There has been a steady trend in oversized watches going on in the horology industry for over a decade now, but Breitling is taking a turn in its own direction. This luxury watch brand highly associated with aviation timepieces has been opting to recuperate vintage curves with reasonable dimensions, as we can see on their new “Premier Chronograph 42” and “Premier B01 Chronograph 42” models.
We’ve been covering the ongoing new releases by Breitling since the induction of their new CEO Georges Kern, almost a year ago. His first move was to reach into the brands back catalog and present a revamped collection with modern overtones, in the form of the “Navitimer 8” collection that we reviewed here.
Breitling Navitimer 8 – Image courtesy of: Breitling
Now, this new “Premier” collection is comprised of five new models, which also combine more classic aesthetics that had been previously neglected by the brand. In these new offerings we see Breitling rehash circa 1940’s elements, while tossing out options like the 1990’s cursive fonts that permeated some of their former releases.
Breitling Premier, circa 1943
The “Premier” line is made up of four models, plus a new “Breitling for Bentley” chronograph for that ongoing collaboration. In common these timepieces all have beveled lugs, alternating brushed and polished surfaces on the case with lengthwise fluting in the flanks of the cases. They are also all topped by domed sapphire crystals with anti-reflective coating and water-resistance capable of withstanding up to 100 meters (330 Feet).
First up we have the “Breitling Premier Chronograph 42” made out of stainless-steel with a transparent sapphire screwed-in case back, which allows to view the inner workings of the mechanical movement. It comes equipped with two wide rectangular push-pieces to operate the chronograph functions with a setting-crown in-between them. It is a non-screw locked crown with two gaskets to reinforce its water-resistance.
Time is either exhibited on a black or blue dial with metal applique hour index markers, followed by small white printed second index markers, slightly longer minute index markers and thicker marks for every five-minute increment. On the dials flange we can see a white tachymeter scale, circling its circumference with “TACHYMETER” written in a red font.
There are three sub-dials: a 12-hour counter at the 6 o’clock position, a sub-seconds at the 9 o’clock position and a 30-minute counter at the 12 o’clock position. The stainless-steel central hands have been fitted with a luminescent coating and the thin chronograph hand has been given a red tip, for an enhanced legibility.
Breitling Premier Chronograph 42
This “Premier Chronograph 42” (References below) is powered by a self-winding mechanical movement, caliber Breitling 13 with 25 jewels and 28,800 Vph. Power reserve on these watches can reach up to 48 hours, when fully wound.
Mounted to these watches is either a: brown nuback leather strap, a brown crocodile strap or a classic seven-row stainless-steel bracelet. For more up to date information visit the official Breitling website here.
Breitling Premier Chronograph 42 – (Ref#: A13315351C1P1) with blue dial
MSRP: $6,250.00 USD – Brown nubuck or crocodile strap with steel folding clasp
Breitling Premier Chronograph 42 – (Ref#: A13315351B1A1) with black dial
MSRP: 6,550.00 USD – Stainless-steel bracelet with steel folding clasp
Next up we have the “Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42” also made out of stainless-steel with a transparent sapphire screwed-in case back, which allows to view the inner workings of the mechanical movement. It also comes equipped with two wide rectangular push-pieces to operate the chronograph functions with a setting-crown in-between them. These models also feature a non-screw locked crown with two gaskets, which assures that water-resistance can reach up to 100 meters (330 feet).
Time is exhibited on either a silver or black dial with metal applique hour index markers, followed by small white or black printed second index markers, slightly longer minute index markers and thicker marks for every five-minute increment. On the dials flange we can see a black tachymeter scale, circling its circumference with “TACHYMETER” written in a red font.
Both versions feature two black sub-dials: a 30-minute counter at the 3 o’clock position and a sub-seconds at the 9 o’clock. There is also a date aperture at the 6 o’clock position. The stainless-steel central hands on these models have also been fitted with a luminescent coating and the thin chronograph hand has been given a red tip, for an enhanced legibility.
Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42
This “Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42” (References below) is powered by a self-winding mechanical movement, caliber Breitling 01 with 47 jewels and 28,800 Vph. Power reserve on these watches can last up to 70 hours, when fully wound.
Mounted to these watches is either a: black nuback leather strap, a black crocodile strap or a classic seven-row stainless-steel bracelet. For more up to date information visit the official Breitling website here.
Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 – (Ref#: AB0118221G1P1) with silver dial and black sub-dials
MSRP: 8,400.00 USD – Black nuback or crocodile strap with steel folding clasp
Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 – (Ref#: AB0118A61C1A1) with blue dial and black sub-dials
MSRP: $8,700.00 USD – Stainless-steel bracelet with steel folding clasp
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