The Breitling Navitimer is a watch that was released in 1954 in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

by Breitling SA. Since then it has been one of the best selling watches produced by Breitling.

History

In the 1940s, Breitling added a

circular slide rule The slide rule is a mechanical analog computer which is used primarily for multiplication and division, and for functions such as exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is not typically designed for addition or subtraction, which is ...

to the bezel of its

Chronomat The Breitling Chronomat is a watch that was released in 1941 in Switzerland by Breitling SA. Since then it has been one of the best selling watches produced by Breitling. History The first Chronomat had a circular slide rule and its design follow ...

models. This bezel became most associated with the Navitimer, launched in 1954. The name ''Navitimer'' comes from two words were used to describe its purpose: Navigation and Timer. During the 1950s and 1960s, a version of the Navitimer was offered by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association with the AOPA logo on the dial. In 1961, Scott Carpenter, one of the original astronauts in the

Mercury space program Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet U ...

, tasked Breitling with incorporating a 24-hour dial instead of the normal 12-hour dial, due to lack of day and night in space travel. Breitling produced the 24-hour Navitimer, which Carpenter wore on his 1962 space flight. Breitling proceeded to produce a commercial version of the 24-hour version, the ''Cosmonaute Navitimer'', with both Breitling and AOPA logos. The first automatic Navitimer chronograph was introduced to the public in 1969; its movement was co-developed by Breitling, Dubois-Depraz, Heuer, and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

References

{{reflist Aviation wear Breitling SA Products introduced in 1954 Watch models

History

See also

References