In 1892, Leon Breitling set up G. Leon Breitling S.A., Mont Brilliant Watch Factory in Switzerland. In 1962, a Breitling chronograph was catapulted into space on the wrist of astronaut Scott Carpenter.
Concentrating on the production of chronographs, these are some of the best recognized watches in the world and famous for their accuracy: the Navitimer, Co Pilot, Datora, and Top Time models are some of the most coveted vintage watches.
Breitling has always made beautiful watches, and this Datora register model is no exception. The dial and hand combination of this watch is incredibly easy to read considering how much information is present in the dial, which is a design triumph in itself. The dial has a forty-five-minute elapsed time register on the right and the seconds hand is the register on the left. It is original matte black with a speed calculating tachometer in white and a pulsometer in orange. The hour markers are applied faceted baton style and the central oval shape that holds the registers is cream colored.
The hands are “emergency orange” and the tritrium glows very bright on the dial and hands. The bi-directional bezel has a sixty-minute chapter and a twelve-hour ring, which are both in excellent condition. The dial is signed “Breitling Geneve” and “Datora” just above the red non-quick-set date window. Within the solid stainless steel case is a seventeen-jewel Valjoux 7734 “Breitling” signed nickel-plated manual chronograph movement which is excellent. The condition of this watch is NOS, meaning it was never really worn, but was perhaps a display model.
Alistar Gibbons Book – Chasing Time
