, and and it is water resistant to 30 meters. Bidirectional bezel with circular slide rule.
Movement is the Swiss automatic Breitling in-house caliber 01 with 47 jewels, 28,800 vph and a power reserve of 70 hours. Chronograph: ratchet wheel control, vertical coupling, 30-minute and 12-hour counters. Display: hour, minute, second, window date. It is COSC-certified as a chronometer.
The black dial has SuperLuminova hands and markers. Silver subdials. Red hour and minute hands.
It comes on a black leather strap with a steel pin buckle or stainless-steel mesh bracelet with folding clasp.
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