Mens 1941 BREITLING Military WWII Air Force CHRONOGRAPH

BREITLING

UNIQUE AND RARE EXAMPLE OF WATCHES
VERY BEAUTIFUL VINTAGE WRIST CHRONOGRAPH CA 1941
VERY BEAUTIFUL MECHANICAL WORK

This auction is for a scarce and Original example of a men’s ca 1941 BREITLING timepiece. It is a unique, vintage and rare WWII military Pilot’s wrist chronograph of the American Armed Forces.

History of Breitling:

1884: In St-Imier, in the Jura mountains of Switzerland, Leon Breitling opens a workshop specializing in the making chronograph pocket watches and precision counters for scientific and industrial purposes.

1892: Leon Breitling relocates in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the center of Swiss watchmaking of the day.

1914: Leon Breitling dies. His son Gaston Breitling takes over the company.

1915: During WWI, Recognizing rapid advancements in aviation and the need for a precision timepiece for that purpose, Gaston introduces the first wrist-watch chronograph providing pilots with the first Breitling wristwatch.

1923: Breitling develops the first independant chronograph pushpiece.  Start and return-to-zero functions had previously been controlled using the winding-crown.

1932: Gaston's son, Willy Breitling, takes over for his father as the head of the company.

1934: Breitling develops a watch with a second return-to-zero pushpiece.  This invention, made it possible to measure several successive short times with an added function using the first pushpiece, and gives the wrist chronograph its difinitive form.

1936: Breitling becomes the official supplier to the Royal Air Force. This difinatively marks the start of its longstanding ties to aviation.

1942: Breitling launches the Chronomat, the first chronograph to be fitted with a circular slide rule.  In parallel, the company broadens its professional clientele to include the American armed forces.

1952: Breitling creates the Navitimer, a wrist instrument equipped with the famous "navigation computer" capable of handling all calculations called for by a flight plan.  This "super" chronograph quickly becomes a favorite among pilots around the world. 

1962: Astronaut Scott Carpenter wears the Cosmonaute chronograph during his orbital flight aboard the Aurora 7 space capsule.

1969: Breitling introduces the self-winding chronograph.  This technical feat represents a major breakthrough for the entire Swiss watch industry.

1979: Ernest Schneider - a pilot and watch manufacturer takes over as the head of Breitling.

Present: The company continues to produce timepieces of the highest quality in the world.

(…For proper navigation, air navigators made use of an additional timekeeper with special function of stopping the seconds hand and minute counter. For the Airway Forces watchmaking companies produced timekeepers with massive cases featuring black dials, big luminescent markers to provide better readability - these were the basic differences of pilot watches from those used in everyday life. The major advantage of a pilot watch has always been its simplicity in use but not excessive functionality. A pilot watch of the after-World-War-II period was primary responsible for accurate and legible display of the home time.)

(...Breitling has gathered what they call the "Breitling Fighters," a collection of World War II flying legends, all propeller fighters that made their mark during the dark hours of the war. These include Spitfire, Kittyhawk, Mustang, Corsair, Messerschmitt, and Yakovlev, which are all kept in pristine condition and represent extremely rare specimens. For most aircraft, only three to five operational models are left. The Messerschmitt, for example, is one of the only examples still in flying condition out of the 33,000 planes originally built.)

(…For the Reichswehr even any airplane was allowed, so there were official motorless trainings and secret activities in Sweden and the Soviet Union. In the later 1930s, the Air Force gave watches like these to the pilots (e.g., Zenith). In the same design there were even wrist chronographs by Breitling (Cal. Venus 711 AL) and Heuer (Cal. Valjoux 22).

This watch was especially produced for the Military Air Force. The new black Military metal dial on this watch has been faithfully restored to its exact original status and is in excellent condition. It features a checkered 60 second outer track border, white Arabic numerals, original steel Spade-style hands and “sweep” original seconds hands. Signed BREITLING below the 12. There are two sunken subdials: one for the seconds and the other for the 30 minutes chrono register.

The crystal is in mint condition. The three-piece case is comprised of a stainless steel bezel, stainless back lid with a glass surface and base metal body that I believe was once chrome finished. This case is in great overall condition (the bezel and back lid are excellent PLUS) with the body having a smooth finish with no scratches or pitting, itself in very good shape. The steel winding crown appears to be original and is in excellent condition, operating smoothly. Turning the watch over, I note that the back lid with a glass surface is a burnished stainless steel and in excellent plus shape.

This beautiful wristwatch has the Original movement in an excellent status which was very well saved, considering age of this watch. Mechanism has been recently serviced to ensure it winds and sets smoothly while keeping great, accurate time.

You don’t pull the crown out to set the time. Instead, you press the button below the crown IN and then move the crown to set the hands, releasing the button once you’re finished.

It is fitted on a new 22mm Military WWII – style black pigskin strap with chrome steel buckle that is vintage style and goes great with this wonderful watch.

Exclusive Two-Register Vintage Chronograph