Pre-Owned
Breitling Chronomat Watches
Established 1884
Despite common belief, the Breitling Navitimer was not the first of the Breitling watches to feature the rotating slide rule—the Breitling Chronomat was. Making its debut in 1942, the Chronomat was a chronograph with a unique circular slide rule, allowing pilots to make vital flight calculations on their wristwatches.
Chronomat History
The Breitling Chronomat, an iconic pilot’s watch, has enjoyed a long and illustrious journey since the name was first used by the brand in 1942. Lauded for its precision, durability and style, it initially gained popularity amongst aviators for its innovative features and superior performance. The Chronomat's chronograph function enabled pilots to measure elapsed flight time, enhancing its appeal.
The Chronomat began life as a watch that looked remarkably similar to today’s Navitimer, another legendary Breitling chronograph. Its dial featured an integrated slide rule calculator and a telemetre scale—indeed the dial included so many numbers that the original Chronomat name was a contraction of “Chronographe Mathematique”.
It also came with the notched bezel that is now a signature style of the Navitimer and is no longer used for the Chronomat.
The early 1980s saw the birth of the Chronomat as we know it today. Breitling’s then chairman, Ernest Schneider, learnt that the Italian Frecce Tricolori jet team was seeking a watch for its pilots and, as an avid pilot himself, he was the perfect candidate to spearhead the project.
Schneider spent time with the elite acrobatics team, learning about their specific requirements and the problems they had with their existing timepieces. One thing he discovered was that pilots often broke the crystals of their watch by accidentally bashing it when they extended their arm to open the canopy of their plane.
As such he came up with the idea of a recessed crystal protected by four raised “rider tabs” on the bezel. These also mark every quarter of an hour, and the tabs at 15 and 45 minutes can even be unscrewed and swapped around to provide a count-down scale as opposed to an elapsed scale.
These rider tabs, sometimes referred to as “claws”, are what gives the Chronomat collection its distinctive look today.
Over time, the Chronomat has evolved to cater to the changing tastes and needs of watch enthusiasts. It transitioned from a tool watch for aviators to a luxury timepiece that marries elegance and functionality. As well as stainless steel, the watch comes in two-tone and all gold versions, and although it is best known for being a chronograph, the family has grown to encompass other complications, such as a GMT function—useful for pilots crossing international time zones. The limited-edition Super Chronomat 140th anniversary watch in 18k red gold even boasts a perpetual calendar, one of horology’s most revered complications.
There is also a far simpler time-and-date stainless-steel Chronomat, for those with no use for recording elapsed time.
Contemporary chronograph versions are now mostly equipped with Breitling’s in-house Caliber BO1 automatic movement, and all Chronomat models are COSC-certified chronometers for better precision and accuracy.
The Breitling Chronomat shines as an exceptional choice in the realm of luxury timepieces, standing out for its value, craftsmanship, quality, versatility, and style.
Whether you prefer the standard chronograph version, a no-frills time-and-date model or something in precious metal, Watchfinder has a huge selection of pre-owned Breitling Chronomat timepieces to choose from.