The Breitling Watch Blog

THIS EVENT WAS CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES

On Monday 23rd July Fellows will be auctioning one of only two watches to have been worn on the first ever round-the-world flight in a hot air balloon. In addition, the Birmingham based auctioneers are hosting a fundraising evening – complete with a talk from the balloon’s co-pilot, Brian Jones – to help raise money for Winds of Hope, a charity started as a result of this record-breaking expedition.

Since 1981 there have been 21 failed attempts to make the first uninterrupted circumnavigation of the globe in a hot-air balloon. Richard Branson failed in December 1998 when his attempt ended dramatically with a crash landing in the Atlantic. In March 1999, however, Brian Jones and Bertrand Picard made the first complete flight around-the-world aboard the Breitling Orbiter 3, becoming the undisputed winners of a race that had lasted almost 20 years.

After months of tireless preparation, these intrepid pioneers started their journey at 0805hrs on Monday 1st March, departing from Château-d’Oex in the Swiss Alps and finally coming to rest again almost 20 days later in Egypt at 0600hrs on Sunday 21st March. Their balloon was of the Rozière variety, which combines the qualities of both a hot-air balloon and a gas balloon. The gondola was made of a mix of Kevlar and carbon fibre to ensure it was extremely durable, yet light.

The entire expedition was sponsored by the watch brand Breitling – the obvious choice considering their pedigree in manufacturing instruments for aviation professionals. Their contribution included providing each of the avid balloonists with their own watch, perfectly suited to the job in hand. The timepiece they received was the Breitling Emergency – an instrument watch with a built-in micro transmitter allowing rescuers to locate one’s position following a crash or forced landing.

Read more on Fellows Website:
http://www.fellows.co.uk/Fellows-news/fellows-to-host-the-greatest-adventure-around-the-world-in-19-days

Here’s my latest video review: A Breitling Seawolf Avenger in stainless steel. Sorry about the crappy audio, but the mic on my video camera often pics of the audio too loud. I have been trying to turn it down by muffling it but it doesn’t seem to have the ability to reduce the input volume so it is cracked. I hope you can see past that and enjoy the review anyway! My apologies beforehand. Fantastic and thick, good to 10,000ft deep!

Been waiting a long time for this one.. a Manual Winding IN-HOUSE Limited Edition Breitling Cosmonaute! This is one SWEET watch… limited to 1962 pieces, it is going to be tough to get and will be very collectible. I might have to shell out for this one, depending on the price and availability.

BREITLING CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST SPACEGOING WRIST CHRONOGRAPH.

On May 24th 1962, a Breitling Navitimer chronograph became the first wrist instrument to share in the conquest of space by accompanying the Aurora 7 flight. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of this historical feat, the brand is launching into orbit a new Navitimer Cosmonaute equipped with a highperformance Manufacture Breitling movement, entirely developed and produced in the company workshops. This 1,962-piece limited edition is distinguished by its 24-hour display, its manualwinding mode – two nods to the original 1962 chronograph – as well as the Aurora 7 mission insignia engraved on the caseback. Navitimer Cosmonaute. The legend continues.

MAIDEN SPACE FLIGHT.

The early 1960s were all about the space race. The Americans launched the Mercury program intended to develop manned flights. They were looking for a high-performance, accurate and reliable chronograph capable of withstanding exceptional conditions. With this in mind, they naturally turned to Breitling, the “official supplier to world aviation” and a privileged partner of the finest hours in aeronautical history. The Navitimer, the cult pilot’s watch created in 1952, with its famous circular slide rule serving to perform all operations relating to airborne navigation, naturally asserted itself as the ideal instrument in taking up this challenge. It successfully passed all the required tests, and on May 24th 1962, Lt Commander Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times aboard the Aurora 7 capsule. On his wrist was a Navitimer equipped with a 24-hour graduated scale serving to distinguish day from night – an absolute necessity in space. Mission accomplished. This was a major new token of recognition for Breitling, and this space conquest pioneer soon entered the brand’s collections under the name of Cosmonaute.

THE ENGINE DRIVING THE ACCOMPLISHMENT.

The new Manufacture Breitling Caliber 02 powering the Navitimer Cosmonaute stands out by its 24-hour display and its manual-winding system – two distinctive features echoing the model that accompanied Scott Carpenter in orbiting the Earth. It was developed by the Breitling engineers and watchmakers based on Caliber 01, the world’s best chronograph movement, and is endowed with all the assets of this exceptional “engine” – including an original column-wheel structure, maximum reliability, security and functionality, unfaltering sturdiness and exceptional precision confirmed by a chronometer certificate granted by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute). Issued in a 1,962-piece limited edition, the 50th anniversary Navitimer Cosmonaute features a black dial with silver counters. The dial motif is created using the refined “par épargne” process on a sterling silver base, thereby guaranteeing the peerless radiance and readability of the indications. In addition to the Aurora 7 mission insignia, the engraved caseback also carries a Celsius/Fahrenheit conversion scale – another detail faithful to the design of the vintage Navitimer models.

Yves “Jetman” Rossy once again pushed the boundaries of aviation by completing a fabulous flight above the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This airborne pioneer, who is the only man to fly with a rigid wing equipped with four jet engines, jumped out of a helicopter above the Rodrigo de Freitas Lake, before stabilizing the wing and heading full throttle north to fly around Corcovado Hill. He then tracked south of the city to fly alongside Ipanema Beach, Copacabana and the famous Sugar Loaf Mountain, before pulling his parachute and landing safely on the beach in front of the Copacabana Palace hotel.

The carbon-kevlar jetwing is equipped with four jet engines, each with a 22 kg thrust, thus propelling the Swiss aviator at a speed of 200-300 km/h which he controls via a simple hand-held throttle in his hand. To adjust his trajectory and his altitude, he relied exclusively on maneuvering his body, shoulders and legs.

The entire feat lasted 11 minutes 35 seconds in all, at an average altitude of 1200 meters, and no problems were reported before, during or after the flight. A former fighter pilot and current Swiss International Air Lines captain, Yves Rossy naturally ensured that all necessary safety measures were in place.

Announced as a “The Breitling seal of confidence”, Breitling has announced that they will be introducing a 5 Year warranty exclusive to their Manufacture Movements, which at this time include the 01, 04 and 05 movements.

This is a very impressive move by Breitling to provide such a long warranty. Given that they are in fact only providing it on their own manufacture movements says a lot about their confidence and pride in their own work. I’m curious when this new warranty will kick in and whether or not it will be retroactive to B01’s purchased before the announcement. At any rate, a nice move from Breitling.