The Breitling Watch Source Forums

News release headed for inboxes:


Chronomat 44 GMT

“Patrouille Suisse 50th Anniversary”

Half a century of airborne feats

Breitling celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Patrouille Suisse by dedicating to this exceptional team an exclusive version of the Chronomat, complete with personalized dial and engraved caseback. Issued in a 1,000-piece limited edition, this authentic aviation chronograph once again reflects the special ties between the Swiss brand and the world’s elite pilots.

In 2014, Switzerland and the aviation world are celebrating a double milestone: the 100th anniversary of the Swiss Air Force and the 50th anniversary of the Patrouille Suisse.

1964 saw the official creation of an aerobatics team composed of professional air force pilots. Initially comprising four and later five British Hawker Hunter Mk 58 jet fighters, the Patrouille Suisse switched to six planes in 1978 and began giving its first demonstrations beyond national borders. Since 1995, it has established itself as one of the rare aerobatics teams on supersonic jets by flying six American F-5E Tiger II fighter aircraft recognizable by their red and white livery. An outstanding ambassador of Swiss precision and excellence, the Patrouille Suisse regularly performs at shows around Europe, providing stunning displays that delight spectators and have already earned it numerous distinctions.

An authentic aviation chronograph

As a privileged partner of aviation, Breitling enjoys a longstanding relationship with the Patrouille Suisse that has already led to the creation of several personalized models. The brand now joins the team’s 50th anniversary celebrations by launching a limited edition of its stellar Chronomat model in its dual-time version. An authentic wrist instrument for pilots, this mechanical chronograph featuring a sturdy satin-brushed steel case is distinguished by a black dial bearing the flight team logo at 9 o’clock, framed by a rotating bezel with inlaid rubber numerals. The second hour hand, tipped by the outline of a red F-5E Tiger II, serves to display the second timezone in 24-hour mode in a very simple manner via an extremely practical crown-adjustment system. The 24-hour scale on the bezel also enables a third timezone reading. The engraved caseback bears the official 50th anniversary logo, topped by the limited-edition number. Water-resistant to 200 meters (660 ft), the Chronomat 44 GMT “Patrouille Suisse 50th Anniversary” houses Manufacture Breitling Caliber B04, a selfwinding chronograph movement entirely developed and produced by Breitling and chronometer-certified by the COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute), the highest benchmark in terms of precision and reliability and the only one based on an international norm. Sturdiness and high performance expressed in a technical and masculine style: a fine tribute to 50 years of airborne feats.


Model details are here - http://www.breitling.com/en/models/chro ... -editions/

Saw that myself.

I have to say, I like it. I'm still more than a little dubious of the rubber inlaid bezel, but that aside I really like it. Nice flat dial without the guilloche square on it, and I also like the plane-shaped tip to the GMT hand.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

Agree on the GMT tip, nicely done. Like the little bit of color on the 9 o'clock dial. Overall a winner.

I think you will find the square is still there but maybe not as obvious as on previous models.
Zoom in on the picture and it becomes a bit more pronounced.
Not that it bothered me in the first place.
The rubber inlaid bezel however is another story

_________________
"It is just a matter of time!"

I think that Breitling would do well with different coloured chrono hands - there's a lot going on with this dial and the red tipped GMT hand stands out well, but the chrono gets lost.

Rubber bezel, well, it's been said before....

I disagree actually Wessa - I can see the way the hour markers essentially create the outline of the square, but I can't see any guilloche work on the dial at all. Maybe my computer's res is too low......

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

I was comparing the standard Chronomat 44 GMT with a Flying Fish and my Chronomat 01 LE a few weeks back. There is no guilloche texture on the dial of the standard Chronomat 44 GMT models. Not sure about this LE, but it looks the same. Far better looking dial in my opinion.

Great looking watch. Love the F5-shaped GMT tip!

The Patrouille Suisse are attending RIAT 2014 and unfortunately, it may be the last times we see them in the UK. The team is to be disbanded early 2016.

There's no guilloche, but a different shade of black making the square. At first I thought it was an illusion made by the hour markers, but if you look a the upper right corner of the square, it's visible.

_________________
Regards,

Peter

BREITLING for Bentley Motors T & Mark VI, Aerospace
ROLEX Submariner Ceramic116610LN
OMEGA Plantet Ocean 8500 42mm Orange arabics
OCEAN7 LM-3

Looks like the lume is a different color?

Nice looking model and a unique GMT hand for Breitling. I actually like the black rubber inserts in the bezel, gives it some contrast for improved readability. I wish they would scrap the polished hour markers altogether and lume them entirely, but overall a nice piece.

_________________
Chrono Jetstream
Montbrilliant 1903
Aerospace E79362

Really like this one. Just too bad that the watch fund won't be near big enough to get one when they are available.

_________________
Milgauss 116400GV
Navitimer AB012312
Speedmaster 3570.50
Frederique Constant 306G4S6

WTB/TF:
JLC 1548420

Yeah, the lume is the same as they used to the latest Frecce Tricolori : it's kind of a "vintage" style colour. I really liked it in person on the FT.

_________________
Driver8

Site Moderator

I'm going to have to check these new Chronomats out at an AD to make a definite answer.

I'm not a fan of color on the bezels. My a watch look cheap IMO. I'd get many others before pulling the trigger on this.

_________________
Past: BlackBird, Navi World, SA, Rolex DJII, IWC Yacht Club
Present: CE, DSSD
Future: Changes daily

Great looking piece! However I am not sure of the GMT hand, it's nice but not sure if it will make the piece look too "playful" and dated. Not a fan of rubber inserts on the bezel too even though they improve legibility, as I feel that the rubber inserts are a little "trend following" and Breitling will eventually discontinue using them eventually in future. I prefer the regular and LE series as I don't normally like special edition pieces. But overall I think it's still a winner and feels that it is the best looking among the special edition Chronomats currently.

_________________
Breitling Chronomat 01 Limited Edition
Breitling Navitimer 01 46mm