BREITLING
The history of BREITLING
The globe was in a phase of change in 1882. The worst of the industrial revolution was passed, and everything was beginning to seem wonderfully contemporary. Industry, science, and athletics were all advancing at breakneck speed. Leon Breitling was there to watch it all.
Breitling recognized that all of these forward-thinking activities would need more precise timing methods than those available at the time. The world of technology was progressing faster than the world of watches, and Leon was taking note.
The master watchmaker aspired to build high-precision timepieces and timing devices that could be utilized in a variety of applications, from industry to sports. As a result, he pushed his firm to get patents for some of the most significant advancements in chronographs and sports watches.
Pocket watches were popular at the period, but their fobs and chains were simply too unwieldy in the cockpit.
However, aviation was Leon Breitling's main preoccupation. As daring men attempted to fly for the first time in history in 'heavier than air' aircraft, the one piece of technology they need was an easy-to-use timer that also freed up their hands for the difficult operation of takeoff.
Breitling flew with planes as they reached higher altitudes. Whether it was new pilot wristwatches or dashboard devices to aid time and navigate while in the air, his company was making the cockpit a more practical — and gorgeous — environment.
Breitling's innovations in aeronautical time devices quickly received international acclaim. Their timepieces were so well-received that the Royal Air Force commissioned them to produce chronographs. Breitling watches were used to keep time during some of the most memorable dogfights of WWII.
As Europe was plunged further into darkness, Willy Breitling took the helm of the brand his grandfather had founded. The Nazis were surrounding Switzerland and blocking the exportation of products, especially items that could be used in the war effort. This include Breitling timepieces.
Willy, on the other hand, was undeterred. He and a bunch of pals would travel to a field near the Breitling factory and put up a makeshift runway with little more than their vehicle headlights and a lot of bravado. The planes could then be loaded with their valuable cargo and taken off right immediately, all without the local Nazi intelligence agents knowing.
Willy would travel home via a neighborhood tavern and make himself prominent to give himself with an alibi during these nocturnal attacks. Yes, this technique landed him in the drunk tank for a timeout and a siesta every now and again, but the timepieces and dashboard gadgets ended up in the hands of the Allies.
Many in the watch industry believed that once peace was achieved, demand for chronographs would decline. Breitling, on the other hand, had different ideas. People demanded thinner, more elegant timepieces that could be worn with a suit, so the business reacted to the times and provided them what they wanted. The brand also invested heavily in ladies' timepieces, a sector that many watchmakers avoided since the fashion was deemed unladylike. Breitling benefited from their demise.
Breitling, on the other hand, did not fully rip off the roots that had grown them into a Swiss behemoth. They proceeded to improve their dependable chronographs. Willy Breitling created the Navitimer, which is perhaps their most popular model ever, during this time period.
Few watches are as recognizable as the Navitimer when it comes to pilot's timepieces.Its knurled bezel and ever-useful slide rule — dedicated to gauging all kinds of in-flight timings — has become a symbol of both the sky and the ground.
It initially appeared on civilian wrists in 1952, and the unique design has remained mostly unchanged since then. Great symbols like these never go out of style.
Breitling instruments were rapidly fitted in the greatest propeller and jet aircraft of the era, thanks to the Navitimer's popularity and the celebrity of its enigmatic designer. In the 'Golden Age' of aviation, it was no easy task.
You'd be excused for believing Breitling exclusively created timepieces for pilots. With its inventive watches, the brand has really conquered air, land, and sea. They've even been to the furthest reaches of the universe. Lt. Commander Scott Carpenter orbited the earth three times in 1962 while wearing the Navitimer Cosmonaute, a slightly modified Breitling.
Breitling had mastered the water just a few years before, with the introduction of their Superocean watch in 1957. It is another Breitling design that has endured the test of time as well as the challenges of the real world. It is built to resist the demands of both professional and recreational divers.
Breitling is pioneering a new route in the world of luxury watches right now. With its new CEO, Georges Kern, at the helm, the company is taking on new challenges and forging a new route for watchmakers all around the world. Kerns has produced a range of slimmed-down, simpler Breitlings that nonetheless convey the spirit of the brand, as they did in the post-war years, in response to the need for smaller, more streamlined watches. These are part of Breitling's newly relaunched Premier collection, which harkens back to the company's cosmopolitan history.
Indeed, the Premier collection harkens back to a glitzy, exquisite era in the brand's history, when it catered to the jazz-influenced lifestyle of Europe's upper crust about 1943.
Nobody knows what the new year will bring for Breitling.
However, if the previous 134 years are any indication, there appears to be a dominant breeze at the tail and clear skies ahead.