How many watches can you spot from a mile away? How many watches have come to define their genre? Not too many. Not too many at all. Before the early 1950s, the concept of a civilian tool watch was a novel idea. Watch companies produced a few purpose-designed pieces for military use in the early 20th century, but most watches that were sold at retailers were designed with purely fashion in mind. In the 1950s and 1960s, the tool watch market exploded, fueled by the popularity of SCUBA diving and the growing interest in aviation. Breitling was one of the earliest manufactures to respond to the trend when they released the Navitimer in 1954. We’ve been referring to the Navitimer as a watch, but that’s not quite right — it’s really a wrist-worn navigation computer. The Navitimer’s most distinctive feature, the slide rule bezel, was used by pilots to calculate airspeed, ascent and descent rates, flight time, distance traveled, fuel consumption and even imperial to metric unit conversions. The Navitimer truly is a mechanical computer, and also happens to be one of the best damn looking watches out there. How cool is that? This particular Navitimer, a B01, is a contemporary take on the classic Navitimer aesthetic. Housed in a 43mm stainless steel case with a sapphire crystal, a signed crown, dual barrel pushers, and the classic Navitimer slide rule bezel, it features a beautiful, sunburst blue dial with applied baton indices, a matching handset with a red seconds hand, a triple-register chronograph layout, and a date window at 4:30. Powered by the automatic Breitling B01 movement with a 70-hour power reserve, it comes paired to a brown alligator leather strap with a signed, stainless steel deployant clasp. Dating to the 2020s and including its factory goodies, this B01 is a fabulous way to enter the Breitling universe and to establish a connection with the iconic tool watches of the mid-20th century. But don’t take our word for it… Try it on for size!
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