Premier

Premier

765

circa 1953

81XXXX

38mm. diameter steel, screw-on back, 21mm. lugs

Silver with three engine-turned subsidiaries, signed Breitling Premier, original luminous 12 & 24 hour numerals

White-pained with luminous inserts, original gold hands

Calibre Venus 178 movement, signed BREITLING

Brown ostridge leather by Strauss

Breitling first started manufacturing the Premier line of chronographs as early as the 1930s. With triple chronograph registers they're an exercise in understated elegance. One could almost say they're dress watches. They're not as sporty or as large as the Navitimer, the Premier was designed to be elegant and utilitarian. Outwardly, the steel barrel case is pleasing to eye with its thin, stepped bezel and its gently tapered lugs and pleasing to the wrist at sturdy 35mm. Breitling, ever the aviator's manufacture, designed these cases to be antimagnetic, shock-protective, and waterproof long before those traits were requisite features of a tool watch. Granted, you're probably not going to be wearing it in the cockpit of an airplane, but suffice it to say that Breitling was out to produce a tough-as-nails timepiece that could operate in any condition. As contemporary Breitling continues to grow in size - enthusiasts are looking to the brand's past to find quality-built chronos that belie the idea that bigger is always better. (My thanks to Analogueshift for the notes)