Breitling

Coined from the words navigator and timer, the Breitling Navitimer collection is one of the most legendary collections by the brand. The birth of the Navimeter as an idea preceded its execution by decades, with the Breitling Chronomat in 1942. Willy Breitling collaborated with the mathematician Marcel Robert to design a slide rule bezel that made the calculation of complex logarithmic values possible. This led to the development of a scale that incorporated the three units necessary for aerial navigation- STAT, KM and NAUT. Pilots all over the world could now perform complicated calculations such as fuel consumption, average or climbing speeds, and so on, by using their Navitimer, which doubled as a calculator. From its launch in 1952 till today, more than 60 years after its release, the Navimeter has undergone several changes, including the evolution from the manual Venus 178 movement in 1952 to the highly modern automatic movement in 1969, though the side rule bezel has remained a constant component. The first editions of the Navimeter 806 are today highly sought-after collectables.