The Breitling Navitimer: My first luxury timepiece
When it comes to pilot watches, imo few can match the legacy, functionality, and sheer elegance of the Breitling Navitimer. This exceptional timepiece stands out not just for its striking design, but for its practicality and reliability in aviation contexts.
BackStory
Circa 2013. I had recently moved to the Bay Area after having graduated from my masters program from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. A small 3 person startup agreed to hire me for the role of a software engineer, and I was excited to get started on the new journey (little did I know).
Hours were long since we had a sister team in India. Days usually began at 4am and would often go on until the early dusk hours when we would find ourselves cooling down with a couple beers. We'd often discuss personal stories, passion projects etc as a means of getting to know each other better and this is where I learnt the CEO (henceforth referred to as the dude) was also an avid watch guy like me. I'd often notice him spending time browsing online catalogs but I had no idea he too was as passionate a watch guy as me until we had that conversation. We seemed to instantly connect thanks to this and over time this got us closer to a more understanding work relationship.
This one moment has been etched in my brain and this is the reason why Breitling's have been a favorite of mine. We had just launched a brand-new version of the software we were working on. As usual, a couple folks grabbed beers to celebrate. I noticed the dude browsing the breitling website. As someone whose most expensive watch at the time was a Tissot, I very confidently told him I had never heard of this company and if he wanted to celebrate the success of the v1 launch, he should get himself a Rado! He looks at me all confused and startled, calls me over to get a better look at the watches and ask me why I think Rado's are better.
With the beer still in my hand, I walk over and lay eyes on the screen. The first image was that of a navitimer. It was at this moment I knew I f'd up. Those were some of the most beautiful pilot watches I'd seen. It was love at first sight. I spaced out while he was giving me a history of why he thought those are some of the best pilot watches available. At some point I came back to reality and I heard him say: "I would love to own a breitling someday". This sentence just stayed with me for a while.
Fast-forward another couple years: I added a couple more tissot's and citizens to my collection but that was the extent to my collection. I always knew though if I ever had an opportunity, my first luxury watch would be a Breitling Navitimer. Opportunity presented itself in 2021. I made a little bit of money thanks to a tender offer from the startup that I was at. As always, my partner supported me and asked me to commemorate this special event by adding my first ever luxury watch to my collection. We walk into the Breitling store at the Westfield Valley Fair mall, Apple Watch on my wrist and ask for a very specific model. The SA looks at me and wonders if I'm wasting their time but I knew exactly what I wanted. The entire transaction lasted about 30 mins. As soon as the purchase was complete, I remembered this moment from 2013 and almost got a bit teary eyed. Took a decade but I was finally able to add a Breitling to my collection thus opening the doors to the luxury timepiece collection.
Current
The B01 is one of my most favorite watches still. The bezel, the colors and the reverse panda look are always a delight to see on my wrist. I haven't been able to wear it as often as I would like to but it holds a special place in my heart and will always be my #1 watch!