If you are not overly familiar with watches, then you might be hearing the word “Breitling” for the first time. But for watch aficionados and passionate watch collectors, Breitling is a prized Swiss watch brand famous for its rich history and illustrious wristwatches. Léon Breitling established it in 1884 and since his early death in 1914, the company has changed hands. Breitling also made various contributions to the watch industry and the company is popular for its links to the aviation industry. But despite experiencing challenges such as sudden change of ownership and other historical events, Breitling continued to create renowned, high-quality chronographs and watches that amaze watch collectors today.
Yet there are many other things that you should know about this distinguished watch manufacturer. After all, with a long history dating back centuries, Breitling has created products, records, and other things that made it so popular among watch lovers.
1. Focus on Chronographs
Today, most watch enthusiasts know Breitling as a distinguished, excellent manufacturer of chronographs. For those unfamiliar with the term, the chronograph is an instrument used to measure an elapsed amount of time. Basically, this device allows you to measure the time it took for something to go from point A to point B. You might think that chronographs are like stopwatches. And they are almost the same in terms of principle. The only difference is that chronographs could refer to mechanical chronographs seen in most wristwatches while stopwatches could refer to digital stopwatches. As for Breitling, the company did not just create exquisite and functional chronographs. They were also responsible for innovating it, even though they were not the ones who created the first chronographs.
In fact, the founder of Breitling, Léon Breitling, wanted to further improve the complication and design of chronographs to make them more precise and enable them to measure shorter periods of time. And he was able to do this in 1889 when he applied for (and received) a patent for his chronograph design, which was uncomplicated and easy to build. Four years later, the company patented a chronograph movement with a power reserve of eight days. Even if Léon Breitling died in 1914, the company carried on with its innovations with the chronograph. This is hugely exemplified by his son, Gaston, who launched one of the world’s first wristwatch chronographs in 1915.
2. A Watch for Emergency Situations
Because of the innovations that Léon and his son made with chronographs, Breitling became one of the most successful manufacturers of chronographs to this day. But the company continued to create breakthroughs in the watch industry that did not involve this ever-useful instrument. In 1995, Breitling launched its Emergency series, a watch that could save your life, literally. The company was able to create its innovation when it was under the leadership of Ernest Schneider, an electronics engineer and an amateur pilot who helped revive the company to its former glory.
What inspired Schneider to create this horological marvel was his conversation with a military officer. After parachuting off a plane, the military officer landed on an unknown terrain and got stranded. And he only had his uniform and his watch. So Schneider thought of a watch that could transmit distress signals if a user gets lost. And this idea gave birth to the Emergency series, which allowed it to transmit distress signals with the help of a tiny radio transmitter inside the watch. Many people loved this watch, and there were actual records of people being found and rescued after sending distress signals using their Emergency watches.
3. Breitling and Aviation
Breitling is not only famous for perfecting the art of making chronographs. The company also had a long and rich connection with the aviation industry. It makes sense, as chronographs are also used in the aviation industry. This connection with the aviation industry shows in Breitling’s watches, such as the Chronomat and the Navitimer. Despite being made for scientists and mathematicians, the Chronomat is a popular watch for pilots. The Navitimer has greatly helped aviators as well thanks to its circular slide rule on the bezel of the timepiece. Before the rise of electronic calculations, pilots used slide tools for mathematical calculation. Navitimer’s slide rule is also logarithm-scaled so that it could help aviators make important flight-based calculations.
Conclusion
Most Swiss watch companies become famous for being connected to something or someone. For instance, people associate Rolex with prominent individuals like politicians and royalty while Omega is known for being the watch brand for the Olympics and space exploration. This is also true with Breitling, a reputable Swiss watch brand known for creating reliable chronographs for aviators and ordinary people alike. People also recognize Breitling for its contributions not just in the watch industry, but also in the aviation industry.
Yet you don’t have to be an aviator to appreciate the beauty and functionality of Breitling watches. These watches are a symbol of fine Swiss craftsmanship and design the brand has stood for since its founding more than 100 years ago. If you are a watch collector who loves watches inspired by aviation or someone who loves well-design functional chronographs, then Breitling is surely your prime choice.
More Stories
Night Vision Cameras – Allowing Us To Not Go Blindly Into The Dark!
Technology Gave Us Night Cameras To See In The Dark!
How To Improve The Accuracy Of Your Thermal Camera