First presented in 1952 as a professional navigation instrument for pilots, the Navitimer collection of ultra-luxury “aviators” has long since transformed into a luxury timekeeper, which is only rarely used to measure average speed or fuel consumption of the aircraft. However, it remains one of their flagships and, featuring their first in-house Caliber B01, offers an impressive combination of functionality, readability, and high build quality. Prepare to love the 2012 limited-edition Breitling Navitimer Blue Sky 60th Anniversary automatic chronograph!
The main difference between the new limited-edition model and a more or less normal Navitimer is the “Blue Sky” color of its dial. Painted in a nice shade of blue, the dial looks less grim and makes the watch more versatile, something that you can wear with something more formal than a leather bomber jacket.
The blue dial still offers enough contrast for the steel hands and hour markers and looks especially good with the multilink bracelet made from polished steel (although real connoisseurs will most certainly prefer the watch on a dark blue crocodile leather strap with contrasting stitching.)
Like the rest of the range, the watch sports a medium-sized body, which is equipped with a bi-directional rotating bezel that, thanks to a couple of scales on the bezel flange and the dial itself, can serve as a slide rule. As usual, there is also an extra calculator on the solid case back that makes it easier to convert temperature readings from Celsius to Fahrenheit and back.
Being only 43 millimeters in diameter, the watch is also not too thick measuring just over 14 millimeters in height and feels comfortable with almost any type of cuffs save for the tight ones.
Like many other “non-diver” models, the new Breitling Navitimer Blue Sky‘s main problem is its water resistance. Since the setting crown is non-screw-locked and sports only a couple of gaskets as means of preserving water tightness, the WR rating is limited to just 30 meters (3ATM).
According to the official press release, Breitling plans to limit the timekeeper’s production to a mere 500 individually numbered pieces. The production number (although relatively low for the Swiss-based watchmaker) will probably not make the watch an instant rarity, but at least it will keep its resale value better, which is important for a watch in steel that is offered at a minimum recommended street price of €7250 for a version with a leather strap.
That, by the way, doesn’t mean that I deem this watch terribly overpriced: the in-house Caliber B01 chronograph movement that makes this specimen go tick-tock, will, without doubt, be of some interest to future collectors, so this particular model maybe not such a bad investment after all (I mean, the watch is good, I just hate people often call an ‘investment’ something that is definitely a ‘consumption’ and quite conspicuous at that.)
See also: Breitling Navitimer Super Constellation Limited Edition
Photos: Breitling
Breitling Navitimer Blue Sky 60th Anniversary Chronograph specification
Price: €7250 (version on blue leather strap) / €8100 (version on stainless steel bracelet)
Movement: Automatic, Breitling Caliber 01, in-house, COSC-certified chronometer, Swiss Made
Number of jewels: 47
Movement frequency: 28,800 vph
Power reserve: 70 hours
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph, slide rule, date
Case: Stainless steel
Shape: Round
Size: 43.00 mm
Case height: 14.25 mm
Lug width: 22.00/20.00 mm
Dial: Blue Sky
Numerals: Arabic
Hour markers: Luminous
Hands: Steel, luminous
Water resistance: 30 meters
Strap: Dark blue crocodile leather strap or a steel bracelet
Crystal: Sapphire, cambered, antireflective on both sides
Back: Solid, engraved