Last week, I was lucky enough to experience the most epic unveiling of a new watch collection by my friends at Breitling. A total of 657 people attended the Breitling Summit in Zürich, Switzerland and I will never forget I was one of them. After flying from Dallas to Zürich and after checking into the beautiful Hyatt Regency Zürich Airport The Circle Hotel, I never imagined what the brand had in store for us. Ultimately, I had a feeling this would be a very special summit —considering that the Navitimer was celebrating 70 years and a new collection with three different sizes would be presented—; but never in my wildest dreams I would’ve imagined what I was about to experience.
After checking into our hotel, Breitling treated us to an incredible dinner at Sablier. This restaurant located at The Circle —adjacent to Zürich’s airport— was spectacular. The word Sablier means hourglass, so the chosen restaurant was already very fitting for the opening dinner for a new Breitling release.
With its interior design done by designer Günther Thöny from Liechtenstein and the restaurant run by the Segmüller Collection —the owner of six boutique restaurants in Zürich—, the food and atmosphere were simply perfect. Amazing cocktails, decadent hors d'oeuvres and perfect food and wine pairings set the tone for a great evening.
After the beautiful dinner the night before, the big day for the Breitling Summit was finally here. Immediately after breakfast, we all headed over to Zürich Airport for what would be the beginning of the most incredible experience. The bright yellow Breitling signs would be pointing us to six dedicated check-in counters for Swiss Air at the Zürich airport. These dedicated counters were of course branded with the Breitling logo. I guess in Breitling’s mind, you either go big or go home. After checking in to a flight from Zürich to Geneva, everything was still a big surprise. With my boarding pass inside a Breitling sleeve, I then proceeded to the gate indicated on my boarding pass.
After making it to Terminal B, I was greeted by a yellow and blue carpet with the words: ‘For the Journey’. To my surprise, not only Breitling had taken over Terminal B and shut down ten gates just for this experience but they also had champagne, assorted drinks, and lunch waiting for us. Later at the gates, we found out Breitling had booked three Swiss Air airplanes to take us all to Geneva. Then, Georges Kern —CEO of Breitling— made its grand entrance dressed as a pilot while escorted by Breitling flight attendants. After his remarks, we proceeded to board our flights.
As we all got ready to board our flights, I noticed Georges sitting in the cockpit of the airplane I was boarding and decided to snap a quick picture of him to immortalize the moment. Thankfully, he was not the one flying our plane. He is amazing at what he does but not sure he has enought flying hours under his belt to take on such a task. And then, just as if everything I’ve shared with you wasn’t impressive enough, the interior of the Swiss Air aircraft was all branded with Breitling headrest protectors and on every seat there was a Bretiling pillow, a brand new iPad and a set of Earpods. Right around take off, we were instructed by the cabin crew and Georges Kern to open the iPad and start the presentation.
Once we reached our flying altitude, Georges Kern came out of the cockpit and instructed the flight attendants to start doing their rounds as the new Breitling Navitimer collection had been officially unveiled. After doing so, Breitling flight attendants walked down the aisles with trolley carts filled with trays containing the watches and we were all given one or two watches per row to immerse into the new timepieces and capture the first images that would circle the globe on social media.
Our Live Images of the Breitling Navitimer
70th Anniversary Collection
Upon landing at the Geneva Airport we were promptly taken to the Le Chef restaurant —inside the airport—for what is called in the watch industry the ‘Touch & Feel’ session. Even though we had already perused the watches during our flight to Geneva, it was now the time to capture some professional breathtaking images that you will now enjoy here at WCL. Special thanks to Breitling for allowing us to be part of this amazing experience.
Breitling honors the legend with the introduction of a new Navitimer collection to celebrate its 70th anniversary. An array of dial options as well as three different sizes —41, 43, and 46 mm— have been unveiled to please the most demanding connoisseurs. To create the new Navitimer, Breitling preserved the most recognizable aspects of the icon's design code. For the new collection, the AOPA wings logo returns to its original position at 12 o’clock to spark nostalgia, with a flattened slide rule, and a domed crystal that creates the illusion of a more compact profile. Alternating polished and brushed finishings give the metal elements a lustrous, yet understated quality. A slimmer silhouette on the oscillating weight enhances the display case back view of the COSC-certified Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01. This 346-part movement is backed by a five-year warranty, provides approximately 70 hours of power reserve, and allows the wearer to change the date —now visible through a discreet window in the subdial— at any time.
The watch comes in a range of sizes three sizes —46, 43, or 41 mm—, two case materials —stainless steel or 18K red gold— and a semi-shiny alligator or seven-row metal bracelet. The new design of the clasp is really nice and it now sports the word “Breitling” once you undo the clasp.
Breitling Navitimer 46
The new Breitling Navitimer 46 is available in either stainless steel or 18K red gold under references AB0137211B1P1, AB0137211B1A1, AB0137211C1P1, AB0137211C1A1, AB0137241L1P1, AB0137241L1A1, RB0137241G1P1, or RB0137241G1R1. The Breitling Navitimer 46 in stainless steel is available with either black, blue, or dark green dial; while the 18K red gold model comes on a silver dial with black counters. Both metals are available with a black or brown alligator leather strap with a folding buckle or on a 7-row bracelet with a butterfly clasp matching the metal of the case.
Sticker Price $9,600 USD for steel on a bracelet, $9,200 USD for steel on a strap, $39,500 USD for 18K red gold on a bracelet, and $19,500 USD for 18K red gold on a strap.
Breitling Navitimer 43
The new Breitling Navitimer 43 is available in either stainless steel or 18K red gold under references AB0138211B1P1, AB0138211B1A1, AB0138241G1P1, AB0138241G1A1, AB0138241K1P1, AB0138241K1A1, AB0138241C1P1, AB0138241C1A1, AB0138241L1P1, AB0138241L1A1, RB0138211B1P1 or RB0138211B1R1. The Breitling Navitimer 43 in stainless steel is available with either black, silver, copper, ice blue, or mint green dial with contrasting chronograph counters; while the 18K red gold model comes on a black dial with white contrasting counters. Both metals are available with a black or brown alligator leather strap with a folding buckle or on a 7-row bracelet with a butterfly clasp matching the metal of the case.
Sticker Price $9,500 USD for steel on a bracelet, $9,100 USD for steel on a strap, $37,500 USD for 18K red gold on a bracelet, and $19,000 USD for 18K red gold on a strap.
Breitling Navitimer 41
The new Breitling Navitimer 41 is available in either stainless steel or 18K red gold under references AB0139241C1P1, AB0139241C1A1, AB0139211G1P1, AB0139211G1A1, AB0139211L1P1, AB0139211L1A1, RB0139211G1P1, or RB0139211G1R1. The Breitling Navitimer 41 in stainless steel is available with either silver, blue, or mint green dials with contrasting chronograph counters; while the 18K red gold model comes on a silver dial with contrasting counters. Both metals are available with a black or gold brown alligator leather strap with a folding buckle or on a 7-row bracelet with a butterfly clasp matching the metal of the case.
Sticker Price $9,400 USD for steel on a bracelet, $9,000 USD for steel on a strap, $37,000 USD for 18K red gold on a bracelet, and $18,500 USD for 18K red gold on a strap.
