Breitling Navitimer - by Kurt Broendum
Navitimer 806, I love that watch
The name is a combination of the words Navigation & Timer, since the
watch was originally developed as a navigation watch for pilots,
who could use the sliderule to calculate remaining distances, fuel
consumption etc.
The Navitimer seriously put Breitling on the world map. It's until
today the most famous watch they ever produced and it's unlikely that it
will ever be surpassed.
Generally it can be said that the Navitimer with 3 Subdials was made in four
editions/generations cased in a small watchcase.
1st. generation
It
all started when Breitling & AOPA decided to develop a revolutionary
watch with a built-in chronograph and navigation computer (sliderule).
Breitling Switzerland has indicated production began in 1952, but it's
my strong belief that the first Navitimers became available in 1954.
AOPA (Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association) immediately decided to make it
their official watch, and in that way the first Navitimer was born with
AOPA's beautiful official wing logo displayed on its dial.
The movement they used in 1954, and the first half of
1955, was the famous Valjoux 72. In the beginning, it didn't have a
reference number printed on the back. It wasn't until 1955 that
the reference number officially became 806. Nobody knows for certain how
many Navitimers were produced with the Valjoux 72 movement , but
it's beyond any doubt that it was a very limited number, thus the
Valjoux 72 Navitimer has become a kind of cult watch for Navitimer
collectors all over the world.
Extremely rare 1954 AOPA Navitimer
with Valjoux 72 movement, matt silver plated hands, and no reference number.
It's the earliest Navitimer I have ever seen.
Extremely rare 1955 AOPA Navitimer with
Valjoux 72 movement in very beautiful patinated condition.
I would like to thank Mr. Duke Swan for having sold me the above
watch. He inherited it from his uncle, LT. William Rakowicz, who bought it new
in 1955 and passed away in 1966, and he has treasured it dearly ever since.
In the beginning, the Breitling logo 'B' and the name
itself were only printed on the case back, and soon (sometime in 1955) the
movement was replaced with the Venus 178 . The dial was black, as were the subdials, and it had a 'beads of rice' bezel. This model was
produced with this configuration throughout the 1950's.
Very rare 1955 AOPA Navitimer only sporting the AOPA wing on the dial
1958 AOPA Navitimer
This watch was purchased from the original owner who bought it back in 1958, by an acquaintance that passed it on to me. When I got it, the original lizard strap was still on it (see picture of the strap below, and please click this link
to see a very interesting AOPA ad from the 50's with a Navitimer sporting the same style of strap).
Black Lizard strap from 1958
1960 AOPA Navitimer
This watch was purchased in 1963 by a German Lufthansa pilot. When I
bought it, it was still on the original & hardly used Breitling signed strap, and furthermore it came with box & signed papers.
During the
transitional period before the second generation of Navitimers with white
subdials went into production, a limited amount of Navitimers sporting
'B' & Breitling Geneve on their dials was produced.
2nd. generation
In approximately 1960 - after
the watch had become a huge succees ' the design was modified as follows:
The three subdials changed from black to white,the hands were remodelled and
the Breitling name appeared in printing on the dial,during the 60's the
sliderulebezel was remodelled twice.
Moreover, the AOPA wing was removed from the dial and the
official Breitling Navitimer logo became two aircrafts flying in close
formation. At the same time, however, Breitling continued to supply AOPA
with Navitimers sporting the AOPA logo on the dial.
Extremely rare 1963 AOPA Navitimer with Beads of Rice Bezel, white subdials & 18 K applied AOPA logo
In order to make the
sliderule 100% visible & legible, it is highly important that
the Navitimer's crystal is the correct, slightly curved type.
The latter also makes the overall appearance of the watch much nicer.
Venus 178 specifications:
Lever movement, stem wind, seconds bit with second hand,
column wheel chronograph with carrying arm, 1/5 second, 30-minute register
and hour counter. Diameter 31mm, 18.000 BPH, 17 jewels, Incabloc shock protection.
AOPA
Navitimer from 1965
AOPA Navitimer from 1967
Unused Navitimer from 1966
This watch was purchased in Kowloon in 1966 by the late
Major George Pocius, who served as a US military pilot during the Vietnam War.
While overseas, his crew members persuaded him to buy it as
an investment.
It has never been worn and it came with original box, papers
& strap.
I was approached by Mrs. Pocius to determine its value, and later decided to purchase the watch.
I would like to express my thanks to the Pocius
family for having sold the watch to me, I shall always treasure it.
Original papers from the above mentioned watch
NOS
Navitimer 806 from 1967
In the mid 60's Breitling began to produce Navitimers with
slightly enlarged Subdials, but the reference nr. remained 806 and the
movement was still Venus 178.
From 1967, however, a limited number of Navitimers with
Valjoux 7736 movements were produced concomitantly. The likely
reason for this is that the success of the Navitimer caused Breilting to
manufacture so large batches of Navitimers that occasional Venus
178 movement shortages occurred.That model's reference no. is
806-36, it has large Subdials as well as the Breitling
doublewing logo imprinted on its dial.
My first Navitimer 806 from 1968 in
unique and beautifully patinated condition
"Immaculate patina is an art form only mastered
by time itself" - A. Trojel
The 4 different bezel designs
starting with 1st edition of 'beads of rice' in the bottom
3.rd generation
On May 24 1962, when Scott Carpenter went into
space with Aurora 7, a Navitimer featuring 24 hour indication over a single
turn of the dial was produced as the notion of day and night is extremely
relative in space, this configuration would enable space crews not to
confuse midday with midnight.
Before it was cleared for travel in Space the
watch had to pass some extremely tough tests carried out by NASA. It was
produced throughout the sixties with both AOPA's Wing and
Breitling's Doublewing logo on the dial; both under the name Navitimer & Cosmonaute. The reference nr. was 809 and the movement was a Venus 178
modified to the 24-hour-display (Breitling also produced a very limited number
of Cosmonaute watches using a modified Valjoux 7736; again, it was most
likely due to a lack of Venus 178 movements. The reference nr. was 809-36
and they all had Breitling's name & Doublewing logo on their dial). It
was produced with two different subdial sizes.It wasn't until 1967 that it
earned itself the name Cosmonaute for good - a name that the watch
has been known under ever since.
All black AOPA Cosmonaute
from 1962, the year it was born. My Holy Grail and the rarest of all Navitimers.
This watch was given to me by Mr.Fred Dauer, the original owner, who
bought it in Hong Kong in 1964, while he was serving as an Army Warrant
Officer pilot in Viet Nam (1964-65), flying out of Danang.
I won the watch on eBay, but Fred Dauer decided afterwards to make a gift
of this wonderful piece of history.
Dear Kurt,
The stories and aura accompanying the watch now will fade, and be
replaced with new stories and incidents in time, and this watch will
live on with its own story of presentation and condition, as it should be. We are just temporary custodians for awhile. Thank you for your
continuing interest and passion in something I had a chance to be a part of
for awhile.
Fred Dauer
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Fred. I will treasure it forever.
Extremely rare 1962 24-hour all black dial AOPA Navitimer with beads of rice bezel
Extremely rare 1962 24-hour dial AOPA Navitimer with beads of rice bezel
1965 Breitling Navitimer
Cosmonaute
NOS Cosmonaute from 1966
4th. generation
(Which is the last with this dial layout and
Doublewing logo)
Around1971-74, the Navitimer underwent serious
changes - and to many people (just like the 806/9-36) it ceased
to be the "real' Navitimer.
The legendary Venus 178 movement was replaced and a
Navitimer with date aperture was introduced. The registers grew to
their biggest size ever, the reference nr. was 7806/8 and the movement
is a Valjoux 7740. AOPA's logo disappeared and henceforth the watch was
only marketed with Breitling's Doublewing logo & name on the dial.
In conclusion (of the above mentioned), it is beyond any doubt that the 'real' Navitimer is the
reference 806 - but many people think that the last model with the
Valjoux movement is more beautiful, due to the size of its regs.
All watches pictured in the
article are from my private collection. They are all in 100% original &
unrestored condition.
I would like to express my thanks to the following 3
persons, to Anders Trojel for his help in translating the article to English,
to Bo Molbak for being a skilled watchmaker and to Thomas Stuart for our
excellent cooperation and his help in finding some of the watches for me.
Please don't hesitate to mail me at kurtbroendum@yahoo.com
- should you have any comments or questions to my article.
Best regards - Kurt Broendum
Copyright: Kurt Broendum
NOTE: Kurt is our resident Navitimer expert, so please stop by the TimeZone.com Breitling Forum to ask questions or provide comments.
