History of Breitling Chronographs and the New 140th Anniversary Collection

Recently we, somewhat briefly, went over some of the big milestones in the development of the chronograph. We talked about the connection between chronographs and motorsport but the chronograph obviously has more far reaching influence in the watch industry. After all, the development of the ability to stop and start timekeeping was one of the biggest steps in chronometric history and there aren’t not many areas it doesn’t have some impact on. So let’s look at one of those other areas, the history of Breitling’s connection to chronographs.

The initial genes of the chronograph were built by the esteemed Louis Moinet (and made famous by Nicolas Rieussec), but Breitling has perhaps had the biggest impact on the modern chronograph. By that I mean the chronograph you think of when you read the word ‘chronograph’: a pillars of time wristwatch with two pushers flanking a crown at nine o’clock and three subdials.

Breitling advertisements from 1910 and 1934

Now, there will be a lot of hedging bets and caveats here; early watchmaking wasn’t exactly well-documented and even now, things are still being discovered. Moinet’s invention of the first chronograph was a mystery until 2021. But let’s give it our best. Or simplest, depending on how it goes.

The history of Breitling’s chronographs starts in 1884 with Leon Breitling, specifically with an obsessive need to time things on a pocket watch. You know that feeling you get where you just want to time random stuff with your wristwatch? Leon turned that into a business. He had competition of course; Longines especially were working in the same field.

Breitling Transocean Chronograph Monopusher (1915)

The reason I mention Longines is that, in 1913, they built the 13.33Z, considered to be the first chronograph wristwatch ever built. It was monumental and its importance can’t be understated. It was different from what we have today however in that it used a pusher integrated into the crown, slightly limiting its usability. That was something that Gaston Breitling (son of Leon) capitalised on.

In 1915, he unveiled the Transocean Chronograph. Not only was this an incredibly handsome bit of 1910s watchmaking, it had a separate chronograph pusher at two o’clock. It made the chronograph function that much easier to use over Longines’ monopusher and other chronographs available at the time. It was still the exact same function, however.

Breitling Premier Chronograph ref. 777 with two pushers (1940s), image credit: Analog:Shift

The bigger advancement for history of Breitling’s chronographs came almost two decades later when the third Breitling in line, Willy, was in charge. In 1934, he patented a watch that had both the pusher at two o’clock and a second pusher at four o’clock, so that the watch could be started, stopped and reset separately. This meant that you could stop and start the same timing run as many times as you wanted, opening up new ways of actually using your chronograph.

Now, notice I said ‘patented’. That’s because it seems Breitling weren’t the first to build a two-pusher chronograph; that would, most likely, have been Longines who, at the time, were one of the few chronograph builders that made their own movements in-house. Nevertheless, it was Breitling that actually popularised what is now considered the modern chronograph and like Amy Winehouse and Valerie, we have Breitling to thank for popularising this horological singalong rather than the Zutons of watchmaking.

Chronomatic Group Calibre 11

Not that Breitling ever avoided developing things themselves. In 1969, there was an intense race to combine all those lovely chronograph timekeeping elements with the autonomy of an automatic movement. It was a race of three cars, with the Japanese represented by horological giant Seiko and Switzerland vying between soloist Zenith and a consortium of Heuer-Leonidas, Breitling, Buren-Hamilton and Dubois Dépraz – the Chronomatic Group. We all know that Zenith’s offering, the El Primero, became a legend and given its name (the first) you’d assume they held the title. But not necessarily. They were first to announce it, sure, but the working version only arrived to market in October 1969. The Chronomatic Group’s Calibre 11 however, arrived months before then and even Zenith (and partner Movado) admitted as much, changing their claim to the first high-frequency chronograph instead.

This intense race however didn’t lean entirely on Breitling’s expertise and the Calibre 11 was a group effort, not an in-house number per se. Indeed, it actually took until 2009 for Breitling to build their own in-house chronograph, the Manufacture Calibre 01. It finally showed that while Breitling had a history of staying well ahead of the chronometric curve, they could strike out on their own if they were so inclined. It’s an expertise that’s held them in good stead in the years since – particularly in the last few.

Breitling Calibre B01

When Georges Kern took over as CEO of Breitling in 2017, after a staggering 15 years at IWC, there was originally a lot of discourse about whether Kern was the right fit for Breitling, as you’d expect. Collectors can be very protective of their favourite brands and Kern was considered a force of change. And change he did, largely by bringing as much as possible in-house, relying considerably on that still impressive Breitling Calibre 01. A dramatic shift in the history of Breitling’s chronographs.

Indeed, the B01 has formed the basis of the watchmaker’s broader collection, the apotheosis of what is now 140 years of precision stopwatch timekeeping. So, what to do with it to celebrate such a milestone? A perpetual calendar, apparently.

Breitling Navitimer B19 Chronograph 43 Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary and Breitling Super Chronomat B19 44 Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary

Now, I tend not to think of Breitling as a watchmaker that does high complications. They have a tourbillon that I keep forgetting exists, but their bread-and-butter is chronographs, particularly in the Chronomat and Navitimer formats. A perpetual calendar just seems a bit of a stretch, even celebrating 140 years. Which is why Breitling have opted for consistency in a different way.

There’s not one 140th anniversary model; there are three – the three historical pillars of Breitling watch design, in fact. They are the Premier, the Navitimer and the Chronomat. That might not sound consistent until you see them together. Sure, they’re all very different models, but here all three have been given a celebratory makeover in a combination of black and rose gold.

Breitling Premier B19 Datora 42 140th Anniversary

The Premier B19 Datora 42 140th Anniversary, for example, offers a glossy black dial and with rose gold hands, bezel and case. It’s the most classical and straight-forward of the three by far. The Navitimer on the other hand inverts things, with a rose gold dial and case but a black slide rule bezel, ensuring that it’s still a readily readable instrument despite it’s more lavish look. Finally, there’s the chunky Super Chronomat model, the most modern and sporty of the three (if a perpetual calendar could ever be called sporty). It uses a rose gold case, intense black diving bezel and a semi-skeletonised dial to show off the mechanical elements between those perpetual calendar and chronograph subdials. It also comes with a cool, rubberised take on the Chronomat’s signature bracelet.

Breitling calibre B19

Basically, no matter which face of Breitling is your preferred entry point, there’s a limited edition here to match. It’s not just the colours that are the same though; the calendar layout is homogenous between them, too. That means the date and chronograph minutes at three o’clock, months and leap years at six o’clock, day and chronograph hours at nine o’clock and the moon phase at 12. Running hours and minutes as well as chronograph seconds are, as per usual, central. It’s a standard layout for a reason: it works.

I’ve said limited edition plenty of times now, but if you’re asking just how many of each piece, you must be new to these kinds of things. There are, of course, 140 of each model. That’s a grand total of 420 shiny new perpetual calendar movements from Breitling, which is certainly not nothing. It’s a number only possible by using a perpetual calendar module, rather than a fully integrated version, which makes sense in a movement as versatile as the B01.

More than anything however, it’s a celebration of 140 years of Breitling and the history of Breitling’s chronographs that not only works as a capstone on their story of chronograph development, but celebrates the key pillars of today’s Breitling collections. I mean, we were never going to get an Emergency II with a perpetual calendar. Is it the most fitting tribute? Honestly, I’d have done a gorgeous remake of Gaston’s first, one-pusher chronograph. But hey, there’s still time. Right?

More details at Breitling.