Search Results for 'navi'
Thu 24 May 2012
Posted by The Breitling Source under
Breitling No Comments
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.
Thu 29 Mar 2012
Posted by The Breitling Source under
Linde Werdelin No Comments
Linde Linde Linde. I been wanting one of these suckers for a long time… and I finally made it happen with a Linde Werdelin The One 2.6. The heart and soul that goes into the engineering of Linde Werdelin’s designs is second to none. The watches are designed as pure sport timepieces that allow conversion to an instrument using the indentations on the side of the cases to hold the dive and ski instruments that Linde also makes.
The Linde Werdelin The One 2.6 has an imposing case size of 46 x 49mm, and it shows. The watch is a beat on the wrist, but due to the sleek case shape and angles, it doesn’t stick out from the wrist but instead molds to the curvature of the wrist very well. The unidirectional dive bezel has superluminova dots painted onto it, which gives it a neat look.
The strap is held on by two hex screws for each side of strap. They are easily removed with the hex tool that is provided with every Linde Werdelin watch. The strap removal screws are the ones that are located on the watch case, not the ones located on the bracelet. The screws on the bracelet are used to hold the strap retention bars on the strap itself.
The watch is meticulously crafted, with every faceted surface perfect and finished immaculately. Even the surface underneath where the straps mount is perfectly bead blasted with a finish that is the same as the caseback which gives it a sense of perfection. One thing is for certain: Linde Werdelin takes price in their cases.
The dial is a matte black, with large SuperLuminova indices that glow like a hot damn. They are fantastic. The 2.6 has a nice chapter ring also outfitted with some SuperLuminova and seconds markers. The bezel is very easy to turn and quite functional, with nice grippy indentations cut crisply into the edge – another hallmark of precision casemaking. The bezel is pressure fit, not screwed in.
The “armadillo” style bracelet is VERY nicely finished as well. At $750 it is not a cheap bracelet, but still about half the price of a Breitling Pilot or Navitimer bracelet. The links are pinned, not screwed, which I would have liked to see. Nice signed and hidden double butterfly clasp with pressure release buttons tucked away on the sides. The bracelet is semi-rigid and while comfortable, is not the most comfortable I have worn. I like to wear the Linde a bit looser than other bracelets because of this.
The One 2.6 is water resistant to 1000 ft, not too shabby. It also houses a ETA 2892-A2 movement, without too much extras. Linde will be making a switch to Concepto movements in the future I have read. The watch keeps spot on time, which is not surprising for the movement inside – fully capable of COSC spec timing.
Overall it is a fantastic watch. I have sent this one to a new home, since I ended up picking up a Linde Werdelin 3-Timer as well, both with a black dial so I only need one. I plan to keep my Linde for quite a while, and wouldn’t mind adding another to the collection as well, probably one with a white dial though. Overall a watch that I would encourage anyone to get if they are attracted to the sharp lines and overall look of the Linde Werdelin watches.
Wed 15 Feb 2012
Posted by The Breitling Source under
Budget Watches ,
Retrowork No Comments
When these Retrowerk steampunk watches came out a few years back, I blogged about them and how funky the Steampunk designs were a bit off the wall for me. Well, I ended up finding one for a good deal so I bought it! I never thought I would have ended up buying one of these, but I did.
And there she is, in all her antiqued, worn brass finish. The watch is actually considerably better made than I thought it would be, especially for the kind of money these go for these days. I am seeing them being liquidated for around $500 for the automatic models, which is a significant step down from their original $1200 MSRP. At $1200, its a bit of a stretch, however.
There’s a big, juicy piston driven crown protector, which reminds me a little of the Espresso machine style levers that Graham is so fond of with their Chronofighters. The Graham Chronofighter levers are much more refined, however. This is a bit cruder, like the U-Boat canteen covers.
I have a gripe about the way this was designed, however, and that’s because it is so difficult to hand-wind the crown due to the location of the protector when it is unscrewed. I can only manage about 1/4 turns when handwinding, and its a bit frustrating!
The piston is hollow on one side, and has a spring inside that pushes it to an open position when the crown protector is removed. As you can see, there is a lot of attention to detail in the finishing and imprinting on the case to create the steampunk style.
The caseback is not brass-finished like the rest of the case, but rather a bead blasted stainless steel, but is very well finished nonetheless. They didn’t cheap out on the case back, and in fact has each one individually serial numbered – a nice touch. This one is numbered 36. I wonder how many they made? Since there are three digits, probably not more than 999 of each model. That’s a pretty scarce production run – maybe they’ll be worth something in the future!
There’s the headshot. The arabic numbers are lumed, and the domed crystal is sapphire. When these were first announced, they were going to have mineral crystal, but it seems they got upgraded. I think they did a fantastic job with the brass finishing on the steel case, but while I like brass, I’m not sure if I like the steampunk. I’ll probably keep this watch for a little while, but I don’t know if it will be a long term keeper. I’ve got it mounted on a vintage ammo NuboStrap right now, and it looks great on there.
The one place on this German made watch where I felt they skimped a bit on the quality is the dial. The Lume isn’t the brightest, and the Retrowerk Logo is kind of shiny and rounded on the edges.. not as clean and crisp as I would prefer and gives it a bit of a cheaper look to it.. but the case details are fantastic and it has a great worn look to it.
Here’s a wristshot of the 46mm watch, which wears quite decently for such a large watch. The smaller face/crystal attributes to the slightly more digestable wrist presence. Most larger crystal 46mm watches like the Navitimer World have much larger wrist presence, and they don’t even have a gigantic brass piston on the case!
At any rate, really a novelty watch for the steampunk enthusiast that appreciates quality Swiss and German engineering. The watch is constructed well and keeps good time. It wears on the wrist well and really accomplishes what it sets out to do in my opinion. Is this watch for everyone? Certainly not, but I think it will definately be right for some people.
Tue 29 Mar 2011
Posted by The Breitling Source under
Breitling ,
New Watch Models [5] CommentsWed 23 Mar 2011
Posted by The Breitling Source under
Breitling ,
New Watch Models [6] Comments
Breitling has finally released a new movement (kind of) with their Caliber 04! It resides in the new Breitling Chronomat GMT, which is quite the watch. Its a beastly 47mm Chronomat with a GMT complication. And like the Rolex GMT-II and the Omega Seamaster, the main 12-hour hand is used for local time and is indexed to the date so it can be used more easily for travelling. A nice touch and good move on Breitling’s part to do this rather than the opposite which is much less useful for travel. The only thing this watch is lacking is a 24-hour bezel. Instead you get a dive-countdown bezel and the 24-hour scale is printed on the dial.
However, I think most exciting is the prospect that buyers will now be able to purchase a Chronomat in a larger 47mm format. Many of the guys on the BreitlingSource forum have been yearning for a larger Chronomat B01… now they have it.. The Chronomat GMT B04!
From Breitling:
THE AUTHENTIC TRAVEL CHRONOGRAPH
Adjusting instantly to the time and date of the place of arrival, while maintaining a 24-hour home-time display and without losing any precision in counting the minutes, must be every traveler’s dream. A dream now come true with the new Chronomat GMT, a travel watch from Breitling boasting unprecedented user friendliness. The wearer need only pull out the crown and turn it forwards or backwards to move between timezones in an outstandingly simple manner. Equipped with the new Breitling Caliber 04, entirely developed and produced within the company workshops, the Chronomat GMT is one of the rare chronographs to offer such a smoothly functional dual timezone system. With its exclusive design and its dial featuring subtle three-dimensional effects, it is the new benchmark for all those who want to experience high performances in all parts of the world.
AN INNOVATE MECHANISM
From the famous world-time Unitime, the star of the 1950s, to the current Navitimer World models with dual timezone display, travel watches have always had a special place in the Breitling collections. A natural vocation for the favorite pilots’ brand that became “official supplier to world aviation”. Today, Breitling is returning to the forefront in this field by unveiling a new instrument distinguished by its smart and convivial operating mode. To ensure peerless user friendliness, the firm’s watchmakers and engineers have developed a differential system – for which a patent has been duly filed – serving to disconnect the local hour hand from the gear train when changing timezone. This operation thus has no effect on the precision of the watch, nor on the performances of the chronograph.
A HIGH-PERFORMANCE CHRONOGRAPH
The fact that the Chronomat GMT is such an exceptional instrument is also because it combines this extremely practical dual timezone system with a chronograph – and not just any chronograph. The brand-new Breitling Caliber 04 developed for this model is indeed derived from Breitling Caliber 01, the sturdiest, most reliable and most high-performance of all selfwinding chronograph movements, entirely designed and produced within the company workshops. It features the same original architecture and the same cutting-edge characteristics, including a column wheel, a vertical coupling clutch guaranteeing high-precision activation, and an over 70-hour power reserve – along with various innovative special characteristics such as the patented recentering device for the zero-resetting hammers. Designed to provide maximum operational functionality and security, Caliber 04 is manufactured using a high-tech production-chain system revolutionizing traditional movement assembly processes. Breitling thereby guarantees the authentic reliability of its “instruments for professionals” on a large scale. As is the case for all the brand’s movements, this highperformance “engine” is chronometer-certified by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute), the highest token of precision.
A POWERFUL STYLE
The new Chronomat GMT is based on the powerful, unique and quintessential design of Breitling’s leading model, with its imposing steel case featuring ultra-sturdy construction and water-resistant to 500 meters (1,650 ft), as well as its unidirectional rotating bezel engraved with exclusive numerals. However, its dial available in six colors with tone-on-tone or contrasting totalizers has been redesigned to give it a personality all its own. The applied hour-markers are fitted with highly original bases, inspired by Roman numerals. This refined detail accentuates the square shape of the central gridwork-patterned central zone that stands out in subtle ways depending on how it catches the light. The triangular openworked red-tipped hand points to home time on a 24-hour graduated scale partially covered by the inner bezel – thereby giving the dial even more life and depth by playing on the third dimension. The home-time hands and hour-markers are enhanced by a luminescent coating guaranteeing excellent readability by day and night. Entirely made in Switzerland and treated to extremely meticulous finishing, the Chronomat GMT may be teamed with a choice of various straps and bracelets offering a variety of styles and uses: the classic touch of Barenia or crocodile leather, the sporty spirit of rubber straps, and the sturdy masculine nature of the steel Pilot bracelet. A whole world of elegance and performance for the authentic travel chronograph.
PEERLESS FUNCTIONALITY
The new Chronomat GMT is equipped with two central hour hands. The first matches the minute hand and runs over a 12-hour scale, while the second is tipped with a red triangle and runs in 24-hour mode. When the user is in his home country, the two hour hands move in a perfectly synchronized manner.
CHANGING TIMEZONE
To adjust the 12-hour hand to local time, the user simply pulls the crown out to position 2 and turns it in either direction by the number of notches corresponding to the number of hours composing the time difference. The date display is indexed to this 12-hour hand and changes automatically if required, both backwards or forwards. The red-tipped hand keeps track of home time on a 24-hour basis, thus enabling one to distinguish between day and night and avoiding the risk of waking family members, friends or business contacts by phoning them when they are sound asleep. And if the traveler makes stopovers in several different timezones, he need only repeat the same operation on each occasion and then, upon returning home, reset the two hands to the same time. It’s hard to imagine anything simpler!
