Breitling takes off – and really high

For over 70 years, the Navitimer has been more than just a watch. It has been a tool, a status symbol, a cultural object – and always somehow ahead of its time. Originally built for pilots who wanted to do their flight calculations directly on their wrist, it has long since catapulted itself out of the cockpit. Today, it stands for style as much as for technology. And this is precisely where Breitling is now starting again.

The Navitimer at its next level

With the new Navitimer B19, Breitling is launching two models that represent something like the final expansion stage of this line. Chronograph meets perpetual calendar - and all in a design that is somewhere between the art of engineering and aerospace fantasy

At the centre: the manufacture calibre B19. A movement that not only measures, but also thinks. Leap years? Different lengths of months? Everything runs automatically in the background. Once set correctly, the system theoretically needs no correction for a century. There is also a moon phase – a detail that finally pushes the Navitimer from the cockpit into the cosmos.

Technically, the whole thing is absurdly superior anyway: 96-hour power reserve, chronometer certification, a red gold rotor visible through the sapphire crystal case back. And an operating concept that remains surprisingly minimalist despite its complexity.

In short: this is not an upgrade. This is a statement.

Two watches, two heights

Breitling is not only rethinking the Navitimer technically, but also visually. Both models symbolise different altitudes.

The limited platinum version (75 pieces) is heading for the stratosphere: deep blue dial, almost weightless, inspired by the moments when the earth slowly shows its curvature. Accompanied by a black slide rule and clear contrasts - everything looks precise, cool, almost extraterrestrially calm.

The second variant does not stay on the ground, but goes even further: stainless steel case with platinum bezel, combined with an anthracite-coloured dial that is more reminiscent of the emptiness of space than the atmosphere above. Dark, calm, with a certain gravity – as if time works differently here.

Both models share the typical Navitimer codes: the iconic slide rule, the knurled bezel, the complex, almost architectural dial design. What is new above all is the depth. Lacquered surfaces, raised subdials, plus the moon phase at 12 o'clock – each dial looks like its own little universe.

From cockpit to culture

What has always made the Navitimer special is its ability to transform without losing itself. It was a tool for pilots, a companion for astronauts – and at the same time a watch that suddenly appeared on the wrists of Miles Davis or Formula 1 legends.

This new generation continues exactly that. It remains technically radical, but at the same time is increasingly becoming a design object.

In other words, the Navitimer was never just a watch. And with the B19, it is now less so than ever.

One that comes from aviation, has long since arrived in space – and continues to rise.

→ breitling.com