The Unofficial Breitling FAQ is proud to present the Breitling USA Vintage Collection courtesy of Breitling USA and Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers. While Breitling continues to strategically add historically important pieces to the collection, it is presented here in its entirety as of November 22, 2003. The descriptions come directly from Breitling USA, although any information pertaining to serial numbers has been intentionally omitted. Please click the thumbnails to view larger images. Note that there is no item #11; this is not an error. Enjoy!

The entire Breitling USA Vintage Collection (sans item #11) as of November 22, 2003
Item #1, Cosmonaute, ref. #809, circa 1967, manual wind Venus 178, gold plated 20 micron, first made in 1962 for Scott Carpenter during his flight aboard Aurora 7, 24-hour dial, 3-register chronograph, AOPA insignia
Item #2, circa 1940s, manual wind Venus 170, 18K rose gold, 2-register/45-minute chronograph, tachymeter, telemeter (measures distance), flat pushers show non-water-resistancy, watch has no reference number
Item #3, Navitimer Chrono-matic, circa 1971, ref. #1806, automatically winding Chrono-matic 11, steel case, anodized aluminum bezel, water-resistant, patent #DDE for bezel movement, original Breitling logo of dual planes, crown on opposite side, 48 mm case, 22 mm strap, chronograph with date
Item #4, Chronomat, ref. #801, circa 1949, manual wind Venus 190 with date and moon phases, steel, rectangular pushers, patent #217012 for slide rule, rotating bezel, 3-register chronograph
Item #5, Datora, ref. #785, circa 1947, manual wind Valjoux 72C, 18K rose gold, features faceted lugs, 3-register chronograph with day, date and month, has calendar correctors, need to manually adjust, WOG-import code for customs
Item #6, Cadette, ref. #1198, circa 1951, Venus 188, aluminum case, gold plated pushers, 2-register chronograph, tachymeter, telemeter, luminous paint coming off, rare to have aluminum, makes it very lightweight
Item #7, Premier, ref. #789, circa 1946, manual wind Venus 150, steel, non-waterproof, 2-register chronograph, 3, 6 and 9 slashes for monitoring phone company billing in 3-minute stages
Item #8, pocketwatch, ref. #605A, circa 1959, 18-jewel Valjoux 5, nickel chromium, navigational stopwatch for U.S. military, push button crown, one button controls all functions, non-luminous dial/hands
Item #9, Chronomat Automatic, ref. #8806, circa 1973, Caliber 12, steel, 3-register automatic chronograph with date at 6 o'clock, slide rule, tachymeter
Item #10, TransOcean, ref. #2129, circa 1975, automatically winding Caliber 12 Chrono-matic, steel, 3-register automatic chronograph with date at 6 o'clock, seconds, minutes and hours, tachymeter, pulsation scale, 100 scale, water-resistant case, mineral glass crystal
Item #12, TransOcean, circa 1964, automatically winding Caliber 125, gold filled, refinished dial
Item #13, Long Playing, ref. #815, circa 1973, manual wind Valjoux 7736, gold plated 22 micron/steel, no bezel, Long Playing refers to length of mainspring, 52-hour power reserve
Item #14, Navitimer, ref. #806, circa 1964, manual wind Venus 178, steel, no red on slide rule, original Navitimer logo
Item #15, Pult, ref. #2117, circa 1971, automatically winding Caliber 11 Chrono-matic, steel, rotating bezel, 2-register chronograph, tachymeter, units per hour, pulsation scale, 100 scale, form fitting case, plastic crystal
Item #16, Pult, ref. #7101, circa 1971, manual wind Valjoux 7740, steel, rotating bezel, 2-register chronograph, tachymeter, units per hour, pulsation scale, 100 scale, form fitting case, plastic crystal
Item #17, Cadette, ref. #1188, circa 1951, manual wind Venus 188, nickel plated, 2-register chronograph, tachymeter
Item #18, Chrono-matic, ref. #2111, circa 1969, automatically winding Caliber 11 Chrono-matic, steel, brushed steel finish, original signed strap, 3-register chronograph, T on dial equals tritium
Item #19, Cosmonaute, ref. #809, circa 1962, manual wind Venus 178, steel, first execution case, early Cosmonaute, numerous executions of the dial were done at that time, 24-hour dial, 3-register chronograph, AOPA insignia on dial
Item #20, Co-Pilot, ref. #765CP, circa 1965, Venus 178 with 15-minute and 12-hour recorders, stainless steel, large recording zones, large hands with luminous for easy reading, rotating bezel with 12 divisions for 2nd time zone or elapsed time in hours, water-resistant type case, this model was worn by Rachel Welch in a James Bond movie
Item #21, AVI, ref. #765, circa 1953, manual wind Venus 178, steel, rotating bezel, 12 divisions for 2nd time zone, water-resistant, 15-minute recording through aperture on dial at 3 o'clock (not date but minute recorder), 3-register chronograph
Item #22, ref. #170, pre-1940, Venus 170, base metal, 2-register chronograph with square pushers, triple signed, telemeter scale, 60-minute counter scale used to measure events over a minute, can also track miles per hour
Item #23, ref. #765, circa 1966, manual wind Venus 176, stainless steel, tachymeter scale, 3-register chronograph
Item #24, Navitimer, ref. #806, circa 1960, manual wind, steel, original Navitimer with all black dial and AOPA logo, original Breitling leather strap and original box with instruction booklet
Item #25, ref. #123, circa 1946, manual wind, steel, men's watch
Item #26, Cosmonaute, ref. #1809, circa 1970, automatically winding, steel case, anodized aluminum bezel, 24-hour dial, original Breitling logo with two planes, crown on opposite side, chronograph with date, 48 mm case
Item #27, Navitimer, ref. #806, circa 1960, manual wind, gold plated, original Navitimer/AOPA logo, black dial
Item #28, Top Time, ref. #810, circa 1969, manual wind, steel case, 30-minute and 12-hour recording, tachymeter scale at dial perimeter

Special thanks to Rick Lambert of Breitling USA and Tom Dixon of Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers. Photography by Juan Irming.

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