Breitling Old Navitimer II, c. 1990s

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

How many watches can you spot from a mile away? How many watches have come to define their genre? Not too many. Not too many at all. Before the early 1950s, the concept of a civilian tool watch was a novel idea. Watch companies produced a few purpose-designed pieces for military use in the early 20th century, but most watches that were sold at retailers were designed with purely fashion in mind. In the 1950s and 1960s, the tool watch market exploded, fueled by the popularity of SCUBA diving and the growing interest in aviation. Breitling was one of the earliest manufactures to respond to the trend when they released the Navitimer in 1954. We’ve been referring to the Navitimer as a watch, but that’s not quite right — it’s really a wrist-worn navigation computer. The Navitimer’s most distinctive feature, the slide rule bezel, was used by pilots to calculate airspeed, ascent and descent rates, flight time, distance traveled, fuel consumption and even imperial to metric unit conversions. The Navitimer truly is a mechanical computer, and also happens to be one of the best damn looking watches out there. How cool is that? This particular Navitimer dates to circa the 1990s and features 40.3mm stainless steel case with a domed sapphire crystal, a signed crown, a bidirectional rotating telemetry and slide rule bezel, a deep glossy black Tritium dial with silvered sub-registers, and the robust and proven automatic-winding Valjoux 7750 movement within. Fitted to a signed black calf leather strap with white contrast stitching and a signed steel deployant clasp, this is a tremendous opportunity to own a neo-vintage iteration of a classic model from one of the most storied brands in the segment. Don’t miss it!