17
16
Soon after, the Navitimer also became a favorite with other celebrities, notably including Formula 1 drivers Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jo Siffert and Jackie Olivier between 1967 and 1968. Interestingly, they all drove Lotus cars, either from the famous official “Team Lotus”
©IMAGO / Motorsport Images
or from private teams.
Article from L’Univers Automobile magazine about Swiss racing driver Jo Siffert, whose picture clearly shows a Navitimer on his wrist.
Jim Clark (right) takes a break with Graham Hill, his Team Lotus-Ford teammate, during practice for the 1967 French Grand Prix at the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans. He is wearing a Navitimer.
45
1941
In 1941, Breitling introduced the Chronomat (Chronograph for mathematicians), the first chronograph with a circular slide rule. This slide rule consists of two adjacent logarithmically graduated scales. The inner scale is on the dial and indicates time. The outer scale, which indicates distance (telemetry), is placed on the rotating bezel. The two scales are graduated in opposite directions. This innovation proved to be very useful, as it enabled calculations of telemetry (by the Collection Fred S. Mandelbaum – @Watchfred
44
CHRONOMAT: FIRST CHRONOGRAPH WITH A SLIDE RULE
military), production (by engineers), yield (by financiers) and speed or average (by sportsmen, and mainly car drivers). The patent application was filed in August 1940 under the number 217012 which was inscribed on the dial for some time. The watch is usually equipped with the mechanical manual-wound Venus Caliber 175, enabling time measurements up to 45 minutes. There is a very rare three-counter version, serving to measure times up to 12 hours, equipped with Venus Caliber 178. The Chronomat is considered the forerunner of the Navitimer. The Chronomat is the first watch with a circular slide rule, extremely useful for all kinds of mathematical calculations of speed, average, exchange rates, etc... This very rare example with three counters, Reference 786, dates from 1945. The patent number 217012 is displayed on the dial.
65
64
Above left, an article in the 1963 Europa Star magazine announcing the news, kept secret by NASA until then, of the watch worn by Carpenter: a Breitling Navitimer. Above right, John Glenn’s Cosmonaute sold by Phillips Auction House in December 2019 in New York. Opposite: June 1963, the “Original Seven”, the seven astronauts selected for the Mercury program. From left to right: Gordo Cooper, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, DK Slayton and Scott Carpenter with his Cosmonaute.
45
1941
In 1941, Breitling introduced the Chronomat (Chronograph for mathematicians), the first chronograph with a circular slide rule. This slide rule consists of two adjacent logarithmically graduated scales. The inner scale is on the dial and indicates time. The outer scale, which indicates distance (telemetry), is placed on the rotating bezel. The two scales are graduated in opposite directions. This innovation proved to be very useful, as it enabled calculations of telemetry (by the Collection Fred S. Mandelbaum – @Watchfred
44
CHRONOMAT: FIRST CHRONOGRAPH WITH A SLIDE RULE
military), production (by engineers), yield (by financiers) and speed or average (by sportsmen, and mainly car drivers). The patent application was filed in August 1940 under the number 217012 which was inscribed on the dial for some time. The watch is usually equipped with the mechanical manual-wound Venus Caliber 175, enabling time measurements up to 45 minutes. There is a very rare three-counter version, serving to measure times up to 12 hours, equipped with Venus Caliber 178. The Chronomat is considered the forerunner of the Navitimer. The Chronomat is the first watch with a circular slide rule, extremely useful for all kinds of mathematical calculations of speed, average, exchange rates, etc... This very rare example with three counters, Reference 786, dates from 1945. The patent number 217012 is displayed on the dial.
1999
ORBITER 3: AROUND THE WORLD IN A BALLOON
83
82
The Breitling Orbiter 3 is a Rozier balloon, named after its inventor Pilâtre de Rozier, who in 1784 devised this type of balloon with two compartments: a sealed one containing a lighter-than-air gas, generally helium, and an open one containing air that is heated with a burner, generally propane. On board the Breitling Orbiter 3, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones made the first non-stop round-the-world flight between March 1 and 21, 1999. They took off from Château-d’Œx in Switzerland and landed in Egypt, thus covering a distance greater than a circumnavigation of the globe. Equipped with a Breitling Emergency watch each, the crew broke several records: • Flight duration: 19 days 21h 47min • Maximum altitude: 11,755 meters • Maximum ground speed: 240 km/h • Distance traveled: 45,755 kilometers • Number of countries overflown: 26 countries Its gondola is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The extraordinary feat of the Breitling Orbiter 3 project, which in 1999 completed the first round-the-world balloon flight. This achievement was partly due to the ground team, in particular the meteorologists, and perhaps also to their Breitling Emergency.
65
64
Above left, an article in the 1963 Europa Star magazine announcing the news, kept secret by NASA until then, of the watch worn by Carpenter: a Breitling Navitimer. Above right, John Glenn’s Cosmonaute sold by Phillips Auction House in December 2019 in New York. Opposite: June 1963, the “Original Seven”, the seven astronauts selected for the Mercury program. From left to right: Gordo Cooper, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, John Glenn, DK Slayton and Scott Carpenter with his Cosmonaute.
1954
THE CIRCULAR SLIDE RULE
The slide rule allows you to perform mathematical operations such as multiplications and 101
100
divisions, conversions between kilometers, statute miles and nautical miles, flight plan and navigation calculations such as average speed, distance traveled, fuel consumption or climb/descent rates. The external white disk on the bezel is mobile, graduated from 10 to 99, and indicates distances, speeds or fuel consumption. The black disk is fixed on the dial and corresponds to times. It features two levels, with the external disk indicating the minutes, and the internal disk indicating the hours (up to nine). The first slide rule is entirely black and white; it is present on the models until 1967, when red touches were added: the seconds marking (number 36) on the white disk; the kilometer (KM), statute mile (STAT) and nautical mile (NAUT) markings on the black disk; and especially the unit mark (number 10) on both disks is surrounded by a red rectangle, which earned it its nickname “box 10”. From 1968, the “box 10” was replaced by a new version where the 10 on both disks and the 60 on the white disk are red. Moreover, a red seconds marking (36) was added on the black disk. These colorful accents were designed to ensure easier reading of the markings and the important numbers for the calculations. The evolution of the slide rule does not concern the scale or the organization of the numbers, but the addition of markings (36) and of colorful red touches to facilitate reading. The slide rule without any red (top left) corresponds to the first generation (1954-1967), followed by the “box 10” (top right) and finally the “red 10/60” (above) since 1968.
1999
ORBITER 3: AROUND THE WORLD IN A BALLOON
83
82
The Breitling Orbiter 3 is a Rozier balloon, named after its inventor Pilâtre de Rozier, who in 1784 devised this type of balloon with two compartments: a sealed one containing a lighter-than-air gas, generally helium, and an open one containing air that is heated with a burner, generally propane. On board the Breitling Orbiter 3, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones made the first non-stop round-the-world flight between March 1 and 21, 1999. They took off from Château-d’Œx in Switzerland and landed in Egypt, thus covering a distance greater than a circumnavigation of the globe. Equipped with a Breitling Emergency watch each, the crew broke several records: • Flight duration: 19 days 21h 47min • Maximum altitude: 11,755 meters • Maximum ground speed: 240 km/h • Distance traveled: 45,755 kilometers • Number of countries overflown: 26 countries Its gondola is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
The extraordinary feat of the Breitling Orbiter 3 project, which in 1999 completed the first round-the-world balloon flight. This achievement was partly due to the ground team, in particular the meteorologists, and perhaps also to their Breitling Emergency.
THE FIRST NAVITIMER
PRE-806
1954
1954
Collection Nicolas Chambron
Collection Fred S. Mandelbaum – @Watchfred
139
138
REF: no Ref. / Classification: NAVI Mk 1.1
REF: no Ref. / Classification: NAVI Mk 1.2
The very first Navitimer, considered as a pre-production model, was issued in a run of 100. It differs from the following models by its lugs with truncated tips.
During the first year of production, the Navitimer housed the Valjoux 72 movement. The AOPA logo on the dial indicates that this execution was intended for AOPA members. The lugs are of standard size and shape.
1954
THE CIRCULAR SLIDE RULE
The slide rule allows you to perform mathematical operations such as multiplications and 101
100
divisions, conversions between kilometers, statute miles and nautical miles, flight plan and navigation calculations such as average speed, distance traveled, fuel consumption or climb/descent rates. The external white disk on the bezel is mobile, graduated from 10 to 99, and indicates distances, speeds or fuel consumption. The black disk is fixed on the dial and corresponds to times. It features two levels, with the external disk indicating the minutes, and the internal disk indicating the hours (up to nine). The first slide rule is entirely black and white; it is present on the models until 1967, when red touches were added: the seconds marking (number 36) on the white disk; the kilometer (KM), statute mile (STAT) and nautical mile (NAUT) markings on the black disk; and especially the unit mark (number 10) on both disks is surrounded by a red rectangle, which earned it its nickname “box 10”. From 1968, the “box 10” was replaced by a new version where the 10 on both disks and the 60 on the white disk are red. Moreover, a red seconds marking (36) was added on the black disk. These colorful accents were designed to ensure easier reading of the markings and the important numbers for the calculations. The evolution of the slide rule does not concern the scale or the organization of the numbers, but the addition of markings (36) and of colorful red touches to facilitate reading. The slide rule without any red (top left) corresponds to the first generation (1954-1967), followed by the “box 10” (top right) and finally the “red 10/60” (above) since 1968.
17
16
Soon after, the Navitimer also became a favorite with other celebrities, notably including Formula 1 drivers Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jo Siffert and Jackie Olivier between 1967 and 1968. Interestingly, they all drove Lotus cars, either from the famous official “Team Lotus”
©IMAGO / Motorsport Images
or from private teams.
Article from L’Univers Automobile magazine about Swiss racing driver Jo Siffert, whose picture clearly shows a Navitimer on his wrist.
Jim Clark (right) takes a break with Graham Hill, his Team Lotus-Ford teammate, during practice for the 1967 French Grand Prix at the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans. He is wearing a Navitimer.
THE FIRST NAVITIMER
PRE-806
1954
1954
Collection Nicolas Chambron
Collection Fred S. Mandelbaum – @Watchfred
139
138
REF: no Ref. / Classification: NAVI Mk 1.1
REF: no Ref. / Classification: NAVI Mk 1.2
The very first Navitimer, considered as a pre-production model, was issued in a run of 100. It differs from the following models by its lugs with truncated tips.
During the first year of production, the Navitimer housed the Valjoux 72 movement. The AOPA logo on the dial indicates that this execution was intended for AOPA members. The lugs are of standard size and shape.