It’s been more than 20 years since I purchased a new out-of-the-box Breitling watch. In the early 1990s as I was starting my journey as a watch collector Breitling was a brand that I truly loved. I still remember buying my first Breitling, which was a Colt with a white dial on a brown calf strap. Later, I added the stainless steel bracelet to the watch and I nose-dove back then buying more than half a dozen Breitlings including Chronomats, Crosswinds, Navitimers, Aerospace Navitimers, and a Blackbird Chronomat that I will never forget as it was one of the two Chronomats to have a full satin brushed —including the bracelet, rider tabs, case, and bezel— finish at the time.
Back then, I was also a sucker for the Breitling Rouleaux bracelets but I couldn’t get my hands on a Breitling with such a bracelet as they were not very popular in Mexico. Then in the last decade, I’ve purchased several old Breitlings including a titanium Chrono Avenger with UTC module just to scratch the itch.
After its release in 2020, I knew I would jump into the new Chronomat B01 42 at some point. The Chronomat holds a significant place in Breitling’s history and when it was launched in 1984. In the 1940s, Breitling had used the name Chronomat for some of its watches, and the word was a portmanteau of “chronograph for mathematics”.
The 1984 Chronomat expressed something different by combining the words “chronograph” and “automatic”, a name that called attention to the self-winding automatic mechanical movement.
Back in the 1990s, the Breitling Chronomat Frecce Tricolori was one of my favorite watches and its Rouleaux bracelet was the most appealing part of it. Therefore, the revamped Breitling Chronomat B01 42 with a redesigned Rouleaux bracelet sang to me immediately.
Before the release of the Chronomat Frecce Tricolori, Ernest Schneider —the owner of Breitling since 1979— was already thinking about creating one or more mechanical models for its lineup. It was then he learned that one of the world's most prestigious aerobatic teams, the Italian army's Frecce Tricolori, was looking for a brand to create its official watch. Ernest Schneider contacted the heads of Frecce Tricolori to create a completely new aviation chronograph customized for the pilots' needs, requirements, and desires.
His personal experience with aviation had already opened several doors for him, but he also made frequent trips to Italy listened to future users, and went to training exercises to see them in action. That is how he discovered, for example, why some members of the patrol sometimes returned with broken watch crystals: after landing, when opening the aircraft's canopy, some pilots gave their watches a hard knock against the metal frame as they extended their arms. This led to the idea of recessing the crystal slightly in the bezel to protect it from bumps, an inspiration which was to have a bright future at Breitling.
The new chronograph gradually took shape, in close cooperation with Frecce Tricolori. Its most characteristic feature, which made it immediately recognizable was the rotating bezel with four rider tabs marking the quarter hours —0, 15, 30, and 45 minutes. These movable catches had several functions. They could serve as visual landmarks for keeping an eye on a flight time as one would calculate a dive time; one simply placed the O tab across from the central minute hand at the moment of the start. It was a particularly quick and readable system in the heat of action. The screw attachment system also allowed the reversal of the 15 and 45 if desired to read remaining time rather than elapsed time and thus see a countdown —a feature requested by some of the pilots.
The projecting rider tabs also helped protect the crystal against impacts while ensuring optimal handling of the bezel even while wearing aviator's gloves. All of the other details of the chronograph's construction and exterior were also designed to conform closely to the requirements of aviation. Some of these elements included the sturdiness of the case, the well-studied shape of the horns, the legibility of the dial, and the ergonomics of the pushers and crown, which were grooved for a better grip but rounded so they would not catch on the sleeves of the pilot's flight suits.
The Breitling Chronomat B01 42 stays true to all those design elements with a revamped look that is as modern as it is retro. Nearly 40 years later, the redesigned Chronomat is a perfect all-purpose sports watch and its features recall the classic namesake from the 1980s and make it instantly recognizable. In my book, this is how you revamp an 80s classic and Georges Kern —Breitling’s CEO— is an expert at that with well-executed watches during his tenure at IWC and now with Breitling.
I love panda dial chronographs, but the main reason why I decided to go with the Breitling Chronomat B01 42 with silvered dial and black registers is that the watch appears bigger due to its light-colored dial and the contrast of its burnt red —almost fire color— seconds hand is much better than on the rest of the models. Additionally, the updated chronograph layout with all registers at the bottom half of the dial works beautifully and the date aperture is discreetly placed within the 12-hour chrono subdial at 6 o’clock. Another great thing about this new Chronomat is that even the running seconds’ hand and the hands on the chrono registers are all equipped with luminescent material.
The Chronomat is one of the few watches from Breitling that I dared to love in the early 90s and despite that, I have always seen it as an icon I fell out of love with it as it became flashier and flashier with its highly polished pilot bracelet and case back then.
However, now that the Breitling Chronomat has been updated with a full satin brushed look and equipped with a Rouleaux bracelet, I couldn’t like it more and its understated look and vintage aura are something that made me go back to the brand and take the plunge getting one of these great looking watches. While the watch was revamped throughout, there are certain elements from the 1980s and 1990s Chronomats that are still present such as the conical-shaped screwed-down crown and the interchangeable rider tabs on the uni-directional rotating bezel. The new pushers are nicer and their shape seems to work better with the overall more modern design of the watch.
The rider tabs at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, true to the original are still interchangeable so the wearer can use them either for a ‘count up’ or ‘count down’ function. That’s the reason why these riders are fitted with screws so that they can be moved around the bezel.
The eye-catching Rouleaux bracelet with a deployment double-folding clasp perfectly expresses Breitling’s modern-retro style and celebrates the Frecce Tricolori watch that inspired this bracelet. While the Rouleaux bracelet has been redesigned, it is till very much in line with the overall look of its vintage counterpart.
Adjusting or sizing the Breitling Rouleaux bracelet is not as complex as one would imagine. Just follow the following steps and you’ll be done in no time. The pins on the removable links had to be pushed out in the same direction pointed by the arrows on the back of the bracelet. After doing so, the top part of the cylindrical-shaped link will be removable allowing you to push out the collar that goes through the link. After removing the desired number of links just put back the collar, push the pin back in place and the adjustment is ready. For this task, you’ll require either a small hammer to push the pin out of the link with the aid of a hard pin or one of the Bergeon pin-removing tools that pushes the pin out.
Now that I own a Breitling with a Rouleaux bracelet all I can say is that without a doubt it is one of the most comfortable watch bracelets in the market.
On top of all the things that I already mentioned I like about the Breitling Chronomat B01 42, I also love that this new watch is equipped with a display sapphire case back that allows for a full view of the in-house manufacture calibre 01. This automatic movement is a workhorse that delivers an impressive power reserve of about 70 hours and is a COSC-certified chronometer. Despite its sapphire case back, the watch is water-resistant to 200 meters and that’s something else I also love as I enjoy showering and swimming with my watches.
On the wrist, its 42 mm case wears true to its size and is extremely comfortable. The Breitling Chronomat B01 42 brings me back to the time when I fell in love with Breitling and when I was just a young collector with very little knowledge but a lot of love for horology. The same love that today makes me want to buy a watch for what it is and not for showing off purposes. The Breitling Chronomat B01 42 ticks all the boxes in my book for a perfect all-around everyday watch and that is exactly what I intend to do with it.
Sticker Price USD 8,750. For more info on Breitling click here.
