Markenangebote

Breitling's connection to aviation goes beyond fancy flying. The company's entry into cockpits was less a marketing move than a secret mission. The operation began in 1937, when the British War Office commissioned Willy Breitling to design cockpit clocks for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Willy immediately established a dedicated production division, the Huit Aviation Department, to manufacture timepieces for the RAF and its allies, a task that required secretly shipping its products from neutral Switzerland to France and England. (Stay tuned for more on this story later.)

After the war, Breitling's aviation chronographs became popular with amateur and professional pilots alike. In 1952, Breitling even designed the world's first pilot's watch equipped with a circular slide rule. Designed for the Airmen and Pilots Association (AOPA), the world's largest pilots' club, this watch began production two years later and became its official member's watch.

The Navitimer, known as the "Flight Computer" (its name combines "Navigation" and "Timer"), revolutionized pilot's chronographs, capable of calculating everything from rate of climb to fuel consumption. Its appeal extended far beyond the realm of aviation, with celebrities of the era, such as musician Miles Davis, Formula One driver Jim Clark, and Graham Hill, all wearing Navitimer watches.

The circular slide rule that once helped pilots plot their routes remains a hallmark of watchmaking and a defining symbol for those who chart their own personal journeys.