Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Breitling Co-Pilot 7650, 1969
- Maker / attribution
- Breitling (maker)
- Date
- 1969
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 42.5 mm
- Stock no.
- Product 24004132889
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 24004132889)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Breitling Co-Pilot 7650 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 24004132889), this is a wristwatch by Breitling, made in Switzerland, dated 1969. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 42.5 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — S.Song Watches
Breitling from the past is very different from the Breitling that we know of today and none exemplifies this idea better than the Co-Pilot chronographs. Slowly but surely, collectors are realising just how much quality came out of Breitling’s factory in St. Imier, and just like how 2016 propelled the Heuer Autavias and Omega Speedmasters, 2017 looks to be Breitling’s turn. In the 1960’s, with all of the Swiss players releasing chronographs dedicated to sport, aviation and racing such as the Heuer Autavia, Rolex Daytona and Omega Speedmaster- Breitling’s response was the Co-Pilot. Born out of a trend for utilitarian sporty chronographs of the 60’s, this was the birth of the big and aggressive Breitling we know of that has trickled down to today. The Breitling Co-Pilot has all the tenets of what a vintage chronograph collector looks for. Reverse panda dial with luminous index markers and hands aged to a creamy patina, clean anodised aluminium hour bezel and a high-quality column wheel Venus 178 beating away. This particular example, is a later Ref. 7650, produced in 1969. Upsized from the previous Ref. 765 to a huge 42.5mm, it has a great wrist presence even by today’s standards. The result is a highly attractive and legible dial that provides great modern wearability. A perfect watch for casual wear- rugged and masculine, wearing a Breitling has never been this cool. It certainly beats what’s on offer today.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Military, pilot and travel watches
The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.
In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.
What to look for
- Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
- High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
- 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
- Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
- Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
- GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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