There is perhaps no more versatile complication than the chronograph. 

From race cars to rocket ships, boats to battlefields, you are likely to find a chronograph being employed to measure a plethora of tasks and times. From the Greek khrónos (“time) and gráphō (“to write”), a chronograph is a watch that has the ability to record time, generally via the addition of small sub-counters that register minutes and hours. 

No single company is more associated with classic midcentury chronographs than Breitling, inventor of the dual-button chronograph in 1933. Following on the heels of the developments in automatic chronographs in the late 1960s, it released the Chrono-Matic Reference 1806, powered by its Calibre 12 movement. Because this caliber was based upon the Buren 1282 micro-rotor movement and was not designed as an integrated chronograph mechanism, the crown needed to be placed at 9 o’clock. This design proved expensive, and did not survive the Quartz Crisis.

This particular Navitimer, a Chronomatic Reference 1806, is housed in a whopping 47mm stainless steel case with a rotating slide rule navigational bezel with fluorescent markings, barrel pushers, a signed crown, and visible caseback engravings. It features a matte black dial with multiple timing scales, a dual-register chronograph display, a date window at 6:00, Tritium indices, and a matching handset. Powered by the Calibre 12 movement, it comes on one of our popular Analog:Shift Casablanca brown suede leather straps with a steel pin buckle.

Whether you’re timing fuel consumption, navigating your Cessna, or you simply want a cool vintage watch to wear around town, there’s no better choice than this Navitimer Chronomatic from the era of the early automatic chronographs. 

Check it out today!