Breitling Chronomat

Breitling Chronomat is a line of sports wristwatches from the Swiss brand Breitling, recognised by the rider tabs on its rotating bezel, its onion crown and the Rouleaux bracelet with cylindrical links. The line took on its current look in 1984, for the brand's centenary. The watch was designed for the pilots of the Italian aerobatic team Frecce Tricolori, and the Chronomat became a symbol of the return of mechanical watches during the quartz crisis.

The pieces show how the line has evolved. The older versions use the Breitling 13 calibre, based on the Valjoux 7750: the Chronomat Chronograph and Windrider Chrono Cockpit in 40 and 39 mm cases of stainless steel and yellow gold, and the Chronomat Evolution and Windrider Chronomat Evolution in a 44 mm case. The manufacture calibre Breitling 01 powers the Chronomat 44 Steel Gold in steel and pink gold. The current range was launched in 2020 with the Chronomat B01 42 chronograph, joined by the Chronomat Automatic GMT 40, Automatic 36 and the women's Chronomat 32 and 28. The Super Chronomat line is listed as a separate collection.

Within the line, watches are chosen by size, movement and metal. There are men's and women's models. Cases come in stainless steel, two-tone (steel with yellow or pink gold), yellow gold, and steel with a platinum bezel. Dials are blue, green, black, grey, light blue, pink and mother-of-pearl; some women's models have diamond markers. A special case is the Chronomat Automatic 36 Victoria Beckham, created with the Victoria Beckham fashion house: it has an 18-carat yellow gold case, and the words ONE OF 100 on the dial denote a limited edition. If you are choosing between the Chronomat and the Navitimer, the latter has its own page, Breitling Navitimer.