Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Breitling Navitimer AOPA Chronograph Wristwatch, c. 1960
- Maker / attribution
- Breitling (maker)
- Date
- c. 1960
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Auction house
- LiveAuctioneers auction archive
- Lot
- Item 66301210
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 162, Fine & Decorative Arts - Day 1, Dan Morphy Auctions (2018), via LiveAuctioneers
- Catalogue title (original)
- Breitling Navitimer AOPA Chronograph Wristwatch, Ref. (English)
View the source record (auction lot) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by LiveAuctioneers auction archive (lot Item 66301210), this is a wristwatch by Breitling, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1960. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: stainless steel. The record is illustrated with 4 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
Lot description — Dan Morphy Auctions
Rare Breitling Navitimer AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) Chronograph Wristwatch in Stainless Steel, Reference No. 806, Circa 1960, With Bausch & Lomb "AOPA" Ray Ban Aviator Sunglasses w/original case. Watch case diameter is 40mm. Caseback is marked "Stainless Steel" , "Breitling" with Breitling "B" logo, and "806". Inner caseback is marked "Breitling Watch Corp. Swiss" & (Serial No.) "939504". Manual wind chronograph movement, Venus Caliber 178, marked "Breitling Watch Ltd Swiss Seventeen 17 Jewels Unadjusted ", having the "WOG" import/export code. Crown also bears the Breitling "B" logo. Caseback is engraved with a dated presentation reading "Love Always Pat 12-25-60". Beaded stainless steel rotating bi-directional bezel, black enameled dial w/three subsidiary dials, luminous Arabic markers, luminous hands and round stainless steel pushers. Dial marked with the gold "AOPA" wings logo, "NAVITIMER" & "Swiss Made". Watch is in excellent working order with all chronograph functions working properly. Luminescent material in the hands and markers has a nice even patina consistent with age. The watch has a brand new 22mm stitched black leather strap installed. This lot also includes the pilot's original pair of vintage Bausch & Lomb Ray-Ban AOPA Aviator sunglasses which were a special order for members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association only. A unique variation of iconic B&L Ray-Ban 58mm aviator sunglasses with gold plated Arista frame, Bausch & Lomb G-15 lenses, and the addition of the "AOPA" wings logo mounted at the center of the nose bar. Signed with impressed "B&L Ray-Ban USA" on the top of the nose bar, and "B&L 58-14 USA" on the underside of the nose bar. Each of the two ends/tips that go over the ears has a small broken piece that is clearly visible in the pictures. The glasses include their original case as well. Condition: (Very Good-Excellent). Item Dimensions:
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Chronographs and split-seconds watches
A chronograph is a watch with an additional seconds hand that can be started, stopped and returned to zero independently of the timekeeping. Louis Moinet built an early example in 1816 and Nicolas Rieussec a recording 'chronographe' in 1821; Adolphe Nicole's heart-shaped reset cam (patented 1862) made the modern return-to-zero possible. Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronographs add a second hand that can be stopped for intermediate times; flyback chronographs restart instantly.
Chronographs were essential tools for doctors (pulsometer scales), artillery (telemeter), engineers and sport. In wristwatches, Valjoux, Venus, Lemania and later the automatic chronographs of 1969 (Zenith El Primero, the Chronomatic Calibre 11 group and Seiko 6139) are milestones.
What to look for
- Push-pieces on the case band or a single button in the crown (monopusher).
- Subsidiary registers for minutes and hours; tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scales.
- Column wheel versus cam control visible in the movement.
- Calibre markings of specialist makers (Valjoux, Lemania, Venus, Landeron).
Dating clues
- Pocket chronographs with heart cam reset: after 1862.
- Wrist chronographs: from c. 1910; two-button designs from the 1930s.
- Automatic chronographs: from 1969.
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.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
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