Breitling's New Limited Edition Cosmograph: A Homage to Scott Carpenter.
The first Swiss Wristwatch in space, Vintage Watches and Modern Chronographs
First things first, who is Scott Carpenter? On May 24th 1962 Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the earth, being beaten by John H. Glenn on February the 20th of the same year. Here we can see him pictured wearing his coveted stainless steel Breitling Navitimer 806 in the Aurora 7 capsule. This act officially earned Breitling the honour of being the first Swiss wristwatch to be worn in space.
Scott Carpenter in the Aurora 7 capsule. His watch can be seen on the inside of his left wrist.
This may come as a surprise to you as the “space watch” cliché seems to have been dominated for so many years by Omegas Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional however watches left the earths atmosphere years before they landed on the moon.
This was obviously a great feat of horological engineering and status for Breitling to have their watch used on such a professional level, the spear tip of human technology in the 1960’s. So I am sure it came with no convincing that to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Scott Carpenters flight, Breitling would produce a modern take on the famous watch. Therefore they made the announcement on May the 24th 2022 that they are releasing the The Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute Limited Edition.
Courtesy of Swiss Watches Magazine
The watch will hold key design elements of Scott Carpenters original watch dubbed the “Navitimer 806”. These include the simplified slide rule, sub dial design and black dial. However Scotts’s original design included an over sized bezel for ease of use with the gloves of a space suit but to make the watch more appealing to the regular earthling the bezel is a slimmer design with a serrated edge. But wait. It is not stainless steel… It’s a platinum bezel. This is a nod to the fact that the bezel in Mr Carpenters original watch was so important. The watch also features a date display. This was not included in Scott’s original design but the demand is too high for Breitling to ignore. I know I prefer a date in most scenarios.
Delving into the case back we can see an image of the Aurora 7 logo, Carpenters name, an image of the mercury 7 capsule with the statement “3 orbits around earth” written below it. Inscribed around the edge of the case back is the words “First Swiss Wristwatch in Space”. The B02 movement is rather fetching I have to say. This column wheel Chronograph offers a power reserve of 70 hours and contains 47 jewels.
Beating at a rate of 28,800 A/H this movement is more precise, durable and reliable than the original counterpart. The modern features also include: Instant date changing, Quickset date adjustment, and a vertical clutch. Fancy right? Its not only fancy but its thinner too. The case thickness comes in at 10.9mm as opposed to the vintage watch with an 11.25mm thickness.
Sixty years on and we are still remembering Willy Breitling and Scott Carpenters fine work on producing such a practical watch. I think this limited edition is the perfect homage and the perfect balance of vintage style with modern design.
At a production of 362 pieces I expect sales to “lift off”. As for Breitling I think this mission will be a success.
Written by Josh Cullum for Watts on Watches
Image sources: https://www.raketa24.com/Breitling.html
