Breitling Navitimer 2022 Watch Review
The Breitling Navitimer 2022 collection has just been unveiled by the Grenchen-based marque. These new models perpetuate the legend of the ‘navigation timer’, first unveiled in 1952. Furthermore, Breitling has now made the iconic model more desirable by providing unprecedented choice for today’s generation of horophiles.
Image – Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43
Founded in 1884, Breitling has long been associated with the making of chronographs. Used for measuring elapsed periods of time, these instruments were initially used to record scientific phenomena or sporting events. Ultimately, chronographs appeared in the brand’s wristwatches in 1915. Even today, chronographs remain a key element of the brand’s DNA.
Breitling also has a fascination with aviation dating back to 1931 when it produced its first onboard clock. In 1952, the firm released the Navitimer, an aviation-themed watch equipped with a chronograph. Its name is a portmanteau, made up of the words ‘navigation’ and ‘timer’.
The original model featured a tricompax layout, syringe hands and a slide rule encircling the dial. For many years, the caseback was engraved with a conversion chart. Used in conjunction with the slide-rule, the pilot could easily make all the necessary calculations for flying. It was widely considered the perfect pilots’ watch. Indeed, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) named the watch as its official timepiece.
The Navitimer has remained in production since its launch in 1952. Despite making some incredibly popular models, such as the Chronomat, Crosswind, Premier and SuperOcean, the Navitimer is unequivocally the golden child. Indeed, Breitling is Navitimer and vice-versa.
Image – Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46
Early Navitimer models featured hand-wound movements, however, most modern-day examples of the watch are automatic, albeit there are a few exceptions. For example, the current Navitimer 1959 Edition contains the in-house Breitling Manufacture Calibre B09, a hand-wound COSC-certified movement.
Recently, the Grenchen-based marque revisited the iconic watch, releasing the Breitling Navitimer 2022 collection. Consumers are now offered a breathtaking choice of models. Firstly, the latest Navitimer models are offered in 41, 43 and 46mm case sizes. Moreover, the array of dial hues is incredible. In particular, Breitling has not been afraid of employing striking shades of copper, powder blue, dark emerald and pistachio green as well as more conventional tones. Lastly, the would-be wearer can choose from a strap or metal bracelet.
Image – Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46
At the heart of these new models is the sublime Calibre B01 automatic movement. This Manufacture movement is fully integrated and pairs a column wheel with a vertical coupling. The push piece feel is super-smooth and because the vertical coupling is always in mesh, the central chronograph seconds hand commences its journey without hesitation or wobbling. It is, quite simply, a fabulous movement.
Image – Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43
All watches in the new Breitling Navitimer 2022 collection feature an exhibition caseback, affording sight of the self-winding movement. Some purists may lament the omission of a traditional caseback marked with the aforementioned conversion chart, however, considering the notable beauty of the movement, aviators and chronograph-lovers are now indulged with a splendid vista.
The brand’s press release
As Breitling’s legendary timepiece turns 70, the brand unveils a redesigned collection that is all about bold colour, enhanced styling—and incredible journeys.
For 70 years, Breitling’s original pilot’s watch has been beloved by aviators and tastemakers in equal measure. Worn by an astronaut in space and the biggest stars on Earth, it is Breitling’s most iconic timepiece. Today Breitling honours the legend with the introduction of a new Navitimer that captures its most classic features, while enhancing them with modern refinements.
“We don’t throw the term ‘icon’ around lightly,” says Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling. “The Navitimer is one of the most recognizable watches ever made. It’s on collectors’ lists of the greatest watches of all time. What began as a tool for pilots has gone on to mean something profound to every single person who has had this timepiece along on their personal journey.”
The de-facto pilot’s watch
Not even its inventor could have predicted the phenomenon the Navitimer would become. In 1952, Willy Breitling developed a wrist-worn chronograph with a circular slide rule that would allow pilots to perform all necessary flight calculations. Two years later, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the largest aviators’ club in the world, announced the design as its official timepiece. The association’s winged logo was emblazoned at 12 o’clock, and the “navigation timer”—or Navitimer—was born.
The Navitimer grew up alongside the burgeoning civil aviation industry. Beloved by airline captains and aircraft enthusiasts, it even made its way into space on the wrist of astronaut Scott Carpenter in 1962 as a 24-hour timepiece to tell day from night. And it wasn’t only pilots drawn to the watch’s irrepressible aesthetic. Celebrities of the day, such as Miles Davis, Serge Gainsbourg, Jim Clark and Graham Hill, were devotees, proving that the Navitimer had style as well as function.
An evolution in Breitling’s signature modern-retro style
To create the new Navitimer, Breitling preserved the most recognizable aspects of the icon’s design code. From a distance, this is unmistakably a Navitimer, with its circular slide rule, baton indexes, trio of chronograph counters and notched bezel for easy grip. Up close, however, its modern refinements come through loud and clear.
Image – Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41
A flattened slide rule and a domed crystal create the illusion of a more compact profile. Alternating polished and brushed finishings give the metal elements a lustrous, yet understated quality. A slimmer silhouette on the oscillating weight enhances the open-caseback view of the COSC-certified Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01. This movement is backed by a five-year warranty, provides approximately 70 hours of power reserve and allows the wearer to change the date—now visible through a discreet window in the subdial—at any time.
Image – Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41
The watch comes in a range of sizes (46, 43 or 41 mm), two case materials (stainless steel or 18-karat red gold) and a choice of straps (semi-shiny alligator or seven-row metal bracelet). Modern colours in shades of blue, green and copper define its updated dial options. And if there is one feature sure to spark nostalgia, it’s the return of the AOPA wings to their original position at 12 o’clock.
For the journey, celebrating what moves us
Today, after 70 years, the Navitimer has gone beyond being a tool used by pilots to navigate their course. It has become a symbol for those plotting their personal journeys through life.
Image – Historical Navitimer Ref. 806 from 1959
Breitling celebrates this significance in a new campaign, NAVITIMER – FOR THE JOURNEY, featuring the Navitimer Squad, made up of basketball superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland and aviation pioneer and explorer Bertrand Piccard. Each member has been on an incredible journey to get to where they are today at the top of their fields. Each one has charted a course and stayed it through sheer determination. And each one is on route to achieving their next set of ambitions. Using powerful visuals and the Squad Members’ own narration, the campaign gets to the heart of these moving journeys.
Image – Historical Navitimer Ref. 806 Twin-jet from 1965
“This project means a lot to me because it celebrates not only where I was in life, but where I’d come from and where I am going,” says Misty Copeland. “There is an absolute parallel between navigating towards a physical destination and navigating towards the vision of where you want to be in life. You’ll see that theme come through in these three stories.”
Image – Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46
The Navitimer has come a long way since Willy Breitling first drafted his idea for a wrist-worn flight tool. This redesign, with its focus on colour, styling and inclusive appeal, marks a new phase in the Navitimer’s journey, one that blends Breitling’s modern aesthetics and values with its historic watchmaking savoir faire to create an updated identity for the iconic watch that started it all.