Tomas’s Top 5 Vintage Breitling Watches

Breitling is one of the brands that has been capable to bring continuously bold, inspiring, and innovative watches since the early days. Picking my top 5 models from such a vast and inspiring catalog turned out to be quite a challenge.

Opinions on the Breitling brand tend to be quite strong, one way or the other. I either meet collectors that feel zero affinity towards the brand or, more often, enthusiasts that have not just one or two, but dozens of Breitling watches. It only confirms that you have a lot of choices once you fall under the vintage Breitling spell.

1. Breitling Chronomat ref. 769

In 1940 Breitling applied for a patent on a rotating logarithmic slide rule, a “tool for Mathematicians and Engineers” that allowed for complex calculations. The name Chronomat was derived from CHRONOgraph for MAThematicians and became the blueprint upon which later Navitamers built their fame.

To find one with a clean dial and original syringe hands with untouched lume is getting harder every year. As such, get ready to pay €4k to €5k for a decent piece. I don’t even remember the last time I saw one with the original box and (the valuable) original instruction manual.

If unpolished, a 36mm case with sharp lugs is a pure classic. I am not a fan of rectangular pushers, but here they look just perfect. The hand-wound Venus 175 is a caliber of superb quality. Even after 80 years, you can feel strong, full a precise click, which is proof of finest movement craftsmanship. We will bring you a full review of ref. 769 soon, meanwhile you can read more from Mike about later Chronomat ref. 808

The 1957 Breitling Superocean (Photo Credit: Fred Mandelbaum)

2. Breitling SuperOcean ref. 1004 and ref. 2005

Both carry the same name, but they are so different. First reference 1004 was introduced in 1957 and served as the inspiration for this year’s re-edition. For most of collectors, this model represented something of a Breitling grail watch, given its short production run first time around.

The dial and watch case design have one of the strongest characters you‘ve ever seen. I’ve wondered many times why it has not been copied by others. You could argue that you can see other brands such as JLC or Omega and their design traces in it already, but this watch remains undoubtedly in its own class. The concave bezel in combination with the “world’s longest“ triangular radium indexes and no numbers, not even on the bezel, create a magical illusion of the sea dragging you in its depths.

An applied “B” and beautifully crafted SuperOcean name are museum-ready examples of perfect design and execution. Simply put, it is exquisite.

Super(Ocean) switch

For the rest of us collectors, troubled with everyday problems such as mortgages or kids education, there is still the slightly younger SuperOcean ref. 2005. It is almost hard to believe that just eight years stood between these two. I deliberately choose this combination to show how daring and different design thinking was back then.

SuperOcean ref. 2005 is a quite peculiar watch, because it looks like a three-hander, but works as a chronograph (so technically, it might be perceived as the successor for the ref. 807 as a chronograph version of ref. 1004). There is no chrono second hand, just a central minute hand moving slowly, hence SuperOcean “SlowMo“ nickname.

Notice the additional aperture above the six, that signals the activity status of an in-house modification of the Venus 188. When the chronograph is disengaged the window can easily be overlooked as it is filled with a flat black disc matching the dial.

Large luminous dot signals running chronograph, small luminous dot signals stopping the chronograph function.

The SuperOcean ref. 2005 is quite sought after. The bigger 42mm diameter was a huge leap from the 39mm used for previous refs. Consequently, this model is perhaps even more popular today than it was back then. When looking to buy pre-owned, beware of hand condition and the possibility of re-luming. Also, make sure the dial is in top condition. These watches tended to leak. But if you’re willing to spend €8k to €10k, you might be able to find a perfect example from the 1960s. As time goes on, that era looks more and more blessed for watchmaking.

3. Breitling Navitimer 806 and Navitimer Cosmonaute 809

The Navitimer is a cult. If you know #SpeedyTuesday, you should know #NaviFriday too. The Navitimer 806 is available in an “all-black” dial version with a “beaded” bezel introduced in 1954 and black and white dials dated from 1964/1965 to the end of the 1970s. So-called reverse panda Navitimers had bezels with straight cut or serrated ridges. While Formula 1 drivers Jim Clark or Graham Hill wore black and white dial Navitimers, (the same as jazz legend Miles Davis), I lean towards the all-black version.

The early models with Valjoux72 are very tempting.  Purists might prefer the 17-jewel Venus 178 caliber. The Navitimer was produced in stainless steel, gold, and gold plated variants, but I believe you get the cleanest visual joy when you look at the steel models. Prices range from  €5,000 to €7,000. Full sets can fetch even more. To learn more you can read older #TBT about a special transition Navitimer model Mike landed a few years ago.

Breitling Navitimer 806 enjoying the Fall 🙂

Space nerds shall know more about the Navitimer ref. 809 Cosmonaute, a watch Cmd. Scott Carpenter had built to his specs as he wanted a 24-hour watch when he flew with the Aurora 7 mission in 1962.

Challenging, but not useless

One important note. Many refer to it as a beautiful, but also useless watch because of the 24-hour dial. Anytime I see that cheeky comment written somewhere, I consider it really disrespectful. I can tell you from my own experience, and I do rotate watches heavily, I have never problem to read the time quickly a correctly anytime it sits on my wrist.

The Breitling 809 Cosmonaute is commanding on the wrist

The 41mm diameter is magnificent, the same for 22mm lug width. If you’ll excuse my French, the (ahem) “dodgy“ style of luminous material is an essential part of the experience. When buying a “Cossie“, just make sure it has the correct hands and a slide rule, as they are often replaced. These come up for same even more infrequently than the Navitimer 806 (which you can get it for a slightly better price — I would say €4,000 to €6,000). I was lucky. I got my last year. It was owned by Austrian Airline pilot and came with an original box.

4. Breitling Chrono-Matic ref. 2110

Very special reference and a perfect gateway to vintage Breitling. It stays, or maybe more precise, it draws the line between earlier true vintage manuals and later automatics. With Caliber 11 introduced on March 3, 1969, it became one of the world’s first automatic chronographs. Chunky, funky, and innovative. Still quite affordable vintage Breitling with price-tags ranging from €2,500 to almost €4,000.

Orange highlights and robust tank-styled sub-register hands never got me bored. A left-hand crown offers a strong visual identity. The dial is perfectly legible, the same applies for the chronograph with full 1 to 12 numbers printed on hour-counter. You can read more Chrono-Matic here or here.

5. Breitling Referee 1970s

I chose this on purpose to disrupt the obvious suspects you might expect to be listed. There are tons of articles about the sports chronographs, but often it seems like an empty phrase that’s just so generic. Some sports chronographs true to their sports souls still live in shadows. At least in shadows of yachting-timers. This is quite funny, as there have to be more football/soccer fans than sailors. Take the Breitling Referee in daring black/red tones as an example.

Referee ref.34-31 from 1973

Some of the Referees are powered by a hand-wound 17-jewel Valjoux 7731 that repeats the same innovation seen on the SuperOcean ref. 2005. Again, an indicator above six appears. The major difference? The price…

If you like vivid dial designs, you can watch and time your next soccer game with this fella on your wrist. Notice the “abandoned“ 3. When the chronograph is resting, the big center minute utterly hides the number 12. This way the number 3 seems to be the only numeral showing hours. A pretty quirky, yet charming detail.

Last words

Sorry, I just can’t help it and I have to name a few other Breitling models that didn’t make it to the TOP 5 list. But not that it would not belong there, quite the opposite. We should not forget about AVI ref. 765. Especially first-generation model nicknamed “Lucy Digital” with a 15-minute countdown timer. Or the Duograph Rattrapante ref. 762 from the mid-1940s. It was Venus-based (obviously), rare, and practically impossible to find today. If military watches excite you, look at Breitling ref. 817 with not more than 30 pieces spotted altogether, according to Rene, as he said in an interesting interview for Fratello. For bezel lovers, we recommend checking also creative designs coming with Breitling Unitime and for dress lovers Datora Moonphase ref. 799. Tomas off!