Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling has taken the opportunity to unveil a ladies’ edition of their best-known design, the iconic Navitimer. Introduced at Baselworld 2018, the Breitling Navitimer 1 Automatic 38 is the first ladies’ watch of the Georges Kern era, who took over as the brand’s CEO in July 2017.
The timepiece will be available in steel and gold, and the available dial colours include blue, silver, and black. The first thing to mention is that this new collection does not retain the chronograph functionality that has long been associated with the Navitimer, although the familiar bi-directional slide rule bezel is still present.
The absence of the chronograph subdials leads to a refreshingly clean dial, and it harks back to the 1950s when Breitling first introduced a three-hand Navitimer. To finish the dial, there is a date window at 6 o’clock, which is complemented with a matching date disc and a red-tipped second hand to enhance readability.
As alluded to in the new Breitling Navitimer’s title, the watch is presented in a case that measures at 38mm in diameter, which is fairly large for a ladies’ timepiece. In fact, the measurement is right in line with vintage sports watch dimensions. When this is coupled with the fact that the dial colours aren’t exactly what could be described as ‘feminine’, it could well turn out that the Breitling Navitimer 1 Automatic 38 turns out to be popular with male vintage watch collectors.
The Breitling website initially described the watch as “stylish and compact, the Navitimer 1 Automatic (38mm) may be the smallest in diameter, but it is the ultimate statement of elegance and sophistication. The ideal accessory for the adventurous Breitling woman, it is available in steel and steel & gold with dial in black, blue or silver.” However, the description has since been updated to include “With a 38mm case, it is perfectly sized for both men who prefer smaller watches and for the many women who, over the years, have asked us to create a Navitimer with a smaller diameter.”
The Breitling Navitimer 1 Automatic 38 was introduced at Baselworld 2018, where the pricing was announced to be £4,000 for the steel & gold version, and £3,000 for the steel model.
