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Breitling SA

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For the aerobatics team, seeBreitling Jet Team.
Breitling SA
Company typePrivate
IndustryWatch manufacturing
Founded1884(1884),inSaint-Imier,Switzerland
FounderLéon Breitling
Headquarters
Grenchen
,
Switzerland
Key people
Georges Kern(CEO)
ProductsWristwatches
OwnerPartners Group
Websitebreitling.com

Breitling SA(German pronunciation:[ˈbraɪtlɪŋ]) is a Swiss luxurywatchmakerfounded in 1884 inSaint-Imier,Switzerland, byLéon Breitling.The company is known for its precision-madechronometersdesigned foraviatorsand is based inGrenchen,Switzerland.

History[edit]

AstronautScott Carpenterwearing a Breitling Cosmonaute inside theAurora 7spacecraft, May 24, 1962

Breitling SA was founded in Saint-Imier byLéon Breitlingin 1884.[1]When Breitling died in 1914, the business passed to his son,Gaston,and then to his grandson,Willy,in 1935. Willy's children, however, were not interested in pursuing the family business, so the Breitling factory in La Chaux de Fonds closed in December 1978. Willy, already in poor health, died in May 1979.

Ernst Schneider, owner of theSicuraCompany inGrenchen,bought the Breitling name from the founding family in 1979. Production of watches moved to the Sicura factory, which later changed its name toMontres Breitling AGand thenBreitling AGin 1994.

The Schneider family retained ownership until April 2017, when Ernst's son, Theodore Schneider, sold the majority stake (80%) in Breitling toCVC Capital Partnersfor $870 million. Schneider retained 20% control of Breitling until November 2018, when he sold these remaining 20% to CVC.[2][3]

On 23 December 2022,Partners Group,a Swiss investment andprivate equityfirm, took over the majority of the Breitling shares from CVC. Co-founder of Partners Group,Alfred Gantner,took over the presidency of Breitling's directorial board.[4]

Products[edit]

The company's mechanical or quartz movements are chronometer certified by theCOSC[5]and are usually marketed towards eitherdiving(SuperOcean) oraviation(Navitimer). Aviation models offer aviation functions largely as complications, since their function in aviation has largely been replaced by modern electronic instruments. The styling of Breitling watches consists of polished cases, bracelets, and large watch faces for improved readability. Many models have anautomatic windingmechanism withcomplications.

Breitling offers logo customization for pilots with group orders. By the 1990s, the use of logos for military aviation customers expanded to include various unit logos on the Aerospace and Chronospace Auto models, primarily those of squadrons, usually part of a group purchase by pilots and navigators/flight officers of the particular unit.[6]

Historically, Breitling has sourced movements from suppliers such asValjoux,ETA,and Venus rather than producing movements in-house; however, in 2009 Breitling developed the B01, a self-winding, column wheel chronograph movement, for use in theBreitling Chronomat01 andNavitimer01.[7]

Top Time[edit]

Main article:Breitling Top Time

Navitimer[edit]

Main article:Breitling Navitimer

In the 1940s, Breitling added acircular slide ruleto the bezel of its Chronomat models. This bezel became most associated with the Navitimer, launched in 1954. The nameNavitimercomes from two words were used to describe its purpose: Navigation and Timer.[8]During the 1950s and 1960s, a version of the Navitimer was offered by theAircraft Owners and Pilots Associationwith the AOPA logo on the dial.

In 1961,Scott Carpenter,one of the original astronauts in theMercury space program,tasked Breitling with incorporating a24-hour dialinstead of the normal 12-hour dial, due to lack of day and night in space travel. Breitling produced the 24-hour Navitimer, which Carpenter wore on his 1962 space flight. Breitling proceeded to produce a commercial version of the 24-hour version, theCosmonaute Navitimer,with both Breitling and AOPA logos.[9]

The first automatic Navitimer chronograph was introduced to the public in 1969; its movement was co-developed by Breitling, Dubois-Depraz,Heuer,andHamilton.[8]

Chronomat[edit]

Main article:Breitling Chronomat
Breitling Chronomat men's watch ref. B13050 Made in Switzerland

TheChronomatis a collection from Breitling released in 1942,[10]and remains one of the best-selling models produced by the manufacturer.[11]

The first Chronomat had a circular slide rule and its design was inspired bymilitary watches.[10]Its movement was the Venus 175 with 17jewels,a manual wind movement.

The current Chronomat was released in 2009 and was the first watch produced entirely by Breitling, featuring the in-house B01 caliber.[12]The B01 movement has a 70-hour power reserve andCOSCcertification.[13]

Emergency[edit]

Main article:Breitling Emergency

TheBreitling Emergencywatch contains a radio transmitter forcivil aviationuse, which broadcasts on the121.5 MHz distress frequencyand serves as a backup forELT-type airborne beacons.[14]For military users, the Emergency has a miniaturized transmitter operating on the 243.0 MHz military aviation emergency frequency. Under normal conditions—flat terrain or calm seas—the signal can be picked up at a range of up to 90 nautical miles (170 km) by search aircraft flying at 20,000 feet (6,100 m).[15]Since February 2009, theCospas-SarsatSatellite System has not monitored the 121.5/243.0 MHz frequency; however, the signal transmitted by the Emergency was never strong enough to be picked up by satellite, and Breitling has announced that, as these frequencies will still be monitored by aviation, particularly during the localization phase of a rescue attempt, there are no plans to modify the signal's frequency.[citation needed]

Reutersreported in January 2003 two British pilots,Squadron LeaderSteve Brooks andFlight LieutenantHugh Quentin-Smith, crashed their helicopter in Antarctica and were rescued after activating their Breitling Emergency transmitter watches.[16]

The Emergency is available for customers without a pilot's license, but they must sign an agreement that they will bear the full costs of a rescue intervention should they trigger the distress beacon.[citation needed]

The model was heavily advertised by theBreitling Orbiter 3,with bothBrian JonesandBertrand Piccardwearing the Emergency. Breitling sponsored the Orbiter 3 project, which in 1999 became the first balloon to completely orbit the Earth without landing. A commemorative Orbiter 3 version of the Emergency watch was subsequently produced, with a production run of 1,999.[citation needed]

Emergency II[edit]

In April 2013, Breitling announced a new version of the Emergency watch.[17]This upgrade transmits on the 121.5 MHz frequency, but adds the 406.04 MHz signal that ismonitored by satellites.It has a separate, rechargeable battery for the transmitter.

Breitling for Bentley[edit]

In 2002, Breitling designed the dashboard clock for theBentley Continental GT.[18]The following year, Breitling started making chronographs forBentley Motors.As part of the 10th anniversary of a Breitling–Bentley partnership, the Bentley B04 GMT, B05 Unitime and B06 (based onCOSCCertified Breitling Calibre B04, B05 and B06 respectively) were produced.[19]In 2015, Breitling designed the Mulliner Tourbillon dashboard clock for theBentley Bentayga,which spins 3 times every 15 minutes. The partnership between Breitling and Bentley ended in 2021.[20]

Versions[edit]

Breitling Aerospace Avantage with titanium case
Breitling Navitimerwristwatch with circular slide rule
Breitling Emergency wristwatch
Breitling ChronomatBlackbird

Sponsorship[edit]

Aero L-39 Albatrosaircraft of theBreitling Jet Teamperform atRIATin Fairford, England.

Breitling aeronautical sponsorships include the first circumnavigation of the globe by balloon (Breitling Orbiter); the fixed-wingjet packflights ofYves Rossy;aerobaticsteams, including theBreitling Jet TeamandBreitling Wingwalkers;and theReno Air Racesfrom 2002 to 2015. Breitling was a sponsor of Team Bentley during itsLe Mans24 Hours campaign, from 2001 to 2003; to commemorate this, it created the Breitling-Bentley 24 Le Mans Watch.[citation needed]

In popular culture[edit]

In the 1965James BondmovieThunderball,Bond is given aBreitling Top Time,which contains ageiger counter,enabling Bond to track down two stolennuclear warheads.After the movie was filmed, the watch disappeared and later resurfaced in acar boot salein England in 2012, where it was purchased for£25.It later sold atChristie'sauction house for over£100,000.[21][22]In the same film, the SPECTRE pilot who hijacks the Vulcan bomber wears a Breitling Navitimer.

Jerry Seinfeldcan be seen wearing either aBreitling NavitimerorBreitling Chronomatin nearly every episode of 1989–1998 TV seriesSeinfeld,and the later web seriesComedians in Cars Getting Coffee.[23]In the British automotive seriesTop Gear,Richard Hammonduses a Breitling Emergency II watch to be rescued byJeremy ClarksonandJames May.[24]

Red Dead Redemption 2;Pocket watch Reutlinger is based on Breitling.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Breitling SA: Private Company Information".Bloomberg Businessweek.Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 2012.RetrievedJanuary 4,2011.
  2. ^Megaw, Nicolas (April 28, 2017)."CVC to take majority stake in Swiss watchmaker Breitling".Financial Times.London.RetrievedFebruary 2,2020.
  3. ^Kowalsky, Marc (December 21, 2018)."Breitling:" Kern und Schneider sind wie Feuer und Eis ""[Breitling: "The core and cutter are like fire and ice" ].Bilanz(in German).RetrievedOctober 23,2019.
  4. ^"Partners Group installiert Alfred Gantner als Präsident von Breitling".Handelszeitung(in German). December 23, 2022.RetrievedDecember 31,2022.
  5. ^Bues, Jonathan (November 2, 2010)."COSC - An External Referee".WorldTempus.Archived fromthe originalon October 16, 2014.RetrievedOctober 10,2014.
  6. ^"Viper Breitling Order".Baseops Forums.July 26, 2014.RetrievedJune 13,2018.
  7. ^Ivkovic, Boris (January 10, 2013)."Breitling Caliber 01 – An Automatic Chronograph Movement Intended for Industrial Production".Watch Analyzer.RetrievedFebruary 2,2020.
  8. ^ab"An Icon of the Skies: A brief history of the Breitling Navitimer".SecondTime.RetrievedJuly 16,2020.
  9. ^"Breitling Navitimer".Breitling.RetrievedJune 13,2018.
  10. ^abBrunner, Gisbert (April 17, 2014)."5 Milestone Breitling Watches, from 1915 to Today".WatchTime.RetrievedJune 2,2014.
  11. ^Adams, Charlotte (October 2, 2013)."Top 3 Best-selling Breitling Watches".Male Standard.RetrievedJune 2,2014.
  12. ^Jones, Roy."The Breitling B01".Men's Health.Archived fromthe originalon February 21, 2013.RetrievedJune 2,2014.
  13. ^Richter, Martina (April 10, 2012)."Pilot's Watch Review: Breitling Chronomat GMT".WatchTime.RetrievedJune 2,2014.
  14. ^Ganapati, Priya (October 3, 2008)."Fossett Was Not Wearing a Breitling Emergency Watch, Says Watchmaker".Wired.RetrievedMarch 7,2013.
  15. ^Sonnenfeld, Barry(May 1, 2005)."Time Saver".Esquire.Archived fromthe originalon July 13, 2014.RetrievedMarch 7,2013.
  16. ^Morris, Steven (January 28, 2003)."Explorers or boys messing about? Either way, taxpayer gets rescue bill".The Guardian.London.RetrievedMarch 7,2013.
  17. ^Biggs, John (April 29, 2013)."Breitling Releases the Emergency II, a Watch That Can Save You If You're Trapped on the Island".TechCrunch.RetrievedJuly 1,2013.
  18. ^Kahle, Laurie (March 7, 2019)."Breitling Pays Tribute to Bentley's Centennial with Limited Edition Watches".Barron's.RetrievedFebruary 2,2020.
  19. ^""Breitling For Bentley" Celebrates 10 Years With 3 New Watches ".Lux Pursuits.August 30, 2013.RetrievedJune 13,2018.
  20. ^Gibson, David K. (November 10, 2015)."Bentley Bentayga's $160,000 Option".BBC News.RetrievedFebruary 2,2020.
  21. ^"James Bond watch with geiger counter sells for $160,000".Reuters.June 26, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on July 1, 2013.RetrievedJuly 1,2013.
  22. ^"Original Thunderball Geiger counter watch found by Bond fans".Bond Lifestyle. May 16, 2013.RetrievedJuly 1,2013.
  23. ^Jerry Seinfeld's Watch Collection2019/03/25
  24. ^Bredan, David (April 9, 2015)."Breitling Emergency II Watch Featured In Top Gear's Last Aired Challenge".aBlogtoWatch.RetrievedNovember 4,2023.

External links[edit]

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