Breitling

Brand history

Founded 1884 by Léon Breitling in Saint-Imier; consolidated in Grenchen in the 20th century. Breitling defined the aviation chronograph: the Navitimer (1952), with its slide-rule bezel for in-flight calculation, was AOPA-endorsed and worn by professional pilots through the jet age. Independent until 2017 (CVC Capital acquisition), the brand has since refocused on its mid-century catalog — the Premier, Top Time, and Superocean Heritage lines pull from the 1940s–60s archive. The in-house B01 chronograph caliber (2009) gave the brand its first manufacture-grade movement in fifty years.