The Breitling Watch Blog

The young Frenchwoman, who is both the reigning aerobatics world champion and an accomplished airline pilot, joins the flight team of the brand with the winged B, at the controls of her aerobatics Extra 330SC plane. A partnership under the banner of passion, style and high performance.

“I am proud to fly for this legendary brand which has contributed so much to the development of aeronautics and is the representative par excellence of the aviator’s watch” enthuses the champion. “I am also proud of being the first woman to join the official Breitling pilots and thus defend the position of woman pilots.” Born in Grenoble in 1982, Aude Lemordant watched glider tugs flying over her home throughout her childhood. As a result of this, she decided that she too would go and make small talk with the clouds. At the age of 14, she had her introduction to the air and at 16, obtained her glider license. In 2000, she passed her pilot’s license in California. Deciding that the cockpit was the “best possible office” she decided to make it her profession. After graduating from ENAC (Ecole nationale de l’aviation civile – National School of Civil Aviation), she joined Air France, becoming an airline pilot on Airbus at the age of 22 and today flying Boeing 777s. However, her training also enabled her to discover another form of aviation in the shape of aerobatics, which thrilled her right from the start. She began competing in 2005 and swiftly climbed the ranks, joining the French team in 2009, becoming champion of France and world vice-champion in 2011, followed in 2012 by French championship and European freestyle championship titles. Once again crowned French champion in 2013, she also became world champion in the singles, freestyle and team categories. Since then, Aude Lemordant has chosen to fly a new plane – the Extra 330SC, personalized in Breitling colors: a technological gem that she first of all needed to “take in hand”. This challenge has been visibly overcome, since she again won the French championships in June 2014 and is determined to defend her greatest title at the 2015 world championships, which will take place in France. With her 6,500 flying hours, her acrobatic prowess at the controls of her Extra 330SC plane and her professionalism as a long-haul airline pilot, Aude Lemordant perfectly embodies the entire world of Breitling in its ongoing role as the privileged partner of aeronautics. A world dedicated to achievement, performance and surpassing oneself.

I don’t know if a revamp or “Fresh Momentum”, as Breitling calls it is the right description, but the Colt has returned to its roots with a design that resembles the previous Breitling Colt models complete with Rider Tabs and an Automatic model.

The new Colt will be available in a Colt Quartz Chronograph version, regular Colt Quartz, Colt Automatic, and Colt Lady models.

From Breitling:

“Breitling has redesigned the entire Colt collection while reviving its original spirit: that of a military watch combining peerless performance with an efficient and understated style.

Colt was born in the 1980s and initially intended for the armed forces – like other Breitling watches such as the Navitimer and the Chronomat – before winning over a broad audience through its sturdiness, its reliability and its readability. It has since established itself as the most accessible Breitling model. The newly revamped Colt features a design that reinterprets all the essential assets on which it has built its success. The broad unidirectional rotating bezel with a satin-brushed finish and engraved hour-markers is adorned with four rider tabs – a Breitling signature feature – ensuring excellent handling as well as enhanced protection of the sapphire crystal which is glareproofed on both sides. The polished steel case, water-resistant to 200 meters (660 ft), is equipped with a large screw-locked crown with protective reinforcements. The black, blue or silver dials are enlivened by a fine circular raised motif and their readability is enhanced by oversized hands and hour-markers, accentuated by a luminescent coating. The satin-brushed steel bracelet may be replaced by a rubber or leather strap. The new Colt comes in a range of four models: a 44 mm watch with a mechanical selfwinding movement certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) – the highest official benchmark in terms of reliability and precision; a watch and chronograph equipped with SuperQuartz™ movements, ten times more accurate than standard quartz; and a Lady watch with a smaller diameter and an optionally gemset bezel. All of which brings fresh momentum to this collection with a youthful, dynamic and winsome attitude.”

Fresh Momentum for the Colt Video:

The next limited edition IWC Pilot Watch to commemorate the celebrated pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is this new “The Last Flight” edition. It is available in three different versions all in brown silicon nitride ceramic, with proceeds from the Platinum caseback edition going to support the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation.

The Platinum caseback version is a limited edition of 17, the Red Gold caseback version is limited to 170 pieces and the Titanium-backed version is limited to 1700. All have slightly different subdial colors to “match” the casebacks.

I’ve always been a fan of the IWC pilots, especially the Saint-Exupéry Limited editions. I would love to be able to get this version with the titanium.

Specs:
Case: Brown Silicon Nitride Ceramic
Case Size: 46mm x 16.5mm
Crystal: AR-coated sapphire crystal
Water Resistance: 60m
Movement: IWC in-house caliber 89361 with 38 jewels, 28,800 vph and a power reserve of 68 hours
Strap: Brown calfskin strap with quilted stitching and a pin buckle