Breitling

Breitling was founded by Louis Breitling in 1884 in St Imier with the specific purpose to develop chronographs and counters for scientific and industrial applications. The late 19th century Breitling recognized that these new machines would need timing instruments and soon became a manufacturer of high quality timing instruments. In 1915 Breitling developed their first wristwatch chronograph and went on to make several significant developments in this area. In the 40’s Breitling became the US Air Force official pilots watch whilst also supplying the American armed forces.Over the years, Breitling launched a number of classic watches. 1942 saw the launch of the Chronomat, the first chronograph to be fitted with a circular slide rule. In 1952, the Navitimer was launched, a wrist watch equipped with a so called “navigation computer” that allowed pilots to calculate flight plans. 1979 saw the end of an era for Breitling, with the death of Will Breitling. Today Breitling is one of the leaders in the Swiss watch industry for product development, continually launching innovative new high precision models.