Breitling is a brand that has been built, in its modern era at least, on a bedrock of tough, no-nonsense tool watches made with professionals in mind. But as a brand with nearly 140 years of history, there’s more to Breitling than fan favorites like the Navitimer and the Superocean. Within its archives, there’s also plenty of elegance to be found. In fact, you don’t need to look any further than the elegant Breitling Premier, which was unveiled earlier this year in an attractive six-pack, offered in a 42mm case and powered by the impressive Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01.
The history of the Premier goes back 80 years to 1943. But before we look at the storied past and bright future of this most prestigious chronograph, we need to lay the groundwork of why Breitling is so intrinsically linked with the chronograph.
THE EARLY YEARS
While Breitling as a brand has a catalog full of distinctive, exceptional watches, if you had to distill the essence of the maker down to one word, it would be — chronographs. From its earliest days, Breitling has specialized. In 1884, Léon Breitling opened his first atelier in Saint-Imier, Switzerland and, in less than a decade, had turned it into a fully-fledged manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the ticking heart of the Swiss watch industry. Even at this time, Breitling had excelled at producing stopwatches and chronographs, developing patented innovations that set the tone for the future of the brand. In 1914, Léon’s son Gaston took the helm of the family firm, and with an eye on the world’s changing relationship with timekeepers, created one of the first chronographs worn on the wrist with an independent pusher at two o’clock. This feature allowed a more practical way of interacting with the complicated watch, and also minimized the risk of accidental actuation. The impetus for this innovation was the then newly emerging field of heavier-than-air flight, marking the first of Breitling’s many forays into the world of aviation. However, Gaston Breitling’s tenure at the head of the company was relatively short — he passed away in 1927, leaving his young son, Willy Breitling, as the sole heir of the family business. In
