Navitimer 816 Stainless Steel

In Context

At 48 mm this is exceptionally large for something worn on a wrist, closer to a pocket watch given lugs. At 14.6 mm it is a tall case, and it will catch on a cuff. The case back is closed, so the movement stays out of sight, and the plexiglass crystal scratches easily but polishes back out at home, which sapphire does not. Rated to 1 m, it is protected against rain and splashes and nothing beyond that.

The movement is hand-wound, so winding it becomes part of the day rather than something the watch does for you.

816 stands on its own in this catalogue — no other reference here shares its base number. It carries a stainless steel case.

Not a Breitling movement but the Venus 178, the hand-wound column-wheel chronograph inside the original Navitimer, reference 806. Breitling built that watch in 1952 at the request of the American Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, wrapping the chronograph in a rotating slide rule so a pilot could work out speed, fuel burn and rate of climb on the wrist.

2 other watches in the library run the Breitling 178.

Breitling

Navitimer 806 Stainless Steel / Beaded

806.63 · 41.8 mm

Breitling

Navitimer 806 Stainless Steel / Serrated

806.65 · 41.8 mm