BreitlingNavitimer Chrono-Matic 'Iraqi Airforce'

KEY FACTS

● A rare and vintage Navitimer issued to the Iraqi Military Air Force in the 70s

● Lot offered by a private collector based in London, UK

● Presented as a watch-only

● Graded ‘A’ for condition by the vendor who reports the watch to be functioning, but would benefit from a service

FUNCTIONS

● Time, date, and chronograph 

● Powered by the Chronomatic calibre 12 automatic movement running at 21600 bph with a power reserve of 42 hours

SUMMARY

With a lineage that can be traced back to the 1940s, the Breitling Navitimer is one of the world’s most recognised pilot’s watches thanks to its pioneering bi-directional ‘slide rule’, which allowed pilots and aircrew to work out calculations on the fly. 

This reference was issued to the Iraqi Military Air Force in the 70s and features subtle hints to denote this. The Breitling wings on the dial have been replaced by the Iraqi wings while turning the 48mm case reveals a steel case back with the Iraqi Military Air Force emblem engraved in the centre. An interesting design feature is the crown, which is found at the 9 o’clock position, rather than the regular 3 o’clock position. This is due to the movement within, being the Chronomatic calibre 12, a rapidly deployed update to the groundbreaking Calibre 11, one of the first ever automatic chronographs, developed by Heuer, Breitling, and Hamilton. The modular construction required the base movement, provided by Buren, to be rotated 180 degrees to accept the chronograph module from Dubois Dépraz, moving the winding crown to the left side of the case. 

All watches offered for sale are searched and cleared against The Watch Register database and a certificate is available to the winning bidder upon request.

Any watch not covered by a current sales or service warranty should be considered as potentially requiring a service, even if in full working order on the date of purchase.

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