Breitling Luxury Swiss Watches

In contrast to many luxury watchmakers, Breitling is known just as much, if not more, for technical pieces that have been relied upon by everyone from divers and astronauts to pilots and drivers. For instance, the Emergency watch features an emergency transmission feature, allowing wearers to send out a distress signal that rivals beacons found on aircrafts. This feature is actually credited for saving the lives of 13 people in 1995, for example.

The company itself was founded by Léon Breitling in 1884, who set the foundation for the company’s continued success by a focus on technical perfection until his death in 1914. Fortunately for admirer’s of his work, his son, Gaston picked up where he left off, even creating the world’s first wrist watch chronograph in 1915. This was when pilots first started really taking interest in Breitling pieces, as they found that the watches made navigation and flying in general much easier.

Gaston decided to turn the company over to his own son (Willy) just nine years after Léon’s death. Like his father before him, Willy did the Breitling name proud by convincing the British Air Force to use Breitling to supply watches to all of their pilots, which really helped to spread the Breitling name. Before long, pilots from Europe to the United States were taking advantage of these high-quality watches. Also, in 1934, a forerunner to the modern chronograph was incorporated into Breitling watches, as the second return-to-zero function was included in Breitling offerings.

The Navitimer chronograph, designed for use by aviators, was unveiled in the 1950’s, and allowed pilots to measure speed as well as fuel consumption. This timepiece was only further proof of the Breitling pursuit of excellence as the years passed.

In 1962, another milestone in the Breitling family history occurred, as the Cosmonaught wrist watch was worn by Scott Carpenter into space, who found the piece to be outstandingly accurate throughout the flight, which only increased awareness even further of the excellent timepieces bearing the Breitling name.

Unfortunately, some of the same financial difficulties endured by other Swiss watchmakers in the 1970’s endangered the Breitling brand’s future. Willy Breitling, who had been in control of the company for fifty years, allowed Ernest Schneider to take control of the company, with the knowledge that the Schneider family understood the Breitling vision and would continue to preserve it while looking towards innovation in the future.

The family has done so, which is proven by the success of not only the Emergency watches, but also the Chronomat, which is one of the most successful and popular wristwatches found these days. Then there are other astounding pieces of technology, such as the Avenger Seawolf watch, which is water resistant to a staggering 10,000 feet.

For over 125 years, Breitling watches have symbolized technical innovation and functional elegance, all while persevering through the challenges and changes that have emerged. It is certain that Breitling watches will continue to help set the standard of modern watchmaking for years to come.