Jewellery & Watch News
Two years ago, Breitling launched a range of large and robust pilot’s watches inspired by their original 1953 Ref. 765 AVI Co-Pilot watch and four legendary planes: the North American Aviation P-51 Mustang, the Vought F4U Corsair, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and the de Havilland Mosquito. The collection was named the Breitling Super AVI and delivered a set of 46mm chronographs with GMT complication. Now for a more accessible look, the Swiss watchmaker has introduced the Breitling Classic AVI watch collection with smaller 42mm cases and chronograph displays without a GMT hand.
“People love the sturdy, understated look of the Super AVI, but not everyone has the wrist to pull off the extra-large size that gives it its authentic tool-watch feel,” says Breitling CEO Georges Kern. “The Classic AVI trades some functions to achieve the pared-down format our customers have been asking for. The Classic and Super models will now live side by side, providing more choice.”
There is a total of five Breitling Classic AVI Chronograph 42 watches to choose from, each available on a metal bracelet or leather strap. Before we get into the differences, let’s first take a look at what they all have in common. Measuring to 42mm wide and 14.7mm tall, the cases are significantly smaller than those in the Super AVI collection making them perfect for those with smaller wrists or those that simply prefer more compact sized watches. Most of the designs are engineered from stainless steel with one model delivered in opulent 18ct rose gold. In the same way, the bi-directional rotating bezels are delivered in steel, black ceramic or rose gold and come gently ratcheted for easy manipulation. The bezels feature a 12-hour scale and pair with sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective treatment, non-screw locked crowns and screwed down case backs engraved with an image of the model’s aircraft counterpart.
The dials of the Breitling Classic AVI Chronograph 42 watches are instantly legible, just like the original 1953 Ref. 765 AVI Co-Pilot watch, offering generously amounts of Superluminova on the Arabic numerals, propeller-shaped hour and minute hands and red-tipped chronograph seconds hand. The dials also deliver three sunken and snailed counters for the 30 minutes at 3 o’clock, 12 hours at 6 o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock. Powering these functions is the Breitling Calibre 23 automatic winding movement with chronometer-certification, a frequency of 28,800vph and a power reserve of 48 hours.
So how do the Breitling Classic AVI Chronograph 42 watches differ? Each of the five designs are named after one of four legendary planes and in turn decorate their dials in colours from the aircraft’s roundels and markings. Starting us off the Breitling Classic AVI Vought F4U Corsair watch which brings to life the WWII naval aircraft with a nautical blue dial with matching blue counters. Meanwhile the Breitling Classic AVI Curtiss Warhawk watch pays homage to its namesake’s famous shark-mouth nose art with a military green dial, steel case, white contrasting chronograph counters and bold red accents.
Next up is the Breitling Classic AVI Mosquito which is inspired by the de Havilland Mosquito “Wooden Wonder” aircraft known for its famous wooden construction. This watch is the only one in the series with a black ceramic bezel which pairs with a matching black dial with white contrasting chronograph counters and red and orange accents. Finally, there are two Breitling Classic AVI P-51 Mustang watches to honour one of the best all-round fighter planes in the world. The first comes in stainless steel with a black dial and golden-brown leather strap while the second opts for a luxurious 18 carat rose gold case, anthracite dial and black leather strap.
If you’d like to learn more about the new Breitling Classic AVI Chronograph 42 watches and shop the collection for yourself, head over to the C W Sellors website here. Alternatively, get in touch with the team by calling 01335 453453 or send us a message at sales@cwsellors.com.
