Which Breitling to Buy: Navitimer, Chronomat or Superocean?

Short answer: buy the Navitimer. It is the watch Breitling is actually famous for, it has been in continuous production since 1952, and the slide rule on the bezel is the only complication in watchmaking that was genuinely used to keep aircraft in the air. Our Navitimers start around $3,899. If you want something you can wear without a 43mm chronograph on your wrist, buy a Superocean Heritage instead.

We hold 490 Breitlings. It is our smallest major-brand inventory and, per watch, the most under-appreciated — which is precisely why it is worth reading about before you buy something more obvious.

The one thing to understand about Breitling

Breitling did not make chronographs because they looked good. It made them because in the first half of the twentieth century, timing things accurately was a professional problem and nobody had solved the interface.

Léon Breitling founded the company in 1884 making chronographs for scientific and industrial use. The two innovations that matter both came from his grandson Willy: in 1915, separating the chronograph pusher from the crown, and in 1934, adding a second pusher for reset. Every chronograph made since — by anyone — uses that two-pusher layout.

That is a genuinely unusual thing to be able to say about a watch brand. Breitling did not popularise an existing form; it defined the control layout the entire category still uses.

The families that matter

Navitimer: the only useful bezel in watchmaking

Browse all Navitimers in our sourcing catalogue.

The Navitimer arrived in 1952 and was adopted the following year as the official watch of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The circular slide rule on the bezel is a working E6B flight computer: rotate the outer scale against the inner and you can calculate fuel burn, rate of climb, ground speed, distance, and unit conversions — the arithmetic a pilot had to do continuously before onboard computers existed.

Nobody navigates with one now. That is not the point. Every other bezel in watchmaking measures elapsed time or tracks a second timezone; this one does mathematics, and it did a job that mattered.

The reference to know is the 806, the original. Modern Navitimers come in 41, 43 and 46mm, with the B01 in-house chronograph movement in the current generation.

Our range includes the Navitimer 1461 in 48mm at $8,499 — a perpetual-style calendar chronograph that runs a 1,461-day cycle covering four years including the leap — and the Navitimer World 46mm at $6,699 with a second timezone. The Aviator 8 Super 8 at $3,899 is the value entry, a 46mm reinterpretation of the 1930s cockpit clocks Breitling supplied to aircraft manufacturers.

Be honest about size. The Navitimer wears large — the slide rule needs the real estate. On a wrist under 7 inches, the 41mm is the only version that works. Try before you commit, or buy from someone who will take it back.

Chronomat: the watch that saved Breitling

Browse all Chronomats in our sourcing catalogue.

Breitling effectively went under in the quartz crisis. The company was sold in 1979 and relaunched by Ernest Schneider, and the watch that brought it back was the 1984 Chronomat, developed with the Frecce Tricolori — the Italian Air Force display team.

The rider tabs on the bezel are the signature: four raised markers at the quarters, originally there so a pilot could grip and rotate the bezel wearing gloves. The current generation brought back the Rouleaux bracelet, and the whole design has aged into something that looks deliberate rather than dated.

Superocean: where the value is

Browse all Superoceans in our sourcing catalogue.

If you want the best watch-per-dollar in the Breitling catalogue, it is the Superocean Heritage.

The original Superocean launched in 1957 as a professional diver rated to 200m. The Heritage line revives that design language — a cleaner, less aggressive watch than most of what Breitling makes, with a domed sapphire crystal and a mesh bracelet.

It sits in the market against the Omega Seamaster and the Tudor Black Bay, and it is consistently cheaper than both on the secondary market for no reason connected to quality. That gap is the opportunity.

Aerospace and Emergency: the ones nobody expects

The 1985 Aerospace is a titanium multifunction quartz watch operated entirely through the crown — one control, running chronograph, alarm, second timezone, countdown, and a digital display split across two windows. It is one of the most genuinely clever user interfaces ever put in a watch, and it weighs almost nothing.

The Emergency, launched 1995, contains a radio distress beacon transmitting on the international aviation emergency frequency. It has been used in real rescues. The second-generation version transmits on two frequencies and is, as far as we know, the only wristwatch that can summon a search-and-rescue aircraft.

Both are the watches to buy if you already own the obvious things and want something with an argument behind it.

What about the Bentley watches?

Breitling partnered with Bentley from 2002 until 2019, and the Bentley-branded chronographs are polarising — big, heavily decorated, and made in an era when Breitling was chasing a particular kind of customer.

Our Bentley pieces include a K25362 in 18k yellow gold at 48mm and an A25362 in steel with a white dial. They have appreciated modestly since the partnership ended, because the supply is now fixed and nothing further will be made. Whether you like them is a matter of taste, but the discontinued status is a real scarcity argument rather than a marketing one.

Buying advice from the desk

• Every modern Breitling is COSC certified. Not some. All of them, including quartz. That is unusual and it is the brand's most quietly impressive commitment.
• The B01 matters. Breitling's in-house chronograph calibre, introduced 2009, is a column-wheel vertical-clutch movement with a 70-hour reserve. A B01 watch is worth paying more for than an ETA-based equivalent.
• Check the bracelet endlinks on older pieces. Breitling's Pilot and Rouleaux bracelets are expensive to replace and frequently swapped for aftermarket versions that look right at a glance.
• Size honestly. More Breitlings are sold and regretted on size than on any other factor. A 46mm chronograph is a commitment.

Common questions

Which Breitling should I buy first?

A Navitimer if you want the icon and can carry the size, a Superocean Heritage if you want something wearable and undervalued, an Aerospace if you want the cleverest watch in the catalogue. The Navitimer is the one you will still want in ten years.

Is Breitling a luxury brand?

Yes, though it sits below the trinity houses and alongside Omega and TAG Heuer in the market's hierarchy. It is a tool-watch maker with genuine aviation history rather than a haute horlogerie house, and it has never pretended otherwise.

Do Breitlings hold their value?

Less well than Rolex or Omega, and that is the honest answer. The Navitimer is the most stable, discontinued Bentley pieces have firmed up, and the rest depreciate like most Swiss watches. Buy one because you want to wear it.

What is the slide rule on a Navitimer for?

It is a circular E6B flight computer. Rotating the bezel scale against the dial scale lets you calculate fuel consumption, climb rate, ground speed, distance and unit conversions — the mental arithmetic pilots did continuously before onboard computers. It still works.

What size Navitimer should I buy?

41mm for wrists under 7 inches, 43mm for most people, 46mm only if you want the presence and know it. The slide rule needs diameter, so there is no small Navitimer that reads well.

Browse the inventory

All 490 pieces are in the Breitling collection, authenticated in house and shipped insured from Miami Beach. Tell us your wrist size before you buy a chronograph and we will tell you honestly whether it will work.