Old but gold: Some of Breitling’s vintage watches featured at the recent gala event of the luxury watch brand in Shanghai, China.

Taking in years of its prideful history in the field of aviation, Swiss-based premium watchmaker Breitling is moving forward with a heightened respect for its roots and embracing it in its line of new watches.

Breitling, the world’s foremost watch brand for aviators, announced its newest line of watches, catered to those who aim at sustaining their aura of suaveness under an acclaimed history, at the end of January in Shanghai, China, to symbolize the company’s plans to further their brand and revamp it while placing Asia as a crucial market this year.

China has chosen especially because of the increased importance of Chinese consumers in the survival of luxury goods in a global economic climate that has only become tougher in recent years.  

As a watchmaker that has a price range between US$3,000 and US$10,000, Breitling’s products are known for its usage in aviation and seafaring. The company’s watches have been a major part of the aviation world since its chronometers are considered useful to aviators.

Breitling’s new CEO, Georges Kern, unveiled the company’s new NAVITIMER 8 watch line to the world for the first time in Shanghai. After Shanghai, Breitling’s roadshows continued to Zurich, Singapore and will then go to New York.

Kern said in his speech at the Breitling gala in Shanghai on Jan. 29 that the new NAVITIMER 8 line “is a salute to the brand’s innovations and accomplishments in the pioneering days of aviation”.

The NAVITIMER 8 watch line consists of five new models, and the namesake itself is taken from the company’s Huit Aviation division, which was established in 1938 to produce cockpit instruments and military watches.

The models are the NAVITIMER 8 B01, NAVITIMER 8 Unitime, NAVITIMER 8 Chronograph, NAVITIMER 8 Day & Date and the NAVITIMER 8 Automatic. The latter two watches are more simplistic in design while the first three have more detailed designs as well as chronograph additions.

The looks of the watches justify class and comfort, as its placing on the wrist clarifies its elegant design. Wearing one symbolizes the impression of class.

The watches are water resistant up to 100 meters, making it effective for water activities such as sailing and yachting, and size itself at 41 milimeters with NAVITIMER 8 Chronograph models having bidirectional bezels. 

Each of the five models follows a distinct design code. 

Breitling’s creative director Guy Bove commented in Shanghai that Breitling wanted to create a watch that was in line with its brand’s future, but would also pay tribute to the watches of the early to mid-20th century.

The most distinct features of the NAVITIMER 8 series include the minutely detailed chronograph exterior and the design of the watch faces themselves, inspired by the timepieces and chronographs on its Huit Aviation Department airplanes.

Technically speaking, the new watches resurrect some of the design values of the Huit Aviation Department’s onboard clocks — especially in terms of the dials and bezels — as well as Breitling’s iconic pilot’s watch, Reference 768, with the rotating bezel and distinctive triangular pointer that made it the signature model for pilots.

The NAVITIMER 8 series coincides with Breitling’s change in its logo design, opting for its simple trademark B, unaccompanied by the feathered wings that used to adorn the sides before. The simple B logo itself had been used by Breitling before in the 1940s.

Meanwhile, Kern said while the watch collection would be rolled out during the exhibitions, it will be available for commercial purchase in May or June. It is not known when the watches will be available in the Indonesian market.

Breitling does not have standalone retailers or boutiques in Indonesia, but rather sells their products through collective stores such as The Time Place and InTime. The nearest standalone Breitling boutiques for Indonesian customers can be found in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. 

Part of the company’s plan to expand its business includes revamping its boutiques’ designs to offer a more focused display of the company’s watches.

— Photos courtesy of Breitling

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The Jakarta Post’s Dylan Amirio was invited to Shanghai to cover Breitling roadshow event in January. Here is his report.

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