Breitling, Navitimer, Ref. 806. Made circa 1960s. Fine, stainless steel and gold-plated wristwatch with round button chronograph, registers, telemeter, and slide-rule.
Case: Gold plated steel three-body, polished and brushed, bi-directional revolving beaded and graduated bezel, lapidated lugs, snap on steel case back. Case is in extremely good condition.
Dial: Glossy black with luminous radium Arabic numerals, subsidiary dials for the seconds, the 12-hour and 30-minute registers, outer 1/5th seconds scale, graduations for the telemeter and slide-rule. Radium Luminous yellow gold baton hands.
Movement: Caliber Venus 178 TJ, copper color, 17 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring, index regulator.
Circa 1960
Serial: 925XXX
Diameter: 40mm Thickness: 14mm
More about Breitling:
In the early 1950s, Breitling released their first pilot’s watch, the ref. 806. Featuring a slide rule chronograph, the model was called the “Navitimer." The slide rule was an important innovation for pilots, because it equipped them with the means to make important calculations to make their flights successful. While the Chronomat was the first Breitling model to feature a slide rule, the Navitimer--with its long association with the Aircraft Owners & Pilot's Association or AOPA--established Breitling's reputation as a watch company for pilots. The AOPA proceeded to declare the Navitimer as their official timepiece.
The present watch is an example of a rare early beaded gold plated ref. 806 with the AOPA logo on a gilt dial with radium numerals. The dial is a very glossy black guilt similar to the ultra-rare gold version of the early 806. The gold plated version of the 806 is also rare and this watch with a case in top condition and a dial which looks so perfect is for the most discerning collector.
