Breitling is turning back the clock on one of the most iconic watches in aviation history. The Swiss luxury watchmaker has introduced two new hand-wound Navitimer chronographs, bringing a classic feature of its original 1952 pilot’s watch back to the permanent collection. And one of them revives a design originally created for a NASA astronaut who needed a watch that could tell time in space.
The new Breitling Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 and Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute pair vintage-inspired styling with modern, manually wound mechanical movements. Both feature 41mm stainless steel cases, Breitling’s signature circular slide-rule bezels, and approximately 70 hours of power reserve. Starting at $7,900, the two watches celebrate the Navitimer’s aviation roots while giving enthusiasts something increasingly uncommon in the collection: a chronograph they wind themselves.
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The 41mm Navitimer B09 Chronograph is constructed in stainless steel. Its hallmark bidirectional, slide rule frames either a black or blue “reverse panda” dial and is the first mainline-collection Navitimer powered by the manual-wind Caliber B09, previously only found in limited editions like the Miles Davis. The COSC-certified chronograph movement utilizes column-wheel architecture and a vertical clutch for effortless timing. The caliber offers an approximate 70-hour power reserve and is accurate to -2 to +4 seconds a day.
The black dial version comes on a hand-applied brown gradient calf-leather strap, while the blue dial B09 is paired with a matching blue gradient calf-leather strap. Both are secured with a twin-trigger folding clasp or can be fitted with a seven-row stainless-steel bracelet.
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The original Navitimer of the early 50s was a smash hit with aviators of the day. So much so that a decade on NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter requested Breitling adapt it for space flight ahead of his 1962 liftoff on the Mercury-Atlas 7. The resulting Navitimer Cosmonaute offered a 24-hour display that helped measure time beyond the day-night cycle, which is a less germane metric when you’re orbiting the Earth at 17,500 mph.
The new version, Breitling’s Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute hews close to the original 24-hour, black, “reverse panda” design, though adds a date window at 6 o’clock. The 41mm stainless-steel case houses manual-wind Manufacture Caliber B02 used exclusively in the Cosmonaute. The 24-hour chronograph movement makes one full rotation of the hour hand around the dial every 24 rather than every 12. Like its B09 sister, the COSC-certified calibre is precise to -2 to +4 seconds a day and good for up to 70 hours without winding.
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The Cosmonaute is available either on a hand-applied brown gradient calfskin-leather strap with folding clasp or a seven-row, satin-and-polish-finish stainless-steel bracelet.
Both the B02 and B09’s dials are decorated with Breitling’s gold Twin Jet logo, dating to 1957. The duo offers hands, numerals, and indexes filled with Super-LumiNova for low-light legibility. Anti-reflective coated sapphire crystals cap each watches’ respective dial, while screwed-in sapphire casebacks allow a look at either the B09 or B02 calibers. The duo utilizes non-screw-down crowns, and offer a modest 30 meters of water resistance.
Both are available now at boutiques and breitling.com. The Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 retails for $7,900 on a strap or $8,400 on the bracelet. The Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute runs $10,600 on leather or $11,000 fitted with the seven-link bracelet.
