Why This Watch Matters This Breitling Chrono-Matic has roots in the futuristic "Chronomatic Consortium" yet wears extremely well on the wrist and has a uniquely elegant design. The Full Story While the Zenith El Primero was the first to market by mere months, a group of brands under the moniker the "Chronomatic Consortium" was hard at work on what would become one of the first automatic chronograph movements in watchmaking. The culmination of four years and the efforts of four brands – Hamilton, Heuer, Breitling, and Dubois-Depraz – was the caliber 11. On March 3, 1969, the consortium debuted its line of Chrono-Matic watches at simultaneous press conferences in Geneva and New York City. Check out the whole story, previously covered on HODINKEE, here. For the spring of 1969, the caliber 11 found its way into numerous, and we mean a ton, of different cases under the various brands. Breitling went with four case shapes: the round, the cushion, the tonneau, and the pizza. Of the four, the round shape, like the ref. 2110 example we have here, is certainly the most classic with long angular lugs, an external rotating bezel, and the caliber 11's left hand crown. As the automatic chronograph was the technology of the future when it came out, the brands leaned towards futuristic designs on the watches it was fitted in. That being said, there's something special about the more toned-down Breitling ref. 2110; the futuristic technology within is hidden by a relatively standard chronograph case and dial wrapped around it. The use of color in this example really jumped out to us when it crossed the HODINKEE Vintage desk. With some red in the three o'clock sub-register and the orange main handset, the accenting is well-done against a white dial surface and black sub-registers. The case checks in at 38mm in diameter and has an extremely modern look and feel on the wrist, with the bezel it wears closer to 40mm. The size is elegant yet contemporary. The sub-registers on the dial have taken on a tropical-esque dark brown hue over the years. Against the orange and red accents, this brown works really well and varies in shades of brown in natural and artificial lights. We paired this Breitling Chrono-Matic with our Aged Grey Leather Strap to add a bit of texture to the look and ensure it could be matching with just about anything. The Fine Print Maker: BreitlingModel: Chrono-MaticReference: 2110Year: Early 1970sCase No: 1266760Material: Stainless steelDimensions: 38mm diameter; 13.5mm thicknessCrystal: PlexiglassLume: Yes, tritiumCaliber: Breitling, self-winding, caliber 11Bracelet/Strap: HODINKEE Aged Grey Leather Watch StrapLug Width: 19mmBox/Papers: No; No. A digital extract from the Breitling Archives will be sent to its new owner, stating the date of case manufacture (January 1969), the serial number, the reference number, the case material, and the movement. What We Love And What You Should Know Things We Love:- Red and orange accents- Caliber 11 movement- Sub-dial patina Things To Know:- Scratches on case and bezel This Breitling is in overall great, attractive condition. The case is strong with some scratches. The writing on the caseback is clearly visible. There are some very light scratches on the caseback and rear of the lugs. The caseback has a clear protective sticker on it. The dial is clean with light patina; the sub-dials have developed a patina throughout and the nine o'clock one has aged to a partially brownish color with a light spotting. The hands have developed light patina as well in general. The lume on the dial has developed patina and aged nicely. The lume on the hands has aged close to a matching color to that of the dial. The hour hand lume is lighter in color relatively. The black tone hour markers are in good condition with a very light patina. The bezel is in great condition with some scratches and fading most notably in the red triangle at 12 o'clock; it is now a light pink color. The sides of the bezel show some wear to the black coating. The dial, crown, case, and movement are signed by Breitling. The crystal has light scratches. This watch was photographed on a 175mm/6.9inch wrist.
