The newest Breitling Navitimer shines with a radiant ice-blue dial, platinum bezel, stainless-steel case, and Breitling’s perpetual calendar chronograph manufacture movement, the Caliber B19, previously released only as part of a limited anniversary series.
For over 70 years, Breitling’s legendary Navitimer has been instantly recognizable by its circular slide rule, notched bezel, and chronograph function. As a watch that’s on every collector’s list as one of the greatest of all time, now the Navitimer gets a serious boost to its functionality with the manufacture Caliber B19, Breitling’s first perpetual calendar movement, featuring day, date, month, and moonphase. Only slight adjustments are required to keep it running for a full century.
Beloved by celebrities including Miles Davis and Serge Gainsbourg, the Navitimer was designed in 1952 for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). It was to become a watch synonymous with the jet age. Known as the first wristwatch flight computer, the circular slide rule could perform all onboard calculations. And while it began as a practical tool-watch for pilots, its influence did not end with aviation. It became a style icon for its original design.
Now the Navitimer comes equipped with Breitling’s first exclusive perpetual calendar chronograph movement, the Caliber B19, released only last year as part of Breitling’s 140th anniversary celebrations. This newest Navitimer features an ice-blue dial, complemented by a platinum bezel, in a 43 mm stainless-steel case, complete with illustrated moonphase at 12 o’clock.
The mushroom pushers enable easy use of the timekeeping functions, while the open case back makes it possible to marvel at the movement. The Navitimer B19 comes with the options of a black alligator leather strap with a comfortable folding buckle, or a seven-row stainless-steel bracelet with a butterfly clasp.
Breitling CEO Georges Kern says, “It takes a lot for us to use the word icon, but the Navitimer has earned it. Combined with the perpetual calendar chronograph movement, the B19 is a tour de force, never missing a beat for a full century. It’s a watch that will keep time for generations.”
The Caliber B19, Breitling’s First Perpetual Calendar Manufacture Movement
The Caliber B19 is the latest evolution in the brand’s move towards Breitling-exclusive movements, which began with the 2009 release of its flagship Manufacture Caliber 01—considered the gold standard of chronograph movements. The B19 combines Breitling’s chronograph specialty with a calendar complication that self-corrects for leap years and months of 28, 30, and 31 days.
In addition to rigorous independent accuracy tests to achieve COSC certification, the Caliber B19 undergoes a 16-year aging simulation that includes, among other extreme challenges,100,000 crown winds, 3,456,000 weight turns, and 60,000 shocks at 500G.
Designed and assembled at Breitling’s Chronometrie, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the Caliber B19 offers a stunning 96-hour power reserve and requires only minor adjustments to stay up to date for the next hundred years. This new ice-blue Navitimer B19 marks the first time this movement has been available outside a limited series, elevating the legendary watch to a new tier of timelessness—built to last for generations.
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