Time flies

Breitling displays its aeronautic DNA at the Reno National Championship Air Races

Many watch manufacturers align themselves with a pastime, a sport, an endeavour, but few do it with as much genuine dedication as Breitling does with aviation. The Swiss marque, founded in 1884 by Léon Breitling, has been making exceptional chronometers for discerning pilots for as long as aircraft have been in the sky. Breitling is renowned for accuracy, reliability, toughness and legibility: all crucial for pilots, of course. In 1952, the company unveiled the Navitimer chronograph. Its circular slide-rule allowed for navigation-related calculations, and its technical nous was proven when astronaut Scott Carpenter wore a Navitimer on an orbital flight in the Aurora 7 capsule, in doing so making the watch the first wrist chronograph to go into space. The Navitimer has been in continual production ever since, and is the cult watch for professional pilots to this day.

Breitling’s timepieces are not for pilots alone, though. Take the Emergency, featuring a Personal Locator Beacon triggered when the wearer finds himself in the kind of trouble only international emergency services can help with. Then there’s the Superocean II 42, a simple chronometercertified diver’s watch that will still tick at 500m beneath the surface.

Last year in Reno, Esquire witnessed the Breitling Unlimited Gold Race,

CLOUD FORMATION

The Breitling Jet Team, seven Aero L-30 Albatros aircraft piloted by civilians, displays its precision aerobatics

the highlight of the Reno National Championship Air Races. Some of the most impressive flying of the weekend came courtesy of the Breitling Jet Team, the largest professional civilian flight team in operation. “We are civilians and we are supported by Breitling,” says team leader Jacques Bothelin, who has logged more than 11,500 hours flying time. “There is no equivalent to what we do anywhere in the world.” Bothelin has led the other six pilots in the team in up to 60 aerobatic demonstrations a year since it was established in 2003. During the 18–20-minute sorties, the seven Czech Aero L-39 Albatros jets stun crowds by jinking around at over 430mph, often only 3m apart. Clearly, the pilots need kit they can rely on.

“We are governed by timing,” says Bothelin. “It’s important that the watch we wear when we fly is easy to

‘It’s important that the watch we wear when we fly is easy to read, accurate and strong — we can be a little aggressive in the cockpit sometimes’

read, accurate and strong — we can be a little aggressive in the cockpit sometimes. The fact that we perform as the Breitling Jet Team is a way to prove to spectators, to the aviation world and to customers that the involvement and culture of aviation in Breitling is something true. Anybody can sponsor an event, but not everybody can set up a jet team in the long term. And we’re not the only ones — [the company] sponsors wingwalkers, acrobatic pilots, competition pilots. Aviation really is in the DNA of Breitling.” breitling.com