The Breitling Navitimer is one of the first watches to be designed with pilots in mind. Released in 1952, the watch quickly became the official timepiece for a number of pilot associations due to its slide rule and chronograph capabilities. The name comes from “navigation timer”. Buying used Breitling Navitimer watches is a great way of owning a watch with a long and interesting history. The watch was originally based on the Chronomat and it was the success of this watch which gave Breitling the confidence to produce the Navitimer.
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CRONOGRAPH BREITLING NAVITIMER AUTOMATIC GOLD AND SILVER REF 81610 VINTAGEUS $860.00 |
BREITLING PREMIER NAVITIMER A40035 AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH MENS WATCHUS $898.00 |
BREITLING INTRUDER NEW PLUTON NAVITIMER QUARTZ PLUTON ACADEMYUS $1,800.00 |
Breitling Navitimer watches were originally developed as a watch to aid pilots who needed to keep track of time with a chronograph watch. The watches are usually automatic winding with a power reserve greater than 40 hours. The complications included with the automatic watch movement vary although there are often sweep seconds and date dials. The water resistance of a used Breitling Navitimer is only around 30m and hence isn’t designed to be a diver’s watch.
The price of a used Breitling Navitimer depends on how old the watch is and which model it is. For example, the Breitling Navitimer Chrono-matic Chronograph 18k Rose Gold is an extremely rare item and hence can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. This particular watch is 49mm in size and comes with a silver dial and watch hands which are outlined with rose gold. On the other hand, a more common Breitling Navitimer Chrono-matic watch may cost less than $10,000 depending on the condition.
Original Navitimer watches used the Venus 178 movement which is considered to be one of the top chronograph movements for that time period. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the watch was redesigned. A few of the Navitimers produced in the mid-1950s were made using a different movement – the Valijoux 72. These watches are amongst the rarest in the world and even some collectors aren’t aware of them.
The Breitling Navitimer has been constantly updated since it was first released and hence it’s important to know exactly which model you’re buying. When looking for pre owned or used Breitling Navitimer watches the movement quality, condition and age should all be factored into the price. Today, the Navitimer is more popular than ever and hence can be difficult to get hold of. For this reason buying used Navitimer watches is often the only option. Through all the updates the Navitimer has kept its most basic design features and principles though.