Home » Breitling Watches » Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute Limited Edition Watch – The Anniversary Limited Edition Premiers Breitling’s New Caliber B 02
To celebrate a very special event in its history and the history of watchmaking, when Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute became the first wrist instrument in the space, Breitling is launching a limited edition of these watches which premiere its new in-house made Breitling B 02 Caliber manual-wind movement. The new timepiece celebrates the great feat of Lt Commander Scott Carpenter who orbited our planet three times in the iconic Aurora 7 capsule. This event, which happened exactly 50 years ago, is extremely significant landmark in Breitling’s history because Carpenter wore his special Navitimer with 24 hour dial during his flight. Keeping up with the original dial of the watch, the new anniversary model has the same kind of face. However, the real novelty lies beneath the surface: it is the new B 02 column-wheel chronograph movement.
Unlike the Breitling’s first caliber that served as the base for the new movement, this one is hand-wound. It is certainly in accordance with the general theme, because the Navitimer that Carpenter wore during his mission was also manually wounded. The new caliber is an exceptional feat of micro-mechanics: very reliable and sturdy, it has a chronograph feature with the precision of 1/4th of second and is COSC certified chronometer, as it is the usual practice for the products of the Swiss watchmaker. It is a high-frequency mechanical movement that oscillates 28,800 times per hour. Breitling B 02 integrates 39 jewels and has a solid power reserve of almost three days (70 hours).
Sterling Silver Dial with “Par Ėpargne” Treatment
The technical level of its beating heart is matched with the design of the timepiece. The black dial with silver counters is executed superbly. The sterling silver base of the high-end watch is treated with “par épargne” technique which guarantees immaculate visibility of its indices. Since it is a chronograph, Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute naturally has a small seconds sub-dial and 12 hour and 30 minute counters. A date aperture is also visible on the face, and sits at the position that would be normally called between the four and five o’clock. However, in this instance, since it is a 24-hour dial, the date indication is at the nine o’clock place.
The wrist instrument appearance is underlined with the inclusion of the distinctive rotating bezel with a circular slide rule, while its face is protected with double anti-reflective cambered sapphire crystal. The watch is fitted into a round stainless steel case with the medium diameter of 43 mm. The solid case back reveals the individual number in the limited edition of 1,962 timekeepers. It is decorated with the Aurora 7 logo, and made with an engraved temperature conversion scale, echoing the features of the Navitimer Carpenter used during his feat. The steel case of the anniversary model guarantees water resistance to 30 meters.
The watch can be paired with two types of leather straps: Barenia and crocodile leather. Other options are made from steel: Air Racer nracelet with round perforations and Navitimer 7-row bracelet made of solid pieces of steel.
