The 2022 Breitling Navitimer Series Has Landed

Brace yourself for Breitling’s most exciting and important launch of 2022 – a newly redesigned series of Navitimer watches in honour of the iconic pilot watch’s 70th anniversary. The new range focusses on bold colours and enhanced styling, whilst simultaneously capturing the most classic features of the legendary Navitimer

The 2022 Breitling Navitimer watches make up a colourful and influential range of luxury pilots’ chronographs and simple three-handed time and date watches. The series comprises three stainless steel Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46 watches and one 18ct rose gold version, four stainless steel Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 watches and a matching 18ct rose gold version, three dial colours for the new stainless steel Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 models and a rose gold version, a special deep green-coloured dial version of the steel Navitimer Automatic 41 watch with an engraved caseback, and lastly, a lady’s steel Navitimer Automatic 35 model with a mint green dial and engraved caseback.

The new Navitimer Chronograph watches are all powered by an in-house manufactured movement – the Calibre 01 and each come with an impressive 5-year warranty, whilst the elegant three-handed men’s and lady’s Navitimer Automatic 41 and 35 watches are outfitted with the tried and tested Calibre 17. The key focus on the new 2022 Navitimer watches has been a bold new colour palette and a newly formed design that creates a more compact look on the wrist. To do this, Breitling adds a domed anti-reflective and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass front and creates a flatter slide rule bezel – still beaded and still easy-to-grip.

In the design of the Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph watches, the AOPA winged logo has made a comeback – a stamp that once represented some of the company’s earliest Navitimer watches supplied exclusively to the US Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). Once the official 806 reference was developed and Breitling began supplying the Navitimer watch to a consumer’s audience, the Breitling logo took its place. One other change seen in these new chronograph versions of the new Navitimer 2022 series is a slimmed-down oscillating weight, observed through the rear of the watch. It affords a larger view into the mechanical performance of Breitling Calibre 01 movement via a sapphire crystal glass exhibition caseback.

To mark the release of these new Breitling Navitimer watches for 2022 and to celebrate 70 years of the successful icon, a new Navitimer Squad has been formed to assist with the new NAVITIMER—FOR THE JOURNEY campaign. It comprises basketball superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland, and aviation pioneer and explorer Bertrand Piccard.

Relating to Breitling’s sheer courage and its unwavering determination to bring a whole new level of success to these newly-designed Navitimer watches, Misty Copeland extends on what it means to become part of the Navitimer Squad: “This project means a lot to me because it celebrates not only where I was in life, but where I’d come from and where I am going. There is an absolute parallel between navigating towards a physical destination and navigating towards the vision of where you want to be in life. You’ll see that theme come through in these three stories.”

Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling also reiterates the importance of this new milestone for Breitling: “The Navitimer is one of the most recognizable watches ever made. It’s on collectors’ lists of the greatest watches of all time. What began as a tool for pilots has gone on to mean something profound to every single person who has had this timepiece along on their personal journey.”

The evolution of the Breitling Navitimer

The earliest Navitimer watches were defined by their large radium-coated Arabic numerals, spacious dials and their beaded slide rule bezels for an easy grip. The earlier Navitimers were developed exclusively by Breitling for the AOPA and featured the US association’s winged logo underneath the 12 o’clock location, replacing the Breitling name and motif – a detail that has now returned. By the time the official 806 reference was released, the Navitimer was already the chosen watch for professional pilots and featured throughout the cockpits of most transatlantic flights.

During the 1960s the Navitimer watch underwent some significant changes. The company introduced a dial with silver-filled chronograph counters in the form of the “Twin Jet” Navitimer – a design element extracted from the Superocean developed just a few years earlier. In addition to this, the Navitimer was equipped with an automatic movement named the Breitling Chrono-Matic in an innovative attempt to remedy the huge desire for an affordable timepiece during the quartz crisis. Whilst other large Navitimer watches were arriving on the scene, the classic 41mm model was also offered in both manual-winding and automatic formats, and the watch received a date window too.

The new Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46 watches

There are four new versions of the new 2022 Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46 watch – three in stainless steel and one in 18ct rose gold. The steel versions are offered in dial colours of black with silver-filled chronograph counters, blue with silver-filled scales, and a stunning deep green colour with blacked-out chronograph sub-counters. For the rose gold version, black-filled chronograph sub-scales pop against a sophisticated silver dial. Whilst the stainless steel models offer a touch more flexibility when it comes to pairing these luxury pilot’s watches with smart, casual or professional attire - the 18ct rose gold Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46 certainly elevates the model to a more luxurious level. Both steel and rose gold versions are offered on a choice of leather band (black, brown and black respectively, with a black strap for the rose gold version too) or a 7-row bracelet crafted from steel or rose gold. Like all the other chronographs from this new range, these 46mm models all offer a generous view of the Calibre B01 through their sapphire-backed cases.

The new Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 watches

As aforementioned, the new 2022 Navitimer watches now feature a domed anti-reflective and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass front and a flatter slide rule bezel. All models come with the instantly recognisable beaded effect around the bezel for easy-grip purposes and all rotate bidirectionally. All models are also 30-meter water resistant. The 43mm versions of the Breitling Navitimer come in five choices – four stainless steel models and one 18ct rose gold iteration. The steel models are presented in dial colours of; black with silver contrasting counters, a reverse design with a silver dial and black-filled counters, a stunning copper-coloured dial with black-filled chronograph sub-counters, and an ice blue dial with black sub-scales. The 18ct rose gold version of the new Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 watch is presented in a black dial with silver-filled counters and all models from this sized category come on a black alligator leather strap or the choice of a steel or rose gold 7-row bracelet.

The new Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41 watches

The newly re-designed 41mm Navitimer B01 Chronograph watches come in yet another choice of dial colours. Here, for the steel options, we have a deep blue dial with black-filed counters and a black leather strap, a silver tone-on-tone dial with a brown leather strap, and a stunning mint green dial with silver-filled counters and a brown leather strap. The 18ct rose gold model presents the time on a silver tone-on-tone dial with a brown leather strap, yet all models, once again, come on alternative steel or rose gold bracelet configurations.

All the Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46, 43 and 41mm models are powered by Breitling’s very own home-grown Calibre B01 movement, with an impressive 70-hour power reserve and a performance of 28,800 semi-oscillations an hour. The modular movement, with no superfluous finishing elements, remains an aesthetically pleasing movement to admire through the back of the watch’s transparent case. It also features a vertical clutch and column wheel for enhanced overall mechanical performance. All models also feature the piston-style push-pieces at 2 and 4 o’clock on the case, which flank a non-screw-locked crown with two gaskets. All also feature the date window at 6 o’clock, which can be set at any point without affecting the time itself. The chronograph 1/4th of a second central hand is depicted in red, whilst the counters placed at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock offer 30-minute, 12-hour and small second functions respectively.

The new Breitling Automatic 41 and 35 watches

Developed from stainless steel and with a mix of brushed and polished finishes (just like their siblings), the two new Navitimer Automatic watches offer a simple three-handed time and date watch. The gent’s Navitimer Automatic 41 watch is presented in a beautiful deep green dial with stick markers for the hours, luminous-coated central hands and a date window located at 6 o’clock. The ladies’ Navitimer Automatic 35 watch is presented in an alluring fresh mint green colour. Both dials are surrounded by the newly designed slide rule bezel and topped with a domed sapphire crystal glass front.

The 41mm model is fitted on a matching deep green alligator leather strap with white contrast stitching, whilst the ladies 35mm model is fitted on a deep brown alligator leather strap. Both secure with a steel folding clasp but both are also offered on a 7-row steel bracelet with a butterfly clasp. These models conceal the Calibre 17 behind their engraved closed casebacks, adorned with the Breitling winged logo. The movement is based on the ETA 2824-2, providing a useful 42-hour power reserve and beating at a rhythm of 28,800 vibrations per hour.

You can view the entire range of new 2022 Navitimer watches here or call and speak to a member of our Jura Watches sales team today on 01335 453453