Hands On The Breitling Navitimer 01 With 46 mm Case

By Pooja Agarwal | July 30, 2015

It’s Throwback Thursday over on Instagram, and we thought we’d take the celebrations online this week by checking in with a Breitling model spotted during this year’s Baselworld. Presented next to the Breitling Emergency II and the Breitling Transocean Chronograph 1915, the latest Breitling Navitimer 01 reminds us that bigger is better. Created by Breitling in 1952, the original Navitimer was designed as a ‘wrist instrument’ especially built for pilots and other aviation professionals. The latest XL look, introduced last year, lends an enhanced presence on the wrist and accentuates the originality of its design, yet at the same time optimizing its readability.

Equipped with a high performance chronometer-certified in-house movement, the Breitling Navitimer 01 (46 mm) is a larger-than-life variation of the legendary timepiece, with a new size and new power. The generous 46 mm case dimension highlight the famous black dial which is made with the “épargne” technique against a pure silver background. This process guarantees superb readability and outstanding radiance. It also comes in a blue dial featuring tone-on-tone counters.

On the dial are 3 sub-dials with the seconds indication at 9 o’clock, the 30-minute totalizer at 3 o’clock, and the 12-hour totalizer at 6 o’clock. Equipped with a circular slide rule, the Navitimer 01 (46 mm) is purpose-built to handle all calculations associated to airborne navigation. Resistant to 3 bars, the steel or 18-carat red gold case of the Breitling Navitimer 01 (46 mm) is fitted with a rotating bezel with circular slide rule.

The self-winding Manufacture Breitling Caliber 01 movement, can be admired through the transparent sapphire crystal caseback and comes with a power reserve of over 70-hours. One of the world’s finest automatic chronograph movement, it is created completely in the Breitling Chronométrie workshops. Internationally recognized as the benchmark for precision and reliability, the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute) has officially chronometer-certified the Breitling Caliber 01 movement, meaning the chronograph is precise to 1/4th of a second.

The steel version of the Breitling Navitimer 01 (46 mm) can be fitted either with a steel bracelet or leather strap, with a further choice between Barenia leather or crocodile leather. The watch is also available in a limited edition of 200-pieces which are made in red gold with a black dial.