In The Shop - Announcements: Welcome Breitling To The HODINKEE Shop

Today we're delighted to announce that a curated selection of new watches from Breitling, one of the world's most popular watch brands, is now available in the HODINKEE Shop . Why is this such good news? Well, it's more than the fact that Breitling just today – literally moments ago – introduced one of the best-looking and most mechanically interesting sets of vintage-inspired chronographs that we can remember. (Seriously. Go check those out right now – here , here , and here .) It's also about Breitling's cultural significance as a watchmaker. Just think about it. You probably know someone who owns a Breitling watch. Maybe it's a parent, a sibling, a spouse. Or a colleague, a teacher, a friend. They might be a hardcore watch enthusiast. Or they might not be. Breitling is the rare brand that appeals to both camps. We love that. The company has carved out a singular identity over many decades, and it continues to evolve. Ownership changed hands a few years ago. And Georges Kern, a lion of a Swiss watch executive, stepped into the role of CEO, ready to shepherd the legendary producer of aviator's chronographs into its next generation. If you own a chronograph – if you even just like the chronograph aesthetic – you owe some degree of debt to Breitling. The company practically invented the genre, unveiling the very first wrist-worn chronographs with an independent pusher, the first two-pusher chronograph, along with having all-time classic designs such as the Navitimer, the Chronomat, and the Co-Pilot within its rich historic catalog. Let's take a look at some of the new watches available in the HODINKEE Shop that best represent Breitling's past, as well as some of the definitive models that make up the brand's core collections today. The (Literally) Brand-New Breitling Heritage Premier Announced this morning on the eve of Watches & Wonders 2021, the new Premier Heritage line pays homage to a series of dress chronographs unveiled by Willy Breitling under the original Premier collection in the 1940s. The dress chronograph is generally an underrated genre with broad appeal. For those of us with office jobs but who grow weary of simple, thin three-handers, there aren't many other places to look. Luckily, Breitling is adding to its deep bench of chronographs with a series of options with a more formal, vintage-inspired aesthetic under the new Heritage Premier banner. The six watches that make up this new sub-collection – three models, available in either stainless steel or 18k red gold – each offer something different. The Duograph , a revival of a highly sought-after vintage split-seconds chronograph by the same name, brings Breitling's innovative and accessible take on the rattrapante complication into a more classical aesthetic. However if you prefer vintage calendars to chronographs, the new Datora will be worth close consideration. Watch collectors can be a particular bunch, but we really, honestly can't find anything to fault on this reissue; you have to give Breitling's design team – both past and present – a hand. If you have any sense of what today's vintage watch enthusiast is on the hunt for, it might look quite close to this triple calendar chronograph with a salmon/copper dial and syringe hands. And finally, we have the new-for-2021 Heritage Premier B09 Chronograph , very much a classic of mid-century chronograph design, yet available in a dial color that's distinctly contemporary. Green dials, of course, were not at all popular in the 1940s. But they sure are in now. So Breitling knew it could make an impact – in the right way – with a few slight tweaks to the color and style. Somewhere in between a military olive drab and a dainty mint hue, Breitling describes its new two-register chronograph offering as the same tone as pistachios when stripped of their shell. And who needs to hide when you look this good in green? Breitling AVI Ref. 765 153 Re-Issue Vintage Breitling chronographs are a genre of collecting unto themselves. And few are more desired than the original Co-Pilot AVI ref. 765. Last year, Breitling brought the earliest execution of the original AVI ref. 765 back to life, in an almost indistinguishable reproduction of the original chronograph that is limited to 1,953 pieces (as a direct nod to its birth year). With a 41mm steel case, a matte black dial with 15-minute and 12-hour counters, and a 12-hour steel bezel, the AVI Ref. 765 153 Re-Issue was one of the most memorable bright spots for lovers of vintage chronographs in 2020. Almost sold out around the world, Breitling was kind enough to save a few examples for us to share with you today. Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 46 The most famous Breitling chronograph is the Navitimer. But you probably already knew that. First introduced in 1952, the Navitimer built on the design and movement of Breitling's previous-gen Chronomat (more on that watch momentarily) and upped the ante. The result was a powerful aviation instrument with a signature slide rule bezel designed to perform calculations on the fly (pun very much intended). The Navitimer was more than a watch – it was a wrist-mounted navigation computer for pilots of the day. And more than anything else, the Navitimer – with its crowded calculator displays that can give ground-borne men headaches – has forever aligned Breitling with the invigorating world of flight. If you love the classic Navitimer aesthetic but prefer the larger dimensions and benefit of an in-house movement that come with collecting contemporary watches, look no further: You've found a new chronograph with Navitimer B01. Breitling Chronomat B01 42 The Chronomat, as we just mentioned, has a history that dates all the way back to the beginning of the 1940s, when it featured the patented combination of an integrated circular slide-rule mechanism and a chronograph. The Chronomat and Premier lines were both performing well for Breitling at this time, and the Navitimer was only a few years away, so it's fair to assume that the mid-century period was a prosperous one for the company. But a few decades later, when the 1970s came around, things had taken a turn for the worse. Breitling wasn't alone during this period of uncertainty. The Quartz Revolution was wreaking havoc across Switzerland, eventually prompting Willy Breitling to put his family firm up for sale. It ended up in good hands. Ernest Schneider, a Swiss engineer who was bullish on watchmaking's long-term prospects, took over the brand and changed its course. Watches with quartz movements were soon added to Breitling's catalog, while at the same time Schneider looked for a new way to market the mechanical chronographs for which his brand was best known. And he found one with Italy's famous Frecce Tricolori aerobatic flight team. The Italian pilots needed a chronograph for use during flight, but – as the legend goes – could also be used during off-duty leisure time. The chronograph had to be mechanical, as all quartz chronographs were digital at this point in time. So Schneider got to work on designing a brand-new chronograph for the elite aerobatics team. A pilot himself, Schneider knew that legibility and comfort were equally paramount during flight. But durability was of key importance as well, particularly in protecting the watch's glass crystal from being accidentally smashed against the plane's interior while performing stunts in air. The solution? A recessed crystal and a bezel with four protruding "rider tabs" that offered a degree of protection for the crystal against a direct impact as well as improved graspability while wearing gloves. Memorably, the rider tabs marked "15" and "45" minutes could be swapped for one another to turn the traditional 60-minute bezel into a countdown bezel – a neat trick to have in any pilot's arsenal. Dubbed the Navitimer Chronomat, the new chronograph was issued to the Frecce Tricolori pilots in 1984 with the team's logo on the dial and a solid stainless steel rouleaux bracelet. Quickly realizing he had a hit on his hands, Schneider dropped the Navitimer precursor and built out a new generation of the Chronomat with its own collection. Through the rest of the '80s, into the '90s, and even the 2000s, the Chronomat has always remained one of Breitling's best sellers. And the latest Chronomat iteration, released just last year, hones the model's focus in on what made those early 1980s releases so charming. The rouleaux bracelet makes its return. As does the recognizable bullet crown. And, of course, the bezel with rider tabs remains. But now, the in-house Manufacture Caliber B01 ticks inside instead of a Valjoux 7750 The Breitling Manufacture B01 Caliber If you look through our selection of Breitling watches, you might notice a few trends. First, they're all chronographs. And they're also all chronometer-certified by COSC, another signature of Breitling as a brand. (According to the last year COSC data was publicly available, Breitling ranked third in the Swiss watch industry in total number of chronometer certificates received.) What you might not realize without taking a deeper look, however, is that all but one of the movements in these chronographs are based on Breitling's flagship in-house automatic chronograph movement, the B01. Manufacture B01 Caliber, found inside the Chronomat B01 (pictured) and Navitimer B01. Although more and more brands are focused on bringing their watchmaking processes in-house today, Breitling was a fairly early adopter when it revealed the original Manufacture B01 caliber in 2009. This was Breitling's first-ever in-house chronograph movement, and it took five years of focused research and development before the movement was ready for widespread use. Twelve years later, we can tell you it hasn't disappointed in the slightest. In fact, you could even argue it's helped define what attributes a high-end automatic chronograph movement should offer today's end-user. Manufacture Caliber B09, found inside the Heritage Premier Chronograph (pictured) and  AVI Ref. 765 153 Re-Issue. Those include a column wheel and vertical clutch, hacking seconds, and a quick-set date (in most executions). The movement runs in 4 Hz and offers a comfortable 70 hours of running autonomy. With a smart, integrated architecture, the B01 was developed to allow for ease of service, worry-free wear, and the ability to be built around and adapted for future complications. That's what you'll find with the new Manufacture Caliber B15, a manual-wind movement with rattrapante mechanism, as well as with the B09, a straightforward version of the B01 without its self-winding capabilities and that we've been seeing more of recently. Additionally, all watches outfitted with a Breitling Manufacture caliber come with the brand's five-year warranty, compared to two years for watches based on ébauche movements. And because the HODINKEE Shop is an Authorized Retailer of all new Breitling watches, we add an extra year on top of the brand's guarantee, meaning six years of warranty coverage on any of the 10 watches highlighted above. Discover Breitling Chronographs In The HODINKEE Shop You might remember that a little over a year ago, we worked with Breitling as an early launch partner for its limited-edition recreation of the classic "Zorro"-dialed Top Time . When that chronograph was unveiled, we talked about how Breitling has continued to approach the reinvention of its core collections in savvy ways, while reviving some all-time classic watches in the process. Watches that are full of the meticulous detail that will fulfill the desires of longtime vintage Breitling enthusiasts and new collectors alike. And today, when examining the diversity of Breitling chronographs now available in the HODINKEE Shop, all of what we discussed then still rings true. The Chronomat collection has been smartly refreshed, with a close eye on the aesthetics of its most popular era, while the new Heritage Premier models have revived a number of attractive, complicated dress chronographs for a new generation to admire. Breitling has channeled the best of both worlds to create a selection of watches that everyone can appreciate. So whichever chronograph you gravitate toward, know that you really can't go wrong. Head over to the HODINKEE Shop right now to take your pick – we know you'll find a Breitling to love.Kick the tires and light the fires, Breitling lands in the H Shop with a fleet of new chronographs.