Another beneficiary of the Swatch Group’s departure from Baselworld is Breitling. While previously you entered the main hall (Hall 1) and there was a large, red Omega logo at the end of the central aisle, this year you can see a huge screen (even bigger than last year) on which Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron and Kelly Slater are advertising the Breitling novelties for 2019. And of course the yellow and white Breitling Replica logo. Since the Omega stand is missing this year, there is a clear view of the pilot’s watch brand’s previously “hidden” stand. Or to put it another way: for anyone who visited Baselworld 2019, the Breitling stand was omnipresent. Definitely a big plus in terms of on-site attention (see also).

But a large stand and a highly visible presence are not everything – as a (luxury) watch brand, you should of course also have some beautiful models up your sleeve. And that was the case with Breitling – at least for my taste. Because die-hard Breitling fans are still struggling with the company’s new direction under Georges Kern. Unjustly, in my opinion.

BREITLING – NEW MODELS 2024

The following watches show quite well how Breitling wants to free itself from its slightly dusty image from the 90s with oversized bombastic watches. It starts with the very successful new edition of a classic from 1959:

RE-EDITION: NAVITIMER REF. 806 1959

You see: You can hardly tell the original (right) from the new edition (left). And that’s how it was intended. In collaboration with Breitling expert Fred Mandelbaum (Instagram: @Watchfred), Breitling designed this new edition so that it comes onto the market as historically accurate as possible. And I can tell you: I was pretty shocked when I put it on at Baselworld:

Neither Breitling nor the Navitimer are among my favorites so far. It must be because they have worked with great attention to vintage detail. It even goes so far that the case back, typical of a vintage watch, has a completely plain finish:

It sounds strange, but a vintage fan like me is so happy about such a small detail. You can tell that someone was at the work (or rather the case back) who is a vintage fan himself and attaches great importance to such details. Speaking of the movement: Here they took the in-house caliber B01, removed the automatic function and converted it to a true-to-original hand-wound mechanism. This is a technical downgrade – but for purist vintage fans it is simply logical. And the size or case diameter of 41 mm certainly plays a role in why I liked the watch straight away.