Breitling Watches

1884

Léon Breitling opens his workshop in the Swiss Jura Mountains, specialising in making chronographs and precision counters for scientific and industrial purposes.

1892

The workshop relocates to La Chaux-de-Fonds, the centre of Swiss watchmaking, because of the company’s significant growth.

1915

During a time when pilots were looking for highly precise instruments, Breitling creates the first wristwatch chronograph in the world - with an independent pushpiece. It’s given to pilots as their first wrist instruments, kick-starting Breitling’s passion for the world of aviation.

1923

Breitling perfects the independent chronograph pushpiece, by separating the stop/start functions from that of resetting. This makes it possible to add several successive times without returning the hands to zero – very useful for sports timekeeping and calculating flight times.

1931

Breitling equips RAF fighter planes during WWII, with onboard aircraft chronographs.

1934

The company develops the second return-to-zero pushpiece, a decisive breakthrough soon adopted by other watch companies.

1936

Breitling becomes the official supplier to the Royal Air Force, marking the beginning of a longstanding relationship with international aviation.

1942

The Breitling Chronomat is launched, the first chronograph to be fitted with a circular slide rule.

1950

Breitling’s on board chronographs become the standard equipment for commercial aviation, first on propeller-driven planes and later on the jet aircraft of many airline companies. This leads to the status of “official supplier to world aviation”.

1952

The company launches the iconic Breitling Navitimer, a watch equipped with the famous “navigation computer” capable of handling all calculations called for a by a flight plan. A firm favourite among professional pilots, the Navitimer is the world’s oldest mechanical chronograph still in production.

1962

The Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute becomes the first wrist chronograph to travel in space, on the wrist of Scott Carpenter on his orbital flight aboard the Aurora 7 capsule.

1969

Breitling invents the selfwinding chronograph movement, a major breakthrough in the Swiss watch industry.

1984

The Breitling Chronomat as we know it, in its current styling, launches in 1984 and quickly becomes the most-loved line in the Breitling collection.

1995

Breitling creates the Emergency, a multifunction instrument watch with built-in dual frequency personal locator beacon.

1999

This year marks the “all-chronometer” challenge; where the brand sets itself the ambitious goal of submitting its entire product range to the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute – a world’s first among major watch brands.

2001

Breitling equips all its electronic models with SuperQuartz™ movements, ten times more accurate than standard quartz. Breitling’s electronic movements are the only ones able to meet COSC requirements.

2002

The brand builds an ultra-modern facility named Breitling Chronométrie in La Chaux-de-Fonds, which is dedicated to the development and production of mechanical chronograph movements.

2003

The first Breitling for Bentley watch launches, celebrating the collaboration between Breitling and the luxury car brand.

2014

Breitling launches the B50 watch and movement, its own multi-function electronic chronograph with analogue and digital display, and a SuperQuartz™ movement designed to meet aviators’ requirements.

2015

Breitling presents the B55 Connected, their first connected watch. Filled with a range of original functions tailor-made for pilots, this smartwatch is dedicated to serving the needs of aviation professionals.