Watch Reviews · Profile & review in progress
Breitling Navitimer
A pilot chronograph known for its slide-rule bezel.
With its busy dial and circular slide-rule bezel, the Breitling Navitimer is one of the most distinctive watches ever made. Built as a flight computer for pilots in the 1950s, it remains one of the longest continuously produced chronographs. Here's the background ahead of our review.
History
Breitling was founded in 1884 by Léon Breitling in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, later moving to Grenchen. The company became a chronograph specialist, and in the 1930s and 1940s developed features including the second independent chronograph pusher and the Chronomat, which incorporated a logarithmic slide rule.
In 1952, Willy Breitling, grandson of the founder, was approached by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), and the result was the Navitimer — a combination of "navigation" and "timer." Its rotating bezel and dial scale formed a circular slide rule that pilots could use to calculate ground speed, fuel consumption, rate of climb or descent, distance, and unit conversions. AOPA adopted it as its official timepiece. Early AOPA versions carried the association's winged logo; a version with Breitling branding reached the public in the mid-1950s, later known by reference number 806.
On May 24, 1962, Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter wore a custom Navitimer with a 24-hour dial during his Aurora 7 orbital flight. That model became the Navitimer Cosmonaute.
In 1969, Breitling was part of the consortium (with Heuer-Leonidas, Hamilton-Buren, and Dubois-Dépraz) that introduced one of the first automatic chronograph movements, the Chrono-Matic.
How the slide rule works
The outer rotating scale and inner fixed scale are both logarithmic. By aligning numbers on the two scales, you can multiply, divide, and solve ratios. For example, aligning the "MPH" index with a known speed shows distances traveled for given times. A red "10" marker serves as the unit index. Specialized marks handle conversions such as statute miles, nautical miles, and kilometers. Most owners today use it as a conversation piece, but it does work.
Design and specifications (current Navitimer B01 Chronograph)
- Case: stainless steel or gold, offered in several sizes, commonly 41, 43, and 46 mm.
- Movement: Breitling's in-house Manufacture Caliber 01, a self-winding column-wheel chronograph with a vertical clutch, COSC-certified, with a power reserve of about 70 hours, per Breitling.
- Bezel: bidirectional rotating slide-rule bezel with beaded edge for grip.
- Crystal: sapphire, with a transparent caseback on many models.
- Water resistance: 30 meters on many models — this is not a swimming watch.
What we'll evaluate
- Design: legibility (the busy dial is a deliberate trade-off), finishing, and heritage details.
- Movement: chronograph action, accuracy, and power reserve.
- Wearability: size options, comfort, and strap or bracelet choices.
- Value: compared to other luxury chronographs.
Things to know before buying
- Size: try different case sizes. The Navitimer's wide bezel makes it wear larger than its case diameter suggests.
- Water resistance: check the rating of the specific model before getting it wet.
- Vintage: early 806 references and AOPA dials are highly collectible; buy from specialists.
- Variants: Breitling offers many Navitimer versions, including automatic three-hand models without a chronograph and GMT models.
Status
No ratings have been assigned. We'll publish scores once the hosts have worn the Navitimer for a meaningful period. See our guide to chronographs and pilot watches.
A pilot's watch in a digital cockpit
Electronic flight computers and glass cockpits have replaced slide rules in aviation, so the Navitimer's bezel is now more heritage than necessity. That's true of most tool watches. The appeal is the connection to an era when pilots did these calculations by hand.
Ratings
Ratings are editorial opinions and will be added once the hosts have spent time with this watch. No scores have been assigned yet.
The verdict
Coming soon.
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