Breitling watch saves the life of stranded hunter on August 15th, 2012

Emergency Transmitter in Watch Alerts Alaska Rescuers to Missing Man’s Location

A watch made more than a fashion statement when it helped save a stranded hunter’s life in Alaska on August 15th. Mark Spencer was hunting grizzly bears about 120 miles northeast of Anchorage when he became stuck in the wilderness along Susitna River in the heart of the infamous Alaska Range. Unable to navigate the hazardous Class 6 rapids of the Susitna River, his float-hunting party had diverted the course of their boat to the Tyone River. But the river route proved too shallow for their vessel. Spencer left his group and went searching for help on the glaciated Susitna River and struck a shoal tearing a hole in the vessel sinking it in the icy waters. He had spent more than 48 treacherous hours struggling for his life among the unrelenting elements of the Alaskan Backcountry.

“Breitling is the number one piece of equipment I always bring with me”, said Spencer, who works in the renewable energy industry. “Even if I lose everything, I will always have my watch. That gives me and my family peace of mind.”

The timepiece is designed with a micro-transmitter broadcasting on the 121.5 MHz aircraft emergency frequency. The transmitter is activated by unscrewing a protective cap and extending a short antenna. Despite the small size of the watch, the signal range is comparable to traditional hand-held Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) and can broadcast for 48 hours.

Spencer activated his watch’s Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) after a dangerous trek up the frigid Susitna River left him hypothermic and near death in the isolated backcountry. A rescue crew was able to pinpoint his location and lift him to safety by helicopter after they picked up the distress signal.

“It brings Breitling great pleasure to hear about this kind of customer satisfaction”, said Thierry Prissert, President of Breitling USA. “We’re hoping from now on he only has to use his watch to tell time.”

GoS releases their Spring Season watch, in a limited edition of 5. Why they’re releasing the Spring model on the first day of Fall, I’m not sure, but what the heck, they’re Watchmakers, not meteorologists. It is a beautifully crafted watch, like all of the GoS pieces, and features Damascus Steel cases and damascus dials with unique 18k hands.

“GoS proudly presents – Spring – the third model in the Nordic Seasons series of watches that are designed with inspiration from the rich contrasts of the nordic seasons. The dial for the Spring is made in tempered pattern welded steel, also known as damascus steel, that has been hand forged in Johan Gustafsson’s unique Explosion pattern. The yellow tempered coloring of the steel meant to illustrate the return of the sun, which is a very
important aspect of life in Scandinavia.

Since ancient times, people living in the northern hemisphere have had a need to celebrate the arrival of spring with cleansing bonfires and celebration at the end of a cold and dark winter. Swedes do this on April 30, Valborg (Walpurgis Night). Normally, Spring is already well established in the southern reaches of the country, while northerners still have to wait a few weeks longer. Nevertheless, this is the evening when Swedes welcome the Spring.”

Watch series – Nordic Seasons
? Case: Stainless steel and stainless damascus steel 44/45mmx10mm (10ATM)
? Lug width: 22mm
? Glass: Flat sapphire glass with AR coating
? Movement: Swiss manual ETA 6498
? Movement refinement: Refinished and improved to chronometre grade by the swiss company Soprod.
? Dial: Handforged damascus steel
? Index ring/rehaut: Solid gold, shaped and polished by hand
? Hands: Solid gold, shaped and polished by hand
? Crown: 9mm in finegrained stainless damascus stainless steel, double gasket crown inset
? Case finishing: Stainless damascus steel, highgloss polished with GoS logo engraved on case side.
? Strap: Handcrafted strap in soft nubuck leather fitted with GoS stainless steel buckle

Damascus steel movement
? Movement: Swiss manual ETA 6498 : yellow
? Movement refinement: Improved to chronometre grade by the swiss company Soprod.
? Movement modification: 3/4 bridge made in solid handforged damascus steel.
? Limitation: 4pcs, available as an option to the Nordic Season series.

Watch Model – Nordic Seasons Spring
? Dial: Handforged explosion damascus steel, tempered to receive a main nuance in yellow
? Hands: Solid 18K gold in the red swedish gold nuance
? Index ring: Solid 18K gold in the red swedish gold nuance
? Limitation: 5pcs

Presentation Box
? Individually crafted box in svepask technique of birch wood
? Colored with natural pigments mized in linseed oil
? Covered with high grade natural wax and polished to a deep finish
? Protection box of black&grey hard paper
? Guarantee certificate, two years guarantee

What is your favourite Breitling of all time? We have selected 64 candidates, and now there is a battle down to the bitter end. See this post for more details and to vote on BreitlingSource.com forums. You will need join the forum account to vote if you aren’t already registered. Its free!

http://breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42096

Here is a list of the match-ups for the first round:

Top Time 2002 vs. SuperOcean Heritage Chronograph
Chrono Avenger M1 vs. Skyracer
Colt Automatic 17380 vs. Top Time 810
Avenger Seawolf Ti vs. Avenger Code Yellow LE
Chronospace 56012 vs. SuperOcean Steelfish X-Large / SuperOcean Steelfish (all 44mm versions)
Premier vs. Emergency SuperQuartz
Bentley Le Mans vs. Twin Sixty
Bentley Mulliner Tourbillon vs. Chrono SuperOcean 13340
Blackbird Blacksteel vs. Navitimer Fighters
Crosswind Special LE vs. Bentley GT Ice
Chronomat 769 vs. Datora 784 / 785
Hercules vs. SuperOcean 2105
Chronomat Evolution vs. Chronomat Calibre 13
Crosswind vs. Blackbird 13050 / 13050.1
Spatiographe vs. Long Playing 7104
Montbrillant Olympus vs. TransOcean Chronograph b0152
B-1 SuperQuartz vs. Chrono Avenger
Emergency Mission vs. Blackbird 13353
Old Navitimer Mecanique vs. Navitimer 1461 LE (2011) 19370
Pluton 57038 vs. Navitimer Olympus
Chrono-matic 2114 vs. SuperOcean Heritage 46
Old Navitimer II vs. Aerospace 80360 (Navitimer)
TransOcean Chronograph Unitime vs. 765CP (Co-Pilot)
Navitimer 806 vs. Chronomat B01
Blackbird 44359 vs. Mark VI Complications 19
Chronomat 13352 vs. Crosswind Racing
Chrono Avenger Rattrapante LE vs. Chrono-matic 24
Serie Speciale Lemania Cosmonaute DB vs. SuperOcean 17360
Headwind vs. Navitimer World
Cockpit vs. SuperOcean Heritage Chronograph 125th Anniversary
Montbrillant 1461 Jours vs. Montbrillant Datora
Unitime 260 vs. Navitimer 01

Associated with Breitling for the eighth consecutive year, the “star pilot” appears in a new advertising campaign in the company of the famous Navitimer.

From his earliest childhood, John Travolta has always had two dreams: to fly every day and to wear a Navitimer – the cult model among aviation enthusiasts and professionals. An experienced pilot with over 6,000 flight hours to his credit and certified on eight types of aircraft, he remains more loyal than ever to the “official supplier to world aviation”, with which he shares the same spirit and the same constant quest for performance. In 2012, he stars in the brand-new advert dedicated to the brand with the winged B. The extremely evocative visual shows Travolta standing next to a Mustang P-51; a shot taken by French photographer Frédéric Imbert, on the runway of the Air & Space Port in Mojave, California. The pilot appears wearing the Navitimer with its famous aviation slide rule and its Manufacture Breitling Caliber 01, the world’s best selfwinding chronograph movement. For John Travolta, it is quite simply the most legendary chronograph of them all.

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