The hand-wind Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute Ref. A12322 is one of the coolest Breitling Navitimers out there. It is the last in the line of manual hand-wound Cosmonautes featuring the B12 Caliber Movement, and also has the 24-hour dial that, while harder to read and mentally process, is just so darn awesome. I’ve been wanting one of these for quite some time, and when a friend decided to sell his I took the opportunity to add to the herd.

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This one is the classic black dial with white subdials with the tri-compax layout. It also came mounted on a dark brown Breitling Strap, but it was quite worn so I purchased a BOB strap to put on there in a tan/saddle brown. The B12 Caliber movement does not have a date, but does have a Chronograph complication in addition to the 24hr dial. On days when I just want a super-complicated looking dial, this watch fits the bill in every way!

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The sapphire crystal, like most modern Navitimers, is domed and AR-coated showing a bluish hue. The seconds subdial is located at 9 o’clock (based on 12 hour dial, not this 24 dial of course!), the Chronograph Minutes at 3 o’clock and Chronograph Hours at 6 o’clock. The pushers operate as normal with the start/stop at the top and the reset at the bottom.

The case measures the original standard Navitimer 41.5mm, same diameter as the Old Navitimer and other original models. Newer models like the Navitimer 01 feature larger 43mm cases. The lug width is 22mm, like most Navitimers as has a 14.25mm thick case – much thinner than most Navi’s because the manual winding B12 movement does not have a rotor.

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The caseback is the classic Breitling Navitimer style, with the COSC engraving on it. This model was one of the latest sold roughly from 2001-2002, that featured the manual winding COSC Caliber B12 before this watch was discontinued, and is quite rare to get in this configuration. The majority of these watches found on the secondary market are Pre-COSC.

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This is a unique and very collectible Breitling that will be unlikely to be ever released again, especially with the Breitling Cosmonaute being released a couple times in a 43mm version with the handwind in-house B02 movement.

Specs:
Model: Cosmonaute (Lemania)
Production Years: 1992-2001
Gender: Mens
Case Materials Available: Steel, 18k
Movement: Breitling 12
Power Reserve: 42 Hours
Water Resistance: 30m
Bezel: Bidirectional
Crown: Push-Down
Crystal: Sapphire
Diameter: 41.5mm
Thickness: 13.3mm
Weight: 69.8g
Bracelet: Navitimer
Lug Width: 22mm