Breitling Chronomat

Breitling is almost a synonymous of chronograph, and in 2009, Breitling has officially launched the Breitling Chronomat B01 with their latest in-house automatic-winding chronograph movement, better known as Caliber B01. The watch will be offered at only about 40 retailers in the United States, with additional distributors coming online quickly. As of mid-2009, about 2000 pieces had been manufactured. Manufacture will finally reach about 50,000 pieces per annum.

The Breitling Chronomat B01 has been in development for almost five years, and its launch coincides with Breitling’s 125th anniversary. The movement incorporates a column-wheel switching device and a vertical clutch, two hallmarks of a well-made chronograph. The vertical clutch assures that the chronograph seconds hand does not jump when the chronograph is busy. The Chronomat B01 has central chronograph seconds, nonstop seconds at nine, and a jumping 30 minute totalizer at three. The instant-change date is positioned at 4:30. The date can be modified at any time, even near midnight. The movement has a patented system for adjusting the start, stop and of course reset hammers. The 47 jewel movement uses a smooth hairspring and a flat balance wheel. A single barrel brings 70 hours of power reserve. The Chronomat B01 ticks along at 28,800 vph, and as with all Breitlings, the Chronomat B01 is of course COSC-certified.

In Basel in Switzerland, Breitling’s Vice President Jean-Paul Girardin stated that the company made the decision to produce Caliber B01 to satisfy market demand for a creation motion, and to guarantee Breitling’s long term future. The organization felt that it must have a stable supply of mechanical chronograph movements, as this type of watch accounts for 55% of Breitling’s gross sales.

The Chronomat B01 measures exactly 43.5mm in diameter and it will be offered in four versions: all steel, steel with a gold bezel, steel with a steel bezel with four gold quarter-hour markers and solid 18K (4N) red gold. That’s a total of 18 distinctive dials. The unidirectional bezel turns without difficulty with 240 teeth. The steel and two-tone versions are water resistant to 500 meters, while the all-gold model can be only taken down to 100 meters.

The Breitling Chronomat starts off at approximately $6500 for the steel model on a leather strap, and the opening price tag for the 2-tone model with a bracelet is almost $8000. The all-gold model will start at more than $21,000. The B01 tops out at $44,125 for the red gold and diamond version on a magnificent red gold bracelet.