2019 Breitling Navitimer Ref. 806 1959 Re-Edition AB0910371B1X1
Ref: AB0910371B1X1

Points of Mention

This watch is sold with its original Breitling box and Breitling paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original Breitling 22mm vintage style leather strap with a signed buckle. The watch is from December 2019 and is sold in Unworn condition, as you can see. The watch comes with its Manufacturer's Warranty.

The Watch

Here we have an Unworn and stickered 2019 Breitling Navitimer Ref. 806 1959 Re-Edition AB0910371B1X1 limited to 1959 pieces, Breitling worked closely with watch collector Fred Mandelbaum who has possibly the largest collection of vintage Breitling in the world. It has a 41mm polished and brushed stainless steel case, bevelled edged lugs with a lug-to-lug length of 48.5mm and a thickness of 13.5mm ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist, these dimensions are faithful to the original. On the right side, chronograph piston pushers and a signed screw-down crown. The high-domed acrylic crystal sits above the black dial, the black dial has an outer bi-directional rotating logarithmic slide-rule navigation computer which makes complex mathematical calculations useful to pilots, you can measure a lot of things such as gasoline consumption, miles per minute, ground speed, rate of descent/climb, distance in descent/climb and nautical / statute mile conversion. Arabic numeral indices coated in aged Super-LumiNova mark the hours, and three recessed registers add dimension to the dial, at 3 o’clock a 30 minutes register, at 6 o’clock a 12 hours register and finally at 9 o’clock a continuous 60 seconds register. Long sword hands are coated in aged Super-LumiNova luminescence, complemented by a tapered chronograph hand. The signature applied Breitling wings sit at 12 o’clock, the “Navitimer” text is precisely executed. On the reverse, a screw-down case back with the number out of 1959 engraved into it. Inside a manually wound Breitling Cal. B09, 47 jewels, 28,800 beats per hour, column wheel chronograph movement with vertical clutch, this COSC-certified calibre is based on the iconic Breitling Caliber 01 and has been specifically developed for these historical re-editions. The watch comes fitted on its original Breitling 22mm vintage style leather strap with a signed buckle and comes with its box and paperwork.

Personal Note

The Brand

Breitling was established in 1884 by Leon Breitling in the Swiss Jura Mountains. In 1915 Gaston Breitling introduced a pusher at 2 o’clock to start, stop and reset the chronograph. Leon later moved the reset to a pusher at 4 o’clock. In 1939 Breitling shipped a huge quantity of chronographs to the Royal Air Force. During the war with Germany surrounding Switzerland Leon and some friends created a makeshift runway near their factory. Planes would use the car's headlights as a guide to land. Once on the ground, they were quickly loaded, taking off before the Germans knew what was going on. They introduced the “Navitimer” a navigation computer in 1952 used to calculate a flight plan. In 1969 they collaborated with Heuer, Burne, and Dubois-Depraz on a top-secret project called Project 99. Together they developed one of the first self-winding chronograph movements. Breitling stands for high precision, outstanding performance, and functionality. During the early days of space exploration, Lt. Commander Scott Carpenter went around the earth three times whilst wearing a modified Navitimer. In 2017 they were sold to CVC Capital Partners, Europe's largest private equity firm.