Breitling Writes A New Chapter With The Montbrillant 01

Today, Breitling has its headquarters in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. However, when Leon Breitling first opened the doors back in 1884, he was looking out on to Montbrillant. It is this special place that is honored by the Montbrillant 01. The Montbrillant 01 represents an intriguing piece of watchmaking and holds high the Navitimer line from which it is born.

As far as Navitimers go, the Montbrillant watches have always been smaller but still have kept all the functionality of its contemporaries. The case is made from solid hypoallergenic stainless steel and measures a very conservative 40mm for the diameter and 13.5mm for the thickness of the case. Like all Navitimers, the Montbrillant 01 carries a bidirectional bezel which moves the iconic slide rule. The Slide Rule is logarithmic scale that is capable of performing any ‘rule of three’ calculation necessary while flying.

The Montbrillant 01 is the first series produced watch from Breitling to be fitted with the 01 movement which is an in-house self-winding movement. The 01 movement is modular by design, thus, reducing the time it takes to service the watch. The 01 also carries a longer power reserve 0f 70 hours and beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour. As with all watches from Breitling, this model is a COSC certified chronometer.

The Montbrillant 01 has embossed on the case back an image of the very first factory at Montbrillant and pays further homage to this special time by using the original logo. The watch uses indexes to mark the hours and silver toned hour and minute hands. The chronograph seconds hand stands out on this model as it is red. The chronograph is of the ¼ of a second variety and can time events up to 12 hours. The date aperture is located at the 4:30 position.

The dial window is made from sapphire crystal which has been glare proofed on both sides which offers perfect legibility under all circumstances. The ridged crown spins freely and uses two gaskets maintaining the 30 meter (3 bars) water resistance. This model can be fitted with leather, Navitimer, or Air Racer bracelets. This model carries a two year international guarantee.