Under the spotlight at Geneva Watch Days 2024 is Breitling’s new calibre B19 — their first-ever perpetual calendar chronograph movement. Celebrating their 140th anniversary, this fancy new movement will grace three of Breitling’s marque models: the Premier, Navitimer, and Chronomat. Why all three? Georges Kern, CEO Breitling, explains, “We couldn’t single one out to showcase the new Caliber B19 for our anniversary — it had to be all three.”
The B19 continues Breitling’s legacy of technical progression and accuracy. The 2009 B01 featured chronographic capabilities, the B02 offered a 24-hour function, the B03 had split-seconds, and the B04 had GMT sensibilities, laying a roadmap for the brand for modern-age mechanical elegance and many more innovations for the future. The new B19 is another feather in their hat, boasting a moonphase, perpetual calendar and a Breitling speciality: a chronograph. The perpetual calendar is accurate for nearly another century without major adjustment — accounting for leap years and 28, 30, and 31-day months. It also offers a stunningly impressive 96-hour power reserve while also being COSC-certified.
The caseback of all three timepieces puts the movement’s solid-gold rotor on display, featuring an engraving of Breitling’s historic Montbrillant Manufactory at 3 rue de Montbrillant in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The west wing of the Montbrillant factory was once a villa that housed three generations of the Breitling family and has been in service for over 80 years. All three special edition models are limited to 140 pieces each.
Breitling Premier B19 Datora 42 140th Anniversary
The Premier is a mid-century marvel that took chronographs out of military cockpits and onto the wrists of aviation and watch enthusiasts. Being a purist’s tool watch, it was seen as a true gentleman’s chronograph with unmatched mechanical brilliance and dress watch suave. Cast in 18-carat Red Gold and measuring 42 millimetres with a thickness of 15.6 millimetres, its case was water resistant to 100 metres (10 bars). With a fixed-fitted bezel, a non-screw-locked crown featuring two gaskets, and caseback with cambered sapphire crystal, all comprised 18-carat red gold. Resting upon a black-base dial are Premier-signature Arabic indexes and hands in contrasting red gold, dipped in Super-LumiNova®. With limited real estate on the Premier B19 Datora’s dial, its layout employs three multi-tasking subdials. At three o’clock, we have a ‘date’ and 30-minute chronograph indicator. At six, we have ‘month’ and leap year indicators. At nine, it displays the day of the week and a running seconds hand. Up top at twelve sits a moonphase indicator. Powering this, is the new Breitling calibre B19 self-winding, offering a 96-hour power reserve and beating at 4 hertz. All this is strapped on in black leather with an 18-carat red gold buckle.
Breitling Navitimer B19 Chronograph 43 Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary
The Navitimer was designed in 1952 for members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), and a decade later, it went on to accompany astronauts to space — earning a global reputation for its technical reliability and robustness. Furthermore, it was history’s first watch for pilots that combined a chronograph with the brand’s proprietary circular slide rule flight computer. The Navitimer B19 slates in at slightly larger dimensions of 43 millimetres (lug to lug) with almost the same thickness as the Premier at 15.62 millimetres. Since all three models house the Calibre B19, the dial layout remains the same — triple sub-dial chronograph and perpetual calendar with a moonphase indicator up North. The latter teases an interesting detail — the realistic interpretation of the moon is a nod to the Navitimer’s age-old employment as a scientific tool. While cast in 18-carat red gold, it features a bi-directional bezel, non-screw-locked dual-gasket crown, and glare-proof, cambered sapphire crystal front and back. What’s unique is the 18-carat red gold dial with matching indexes and hands, which are also Super-LumiNova® coated. With the same B19 under the hood, it receives a similar black leather treatment for its strap.
Breitling Super Chronomat B19 44 Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary
The eldest (size-wise) is the Super Chronomat B199, introduced by Breitling in 1983 as the official timepiece of Frecce Tricolori, Italy’s aerobatics team. While having its early roots in sports, the Super Chronomat played an instrumental role in the Quartz crisis, being a champion for restoring consumer interest and faith in mechanical watches. The Super Chronomat’s most quintessential feat is its buffy bezel featuring 15-minute incremented markings. Measuring 44 millimetres and 15.35 millimetres thick, its 18-carat red gold case is 100-metre water resistant. With the caseback and crown nearly identical to the Premier and Navitimer, its bezel stands out with a black ceramic make and indexes coated in Super-LumiNova®. The dial is skeletonized with black sapphire chronograph sub-dials. Housing the calibre B19, it boasts a stunning and sporty Rouleaux-inspired rubber strap with an 18-carat red gold folding clasp.
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