Literally…

Oh how I would love to be this guy for a day!  “Jetman” Yves Rossy shows us how its done — check it out!

“night vision goggle” compatible…

Some big news today from Breitling – the launch of a new model — the Breitling Chronospace.  Actually, this is appears to be more of a “re-launch” of the same model which was last produced in 1998 by Breitling (Ref No. a56012), but interestingly enough Breitling makes no mention of this in its press release.  But no matter, the upgrade is significant in many aspects -  Breitling will be pushing this watch hard towards the “professional aviator” and has designed the watch accordingly.  The Chronospace’s functions include – 1/100th of a second chronograph with split times, alarm, countdown, dual timezone display with independent alarm, 24-hour military time, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), slide rule, and a perpetual calendar.  The Chronospace is powered by Breitling’s chronometer-certified SuperQuartz movement.

Breitling also says that the watch’s LCD screens are equipped with “a high-performance NVG-compatible backlighting system.”  That’s “NVG” as in “Night Vision Goggles” — for which civil aviation standards exist — cool!  The Chronospace also has a “double caseback” that is designed to amplify the watch’s sound signals up to an impressive level of 90 decibels.  Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the Chronospace, though, is its star-shaped bezel.  It looks equally sporty and ergonomic.  The dials are also look well designed and legible (see close up below).

The Chronospace will be available in a variety of dial colors and on various wristbands, including a new bracelet in satin-brushed woven steel and a sporty looking perforated rubber strap (both pictured below).  Price and date of availability have not been indicated.

Way to go Freediving!

Well, it didn’t take long for luxury watch brands to start their own bit of competition within the already competitive sport of freediving — Breitling just announced that it has signed Austrian Herbert Nitsch to be a brand Ambassador.   Prior to Breitling, the only major sponsorship I was aware of was BALL Watch Co.’s sponsorship, which I profiled in great detail earlier this year — see For the Apnea Enthusiast:  BALL EMII Diver World Time, March 25, 2010.

This says quite a lot about the relatively obscure sport of freediving, doesn’t it?  I mean seriously — how many people take part in this extreme sport?  Not many.  But now we have two high profile Swiss-watch brands sponsoring competing athletes.

From what I can tell, Nitsch is the King of freediving and thus an appropriate pick for Breitling:

Nitsch is a current world record holder 3 of the 8 categories officially recognized by AIDA International — Constant Weight Apnea (124 meters — madness), Variable Weight Apnea (142 meters — insane madness), and No Limits Apnea (214 meters — beyond insane madness).   Yes it gets even crazier, but I’ll leave a discussion of the Dynamic Apnea with Fins category (250 meters is current WR) for another day.

I must say that I am utterly fascinated at the depths that have been achieved by these guys — they seem beyond human!  Here’s Nitsch in action:

Breitling for Bentley continues…

limited edition of 1,000, a COSC-certified chronometer movement with a centre 60-minute counter, a 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock and a central scale for the hundredths of an hour or minutes. Unlike standard tachometers, which can only record measurements over 60 seconds, this exclusive Breitling invention can measure average speeds over any length of time as well as the distance covered and the maximum speed attained (who really uses a tachometer, though?),.

Movement Automatic, Breitling 26B calibre, COSC-certified, 38 jewels, 28,800 vib/h

Functions Hours, minutes, seconds, date, ¼ second chronograph, 60-minute and 12-hour totalisers

Fixed and variable tachometers

Case Steel, 48.7 mm

Ratcheted rotating bezel with circular slide rule

Double-sided anti-reflective convex sapphire crystal

Titanium back

Water resistant to 100 m

Limited edition of 1,000

Dial Royal Ebony

60-minute counter at centre, 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock, and direct-drive seconds counter at 3 o’clock

Central direct-drive ¼ of a second chronograph hand

Date window at 6 o’clock

Bracelet/Strap Rubber strap or metal Speed bracelet

Just a glimpse… Official Pics are In!

a born diver, water-resistant to 1,500 metres, helium valve, and perfect size – 42mm

full Specs below the jump.

Movement Automatic, Breitling 17 calibre, COSC-certified, 25 jewels, 28,800 vib/h

Functions Hours, minutes, seconds and date

Case Steel, 42 mm

Ratcheted unidirectional rotating bezel

Helium valve at 10 o’clock

Screw-down crown

Double-sided anti-reflective convex sapphire crystal

Water-resistant to 1,500 m

Dial Abyss Black, Abyss Silver, Abyss Blue, Abyss Red or Abyss Yellow

Oversized Superluminova hands and hourmarkers

Tip of seconds hand matches bevelled flange

Bracelet/Strap Diver Pro and Ocean Racer in rubber, Professional in steel

via R Ruegger

Editor’s note: updated now to reflect price, below

Water resistant to 3,300 feet (1,000 meters), the big and bold Breitling Avenger Seawolf Chrono Blacksteel is definitely a watch that will turn some heads.  The case is 45mm in diameter and very tough looking with a lot of depth to it as well.  The movement is Breitling’s Caliber 73, a Breitling “SuperQuartz” certified chronometer movement.  Also worth noting is that the watch utilizes a Breitling patented “magnetic pushpiece” system which enables the chronograph functions to be fully functional even at 3,300 feet deep (most chronographs can not be used at meaningful depths because it can compromise the watertight-ness of the watch.  As part of a total production run of 2,000 pieces, this watch can also be had on Breitling’s Ocean Racer strap and will be coming soon to a Breitling dealer near you)….and the price (per Breitling) will be $5,015 on the diver pro strap, $5,460 on the ocean racer.

This watch is not to be confused with the Breitling Super Avenger Avenger Skyland Blacksteel (thanks to our astute readers for the correction) which was announced in 2008.  While this watch was the first “Blacksteel” model from Breitling and it did capture a lot of attention for its bold look, the watch was only water resistant to 300 meters.  So this is a big step up for the hard-core dive watch fans (of which I am not one) who like the Breitling Blacksteel look.

Breitling announced today the latest accessory for their Aeromarine line of Colt GMT+ watches.  Breitling fans will now have the option of a new integrated high quality rubber strap, which appears to have the same end link design as their popular Professional II bracelet.  Continuing the ongoing trend of rubber straps being married to luxury watches, Breitling has added yet another fully adjustable rubber bracelet to their line of rubber strap choices.  The strap is locked onto your wrist with a push button clasp, and also has an extension piece for rapid adjustment.

Introduced in 2009,  the Colt GMT+ is a 41.3 mm diameter watch containing a Breitling Caliber 32 COSC-certified movement (Base: ETA 2893-2) with GMT and date functions.  The watch has a very bold, modern dial that is available in a variety of colors in Breitling’s lineup – Volcano black, Air Force blue, Tungsten gray and Stratus silver.  It’s solid contruction, sapphire crystal, screw-down crown, uni-directional bezel, and 500 meter water resistance makes this piece quite the respectable diver as well.

I would presume that the option to buy one of the new rubber straps separately is not far down the road but for now it looks as though they are promoting it as a new version of the GMT+.  There has been no announcement if this style of integrated strap will become an option for other models, but if it becomes popular I would imagine they would make it available.

Breitling has yet to really show off a clear photo specifically showing the new strap will look like on the GMT+ but you can get a fair idea from some of the pics below:

A couple sharp looking watches from Breitling, including a perpetual calendar!  Although I do not like the Sky Racer bracelet in metal, I really like the Ocean Racer in rubber (see pics below).  My only question is…why so big? 49mm!

The Breitling Chrono-Matic 1461 (Rose Gold)

Limited Edition of 125

These things said, I will let Breitling do the rest of the talking on this one:

“To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the first selfwinding chronograph movement, Breitling is introducing two limited editions of its Chrono-Matic model, featuring a look inspired by the 1969 original and equipped with precious leap-year or perpetual calendars.

1969 was a great year for aviation, since it witnessed the first flight of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet and that of the supersonic Concorde, two legendary aircraft that made an indelible imprint on aeronautical history. But 1969 was also a landmark year in watchmaking, thanks to Breitling’s pioneering launch of the very first selfwinding chronograph movement – an invention that led to the development of a whole range of aptly named Chrono-Matic chronographs. Today’s 49 mm diameter Chrono-Matic is a tribute to this forerunner of ultra-large watches. The circular slide rule confirms its family likeness with the Navitimer line, while the distinctive modernism of its seventies inspiration is expressed through a case design based on taut, angular lines highlighted by a rubber-molded bezel.

The Breitling Chrono-Matic 1461

Limited Edition of 2,000

Two limited series with calendars

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this movement and this legendary model, Breitling has created two limited series featuring refined horological complications. The first is a steel edition of 2,000 combining a chronograph with a calendar mechanism requiring adjustment only once every leap-year and thus endowed with a “memory” of 1,461 days – hence its name, “Chrono-Matic 1461”. The date, day and month are displayed on subdials by means of straight hands that accentuate the instrument panel look, while the optional woven steel Aero Classic bracelet lends an additional retro touch. The avant-garde case of the second watch, crafted exclusively in red gold and issued in a worldwide limited edition of 125, houses a chronograph along with an ultra-sophisticated perpetual calendar system embodying a daring blend of modern and traditional elements. The mechanism of this “Chrono-Matic QP” is a miniaturized marvel composed of almost 500 parts. It is programmed to indicate the date, the day, the week, the month, the season and the moon phases while taking account of leap-year variations. Like all Breitling models, both of these limited editions are equipped with chronometer-certified movements.”

pics and info:  Breitling.

First In Watches brings you the new limited edition Breitling Cosmonaute. 1,000 pieces of this watch will be made to commemorate Breitling’s 125th anniversary. As part of this same year-long celebration by Breitling, we saw earlier this year the limited edition Breitling Navitimer, but this watch is not nearly as cool as the Cosmonaute. One thing I  like about the Breitling Cosmonaute is that it indicates the daily 24 hours in a single sweep of the dial. What’s so special about that you might ask? Well, “given the extremely relative nature of day and night in space, this configuration prevents possible confusion between midday and midnight,” says Breitling. Can’t really argue with the that, I suppose – after all, do you really want to be late for your return flight to Earth?

Historically speaking, in 1962 the space race was well under way, and Breitling, then already a supplier to civilian and military aviation, took on the challenge of a new watch based on the its Navitimer chronograph – the resulting watch was the Cosmonaute. On May 24th 1962, the astronaut Scott Carpenter tested the Breitling Cosmonaute under real-life conditions during his orbital flight aboard the Aurora 7 capsule. So there you have it – the first chronograph in space.

All 1,000 commemorative pieces will be equipped with an original version of the 24-hour dial and fitted exclusively with the rigid perforated Air Racer bracelet. While I am not so much a fan of the Air Racer-style bracelet, I would overlook it in order to own one of these great watches from Breitling.

Breitling recently announced 2 new variations in its “Breitling for Bentley” collection.  These new Breitling for Bentley GT’s - as in “Grand Tourer” - represent Breitling’s ongoing partnership with a brand that produces brings you luxury automobiles such as the Bentley Continental GT, one of the finest that money can buy.

The Bentley GT chronograph is more compact than the other models in the collection, and is adorned with chromed counter rings and the distinctive Bentley “diamond quilt” motif applied to the upholstery of its sportiest models.   The watch is equipped with a chronometer-certified Breitling Calibre 13B with day/date calendar and features a variable tachometer (as do all Breitling for Bentley chronographs) which when used in conjunction with the chronograph, makes it possible to measure average speed, whatever the time elapsed, the distance covered or the speed reached.

Breitling has “reinterpreted” its Bentley GT chronograph in an even more sophisticated version called “Bentley GT Racing”.  A medallion on the caseback displays the silhouette of the Bentley Continental GT, the most powerful of all cars produced by the prestigious British manufacturer.  As on the GT version, the dial is adorned with the “diamond-quilt” motif characteristic of the upholstery on the sportiest Bentley models.

Technical data : Movement: Breitling Calibre 13B, officially chronometer-certified by the COSC, selfwinding, high-frequency (28,800 vibrations per hour), 25 jewels. 1/4th of a second chronograph, 30-minute and 12-hour totalizers. Day and date calendar. Case: steel. Water-resistant to 100 metres. Screw-locked crown. Rotating pinion bezel with variable tachometer (circular slide rule). Cambered sapphire crystal, glareproofed on both sides. Diameter: 44.80 mm. Dials: Royal Ebony, Storm Grey, Silver Storm, Burnt Oak. Strap/bracelet: Barenia leather, crocodile leather, rubber/Speed.