After initially contributing $150,000 to Honor Flight Network, a contribution that enabled nearly 300 veterans from San Diego and Wisconsin to fly to the Washington, DC memorial, Breitling set out to create a limited-edition watch whose proceeds would support the charity. Prissert says that choosing the Navitimer as the model was an easy decision. “Obviously, we have lots of watches designed for pilots, but the one truly legendary Breitling pilots’ watch is the Navitimer,” he said. “Developed in 1952 and still in the collection, taken by Scott Carpenter into space, it’s one of the stars in our collection.”
The Breitling Navitimer 01 Honor Flight limited edition is distinguished by its blue dial with the Honor Flight logo below 12 o’clock and its engaved caseback, which depicts a “wreath and bracket” from the World War II memorial in Washington, DC, designed by artist Raymond Kasky. The memorial is composed of 56 of these pillars — one representing each of the 50 U.S. states and six U.S. territories that took part in World War II. Appropriately, the watch is also limited to 56 pieces. Each watch’s caseback is engraved with the name of a state or territory, a series number, and the inscription “Honor Flight – One Last Mission.” Each watch is thus a unique piece, in addition to being part of an extremely small production run.
Like other modern Breitling Navitimer 01 watches, this one contains Breitling’s in-house Caliber B01, a mechanical chronograph movement that has also received COSC chronometer certification. It also carries Breitling’s five-year warranty.
One of these new Breitling watches, the one representing Wisconsin, was set aside for auction, raising $13,500 for Honor Flight Network. The rest, which were officially unveiled at Breitling’s New York boutique on November 12, will be available only in Breitling’s United States boutiques — there are four, in New York, Orlando, Miami, and Las Vegas — at a retail price of $9,020. Prissert acknowledged that these rare and distinctively American timpieces could eventually fetch even higher prices on the secondary market.
It is not just a fantastic watch, it is also supporting an worthy cause!