About Breitling Navitimer 01:Breitling Navitimer is the most emblematic watch presented in 1952.It equipped with a very useful slide rule, it was endorsed as the official timekeeping instrument of the AOPA – the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.For years, the Navitimer has shared the same spirit and design, with the same slide rule and its 3-sub-counter “panda” dial (black dial with white sub-dials). Breitling Navitimer 01 is the first Navitimer watch with the new Breitling B01 movement. I think it is one of a handful of original classic aviator watch designs.Today’s review is about a replica Breitling Navitimer 01 watch.
First, the replica Breitling watch with the patented Breitling style and super busy dial that somehow remains legible. The watch dial is black with three silvery white subdials and a silvery white slide rule ring at the periphery that turns smoothly with the bezel yet with also a measured resistance. The dial includes three concentric rings of markers that essentially transforms the watch into an analog computer.
Two really nice touches on the busy dial are first the brand’s anchored B-winged logo applied and raised in yellow gold and second, a surprisingly great, yet minimal, application of Super-LumiNova. The lume is applied on the hour and minutes hands and applied as square dots on the hour markers. While at first you would think that this won’t make a difference in night legibility, it actually results in a dial that is quite legible in the dark. You only need to charge the lume for a few minutes and voilà, you can tell the time in the dark for a few hours. The date window (not lumed) between 4 and 5 o’clock integrates nicely with the dial and subtly, yet visibly, shows the date in white with a black background.
The chronograph is the classic two-pusher type with a start/stop button and reset button. The feel on the buttons is measured with a satisfying click. At first it might appear a bit too hard but it is done really well since that resistance will help guarantee that the buttons are pressed only when you want them to.The distinctive red seconds arrow hand with the anchored B-logo counter balance, moves around the dial in micro steps and the minutes counter at 3 o’clock only moves one position at the 60 seconds marker. The hour tally at 6 o’clock counts up to 12 hours and moves slightly between the hour markers indicating 15, 30, and 45 minutes for the current hour count
Another nice touch is that the hands for each of these tally subdial is done in the same shiny stainless steel as the case, however, the background is silvery white with a radiating pattern that contrasts well with the black dial and silver hands.
This replica Breitling Navitimer 01 is also one of my favorite features, the strap and excellent folding clasp and buckle. The black calf leather strap is padded and has a really nice heavy white stitching that matches well the black/white dial. The leather is soft but yet thick and the padding makes it very comfortable once adjusted.
