1980 breitling na itimer4/30/2023 ![]() To be sure, the circular slide rules of the Chronomat and the Navitimer helped make Breitling recognizable to the public as the pilot watch company. The Chronomat was a worthy forerunner to the Navitimer, and the uninitiated can perhaps be forgiven for believing it’s an early version. That honor belongs to Breitling’s Chronomat, released in 1942. The Navitimer (the name is an assemblage of “navigation” and “timer”) was not the first slide rule watch. This slide rule bezel has been present on almost every Navitimer Breitling has ever produced and is typically considered at the heart of this tool watch’s incredible popularity. That bit about calculations would be in reference to the Navitimer’s most recognizable feature, the “navigation computer” - a circular slide rule located on the rotating bezel that a pilot can use to handle all the calculations they need to make when planning a flight (airspeed, rate/time of climb/descent, flight time, distance, and fuel consumption functions, plus kilometer-nautical mile and gallon-liter fuel conversion functions). That brief anecdote may tell you something about how the Breitling Navitimer is viewed by the guys who fly jets for a living. Why am I telling you this? Because when he was asked about the prominent Breitling on his wrist, he replied, “I need a Navitimer so I can do my calculations!” (emphasis his). In fact, at one point he ran the test pilot office at Edwards Air Force Base, and retired a full bird colonel. ![]() My cousin’s husband used to be a test pilot in the U.S. Welcome to Watches You Should Know, a biweekly column highlighting little-known watches with interesting backstories and unexpected influence. ![]()
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