On May 24, 1962, the Breitling Navitimer, which has improved some functions, has become the world’s first timekeeping watch in space. And it accompanied and witnessed the journey of the aurora 7 capsule to conquer space. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its achievements in aviation history, Breitling, in particular, has launched a new home-made machine, Navitimer Cosmonaute. The wristwatch, which has a global limited edition of 1962, is a tribute to legend.
In the early 1960s, the space race culminated in a fierce battle for control of space in the United States and the Soviet union. And the Soviet union first put Sputnik into space. In order to change the competitive disadvantage and realize the dream of manned space flight, the United States began to implement The Mercury Program. To accomplish this great space program, NASA need to research and development a series of new technologies, including a time-keeping watch with superior performance, precise reliability and no fear of any extreme environment. NASA tested various types of timing products on the market, and they eventually found Breitling – as aviation reliable partner, Breitling witnessed the process of the human conquest of the sky every moment. As a result, Breitling has been hailed as the “official supplier of the world’s aviation industry” and its excellent performance in professional aviation has been favored by NASA. Navitimer watch that can meet the challenge was born in 1952. It equipped with a famous circular flying ruler, which can carry out all the operations required for flight navigation. At the same time, as an official watch of AOPA, it has been praised by pilots. In the end, Navitimer succeeded in passing all the professional tests and determined to accompany major carpenter in space. For meeting the special needs of aerospace, Navitimer has made further functional improvements. At this point, Breitling is ready to rush into space from aviation.
In 1962, Navitimer, together with the American astronaut, major Scott Carpenter, flew three times around the earth in the Aurora 7 capsule. Since then, the watch has become the first timekeeping watch in space. The precision timepiece is equipped with a unique 24-hour scale that allows astronauts to easily identify day and night even in complex and space-changing environments. After that, the pioneer in space was introduced as a standard watch, Cosmonaute, an astronaut’s wristwatch. On May 24, 2012, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Breitling aviation chronometer, Navitimer Cosmonaute with new homemade Breitling02 movement had been launched globally and synchronously. The new Breitling02 movement followed two features of the previous wristwatch – 24 hours of display and manual winding, excellent performance and remarkable significance. This global best timing movement has a unique guide pin wheel timing device. It seamlessly integrates many technical features and shows excellent performance. Most importantly, it passed COSC which symbolises ultimate precision with its extremely stabilization and reliability.
As far as we know, this limited Navitimer watch with both elegant and hard features is designed to mark the 50th anniversary of the legend. Black dial with small silver sub-dials, and the dial pattern is made with extremely fine “par epargne” process, which shows the unrivalled light and readability. The watch case back is decorated with the medal of the Aurora 7, and the Celsius/Fahrenheit scale. The power storage of the movement can reach more than 70 hours. Timing precision can reach 1/4 second. The waterproof performance reaches 30 meters (100 feet /3 atmospheres). Equipped with 30 minutes and 12 hour accumulative timer. Manual winding, 28,800 high pendulum clock per hour, 39 gem bearings, bidirectional rotary watch bezel, calendar display, 43 mm in diameter.
Carrying people’s inexhaustible exploration, the adventurous spirit, and the extraordinary precise performance with the classic meaningful appearance – Breitling Navitimer wristwatch engraves the glory and continues the legend.
