CASE NO. 1’253’379

The present watch is an excellent example of the rare early Breitling Chrono-Matic model housing the legendary caliber 11 automatic chronograph movement. This, coupled with its big size and unique styling, has made the Chrono-Matic an important milestone in watchmaking history and an icon for collectors.

The development of an automatic chronograph wristwatch had been on the wish list of Swiss watch manufacturers for a long time, but this technical feat was only achieved when Breitling introduced the caliber 11 movement in 1969, thus bringing the chronograph into the modern era to attract a younger and wider audience. The invention was made possible by Gérald Dubois, head of Dépraz & Cie, one of Breitling’s main suppliers of chronograph mechanisms, who had it in mind to produce the first automatic chronograph.

In 1965, he told his idea to Willy Breitling and two others, Jack Heuer and movement maker Buren. The caliber 11, as it was named, was developed amid great secrecy and by 1968 it was ready for production. The fully formed watch, named ‘Chrono-Matic’ was launched with great fanfare on 3 March 1969, with press conferences held in Geneva and New York on the same day.

Breitling introduced a line of six ‘Chrono-Matic’ models that were among the stars of the 1969 Basel Fair. The most eye-catching detail was the unusual crown position, at 9 o’clock at the opposite of the chronograph pushers. The design with the crown at 9 o’clock at first seems surprising but served as an instant reminder that it is an automatic watch that obviously does not often need to be wound up by hand. The design also allows the chronograph buttons located on the right side of the case to be completely unobstructed.

It can be said that the launch of the Breitling Navitimer Chrono-Matic at the dawn of the 1970s indeed heralded a new era in modern watch design.