It signalled a peak in development that, unfortunately, wasn’t to last. The Chronomat was introduced in 1941, and in 1969 it received the world’s first self-winding chronograph movement, developed with Heuer and Hamilton. That watch became the Chronomatic Cosmonaut. He had commissioned the watchmaker to replace the standard 12-hour clock with a 24-hour one, a feature that made the watch far more practical in space. Commander Scott Carpenter wore a specially developed Navitimer on the Mercury Atlas 7 mission. The popularity of the brand also extended into space, when Lt. This affiliation with aviation became the brand’s crowning jewel, and before long, Breitling watches were being used not only by the Royal Air Force, but by many commercial pilots as well. The slide rule bezel aided the conversions it was first seen on the Chronomat, then later on the Navitimer and Montbrillant. The timing and conversion rulers available on the brand’s watches made them suitable for pilots who needed to make in flight calculations for speed, distance and fuel use. Willy pushed the company into the aviation industry, successfully winning a contract to provide watches to the British Air Ministry. The development of the brand’s watches continued through the First World War until Gaston’s death shortly after, leaving the business without a leader for five years before Gaston’s son Willy stepped in to assume command. He continued to develop the company’s bestseller, the chronograph, which was eagerly adopted by the military and police forces. In 1914, Léon passed away, and his son Gaston inherited the business. Even by watchmaking standards, his creations were intricate and complicated, and the success of his chronographs required Breitling to move to a larger factory on Montbrillant Street, La Chaux-de-Fonds, in 1892. A specialist in scientific measurement and timing devices, Léon Breitling opened his workshop in the Jura Mountains of Switzerland in 1884 to make exceptional watches.

Breitling serial numbers years