Breitling Raquel Welch Ref 765 Co-Pilot, mid 1960s — view 1 of 6 — View 1 of 6 · Image: Bulang & Sons · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 6 · Image: Bulang & Sons · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Breitling Raquel Welch Ref 765 Co-Pilot, mid 1960s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.

Maker / attribution: Breitling (maker)
Date: mid 1960s
Historical period: Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Country of origin: Switzerland
Object type: Wristwatch
Dimensions: Case 42 mm
Dealer: Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen
Stock no.: W-692
Credit line: Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-692)
Catalogue title (original): Breitling Raquel Welch Ref 765 Co-Pilot (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-692), this is a wristwatch by Breitling, made in Switzerland, dated mid 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 42 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 — Bulang & Sons

If it was good enough for Jean-Claude Killy and Ms Welch… This Breitling is a big watch with a big history, having been the wrist choice of Raquel Welch and also Jean-Claude Killy at the Grenoble Olympics. The ‘reverse-panda’ dial is in outstanding all original condition with clean silver sub dials and lovely patina on the hour markers. The case remains in fantastic condition throughout. The oversized sub dial at three o’clock features a 15-minute counter, which is the standard time for plane ground checks and features further three-minute interval markings that resemble a star. The black aluminium bezel is in very good condition and has a dual scale – it can measure both elapsed hours (12) and also seconds/minutes. The manual wind movement is a Breitling modified Venus calibre 178. The watch is fitted with the original ‘Large B’ Breitling winding crown. The watch has been fully serviced by our watchmaker and will come on a Bulang and Sons strap. Specifications - Breitling Co-Pilot Chronograph - Dates to mid 1960s - Serial 115xxxx - 42mm steel case - Venus 178 movement - Fully serviced by our watchmaker - Includes a handmade single leather watch pouch

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 timeline More wristwatches from this period Earlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking

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.

Mechanisms mentioned

Chronograph — Complication

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

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Sources & image rights

Record source: Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Bulang & Sons — dealer photographs; permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Breitling Raquel Welch Ref 765 Co-Pilot, mid 1960s." Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen, W-692. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/breitling-raquel-welch-ref-765-co-pilot-206a38.