Breitling Navitimer B02 Cosmonaute Chronograph 41, Ref. PB02301A1B1A1, Limited Edition of 362.
A modern, stainless steel and platinum limited-edition reissue of the Breitling Cosmonaute with manual winding.
Case: Stainless steel and platinum. Sapphire crystal case back. Water resistance of 30 meters. Bidirectional slide rule bezel.
Dial: Black dial with Arabic numerals. 24-hour dial with subsidiary dials for small seconds, 30-minute counter, and 12-hour counter. Date aperture at 6 o’clock.
Movement: Mechanical hand-wound Breitling B02 caliber. Power reserve of 7o hours. 28,800 vph. 39 jewels.
Diameter: 41mm. Thickness: 13mm.
Condition: Mint condition in original box and with all paper and steel bracelet.
More about Breitling:
In the early 1950s, Breitling released their first pilot’s watch, the ref. 806. Featuring a slide rule chronograph and the AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) logo, the model was called the “Navitimer”.
In 1959, Scott Carpenter was selected to be one of the original seven Mercury Astronauts. During his time as a US Navy pilot, Carpenter wore a Breitling Navitimer, and after being selected for the space mission, contacted Breitling to ask for a 24-hour version of the Navitimer. The first version of the 24-hour Navitimer was introduced in 1961, and given the same 806 reference number and featured the AOPA logo on the dial. In July of 1961, Breitling registered the name “Cosmonaute” and began producing the 24-hour Navitimer as the reference 809, however the name “Cosmonaute” was not always used on the dial.
In February of 1962, Carpenter served as backup for John Glenn during preparation for America’s first manned space flight. Carpenter flew on the second American manned space flight a few months later, in May of 1962, having received his 24-hour Navitimer Cosmonaute a few days prior to taking off. Breitling used Carpenter’s successful space flight in their advertisements of the Cosmonaute, showing the same black dial/black subsidiary dials combination that Carpenter wore.
By the end of 1962, the reference 809 Cosmonaute was produced with a number of different dial signatures – some with “Cosmonaute”, some with “Navitimer”, some with the Breitling “B” logo and some with the AOPA logo. Between the end of 1962 and into 1963, Breitling began to update the dial, using silvered subdials to contrast with the black dial, and slimmer hands. By 1964, Breitling replaced the bezel, using a coin-edge instead of the “beads of rice”.
The present watch is a revival of the original Cosmonaute, released in 2022 to mark the 60th anniversary of Carpenter's flight. The 41mm stainless steel case houses the hand-wound B02 chronograph movement — a slimmed-down variant of Breitling's B01 that drops the rotor in favor of manual winding, delivering a 70-hour power reserve while keeping the case to a manageable 13mm in thickness. The 24-hour dial, the Cosmonaute's defining feature, is retained here along with a platinum slide rule bezel — a luxe upgrade over the original. Limited to only 362 pieces.