The Breitling Navitimer | family history
Willy Breitling was approached by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in 1952 to design a pilot's chronograph with an integrated circular slide rule, the wrist computer pilots needed for flight calculations in the era before electronic calculators. The first Navitimers carried the AOPA wings logo before the design was released to civilian sale in 1956. The slide-rule bezel has been the Navitimer signature for seven decades. This walk frames each era and the references the catalog currently tracks.
Breitling’s 1952 aviation chronograph: the slide-rule bezel for in-flight calculations, AOPA-endorsed and worn through the jet age. The modern B01 generation (2009) brought the family back to an in-house automatic chronograph after fifty years of outsourced movements.
1952–1969 · The AOPA Navitimer and ref. 806
Breitling developed the Navitimer in 1952 to AOPA's specification; commercial sale began ~1954. Reference 806 (introduced ~1954) is the canonical early Navitimer: Venus 178 hand-wind chronograph, 41mm steel case, AOPA wings on the dial through 1956 (replaced by the Breitling B-and-wings logo afterward). The slide rule on the bidirectional outer bezel multiplied, divided, and converted units; the inner fixed scale was the static reference. Vintage market; not in the catalog.
No references from this era in the catalog yet.
1962–1980 · The Cosmonaute and the automatic era
Astronaut Scott Carpenter requested a 24-hour dial variant of the Navitimer for his 1962 Aurora 7 Mercury mission: the Cosmonaute Navitimer (reference 809) was the result, and Carpenter wore it in space. Through the 1960s and 1970s the Navitimer line moved to automatic chronograph movements (caliber 11/12 from the Chronomatic consortium, then valjoux-based later). Production survived the quartz crisis but barely; the line nearly died in the 1980s. None in the catalog.
No references from this era in the catalog yet.
1995–2009 · The modern reissue era
Breitling re-anchored the Navitimer line through the late 1990s and 2000s on Valjoux 7750-derived automatic chronograph movements (Breitling caliber 13 in this period). The line became broader: 41mm, 43mm, 46mm variants; many dial colors and bracelet options. None in the catalog yet.
No references from this era in the catalog yet.
2009–present · The in-house Caliber B01 era
Breitling launched the in-house Caliber B01 chronograph movement in 2009: column-wheel, vertical clutch, 70-hour power reserve, COSC-chronometer certified. The B01 anchored the Navitimer line from 2010 onwards. The current Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 (ref. AB0138241B1A1, 2022–present) is the canonical modern Navitimer: 43mm steel, classic dial layout, slide-rule bezel, the B01 inside. The case is bigger than the original 806 (41mm); buyers who want the historical proportions have the Navitimer 41 as an alternative.
How to read this family
Three honest questions for any Navitimer buyer:
- 41mm, 43mm, or 46mm? The historical 806 was 41mm. The modern B01 lineage centers on 43mm (the AB0138). The 46mm Navitimers wear genuinely large and are a fashion choice as much as a watch choice. For most wrists, 41–43mm is the credible range.
- In-house B01 or 7750-based? The in-house Caliber B01 (column-wheel, 70-hour reserve) is the more-interesting movement and the modern reference. The 7750-based Navitimers (Caliber 13) are serviceable and cheaper but lack the in-house pedigree. Resale data favors B01 variants by a meaningful margin.
- Do you actually use the slide rule? Honest answer: almost certainly no. Most modern Navitimer buyers never compute a fuel-burn rate on the bezel; the slide rule is the design signature, not a working tool anymore. That's fine, but it's worth knowing what you're buying.
Related families: Chronomat · Superocean Heritage · Premier
References in this family
Which ref to buy
The Navitimer is one of the most recognizable pilot chronographs ever made -- circular slide rule bezel, busy dial, unmistakable silhouette. It launched in 1952 for pilots who needed to do airborne calculations and has never fully left that DNA. The B01 brings a genuinely excellent in-house movement to a historically important case.
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Navitimer B01 43 -- the modern take with an in-house caliber finally worthy of the case.
- The case for it:
- Cal. B01 is a proper manufacture movement: COSC-certified, column wheel, vertical clutch, 70-hour power reserve. The 43mm size is the sweet spot -- not the bloated 46mm era, not the cramped vintage spec. The Navitimer has genuine historical significance for pilot watches.
- Consider instead if:
- The dial is dense by any measure. Buyers who prefer visual restraint will find the slide rule bezel and crowded layout oppressive. The Tudor Black Bay Chrono gives you a cleaner chronograph experience for less money.
Rankings last reviewed 2026-06-07. Editorial perspective only. Not financial advice.