REPLICA BREITLING CELEBRATES 70 YEARS OF ITS ICON
After the bomb called MoonSwatch then the tornado of new products brought by Watches & Wonders 2024, it’s time for Breitling. The Swiss house recently unveiled its latest vintage of Navitimer, and fasten your seat belts because the Saint-Imier brand is hitting hard to properly celebrate the 70th anniversary of its icon.
70 years of a legendary chronograph
The timing is perfect for Replica Breitling, after having faithfully honored the heritage of the Navitimer at Baselworld 2019 (with the release of the 806 1959 Re-Edition), a complete range has just been presented. The Navitimer, whose “Cosmonaut” version was the first chronograph sent into space (sorry Omega), is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. A great opportunity to offer a breath of fresh air while respecting the heritage of this legendary watch. It was developed by Willy Breitling in the early 1950s as a valuable tool, quickly adopted by a majority of aviation pilots, at a time when on-board technologies were not what we know today.
A complete new range
We don’t really know where to start. The new Navitimer 2022 has three case sizes (46, 43 and 41mm), in two materials (stainless steel and 18-carat rose gold), all complemented by no less than 13 new dials! Note that all of the cases presented are water resistant to 3 ATM, which is nothing new, but can start to become problematic for a modern watch. In the 46mm, there are steel models with black, blue and emerald green dials, then a rose gold model with a black and silver panda dial. In the 43mm, the steel models feature black, silver, copper, ice blue and mint green dials, as well as a rose gold reference with a black dial with silver details.
A manufacturing movement
All the models in this new line feature the same engine, namely the Breitling manufacture caliber 01. It is an automatic movement with a column wheel chronograph function oscillating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, while offering a comfortable reserve 70 hour walk. Everything is chronometer certified by the prestigious COSC observatory. Another important detail, this movement now includes a date function, here placed at 6 o’clock.
The good news is that these 2022 Navitimers will not be produced in limited editions, and that they will be available from this month of April. Count between €8,300 and €8,850 for the steel models, compared to €18,000 to €35,500 for those in pink gold. Breitling seems to be taking its historic chronograph in the right direction, between heritage and renewal, for a boost that does not detract from its prestige. Our favorite: the mint green dial which brightens up this release in a surprising and very effective way.
