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Breitling · Family: Navitimer

Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 AB0121211B1A1

The Breitling AB0121211B1A1 is the 43mm steel Navitimer B01 Chronograph, with a black dial, a bidirectional circular slide-rule bezel, and the in-house Calibre B01 with COSC chronometer certification. It delivers 70 hours of power reserve. Cazador has no verified price observations. Its differential: the circular slide rule on the bezel, an aviation navigation instrument Breitling introduced in 1952 that remains the Navitimer's defining feature.

Specifications

Case diameter
43 mm
Case thickness
[UNVERIFIED] — sources consulted do not precisely agree on the exact figure
Case material
Steel
Movement
Calibre B01, in-house, automatic, chronograph, COSC chronometer certified
Power reserve
70 hours
Frequency
28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Jewels
47
Functions
Chronograph (30-min counter at 3 o'clock, 12-hour counter at 6 o'clock), small seconds at 9 o'clock, date between 4 and 5 o'clock
Bezel
Bidirectional rotating, circular slide rule
Crown
Push-pull (not screw-down)
Water resistance
30 m
Crystal
Sapphire

Price & trend

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History

Breitling was founded in 1884 in Saint-Imier, in the Swiss Jura, when Léon Breitling opened his first workshop under the établissage system — decentralized assembly of components — and specialized early on in chronographs, a category then in full expansion. Eight years later he moved production to La Chaux-de-Fonds, and the business passed to his son Gaston in 1914 and to his grandson Willy in 1935.

The brand's aviation focus crystallized in 1942 with the Chronomat, Breitling's first watch to feature a rotating bezel with a circular slide rule, designed to solve navigation calculations — speed, fuel consumption, unit conversion — without additional instruments. Ten years later, in 1952, Breitling adapted that same slide rule to a chronograph built specifically for pilots, launched as the Navitimer and officially adopted by the American AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association), whose logo appeared on the dial of early examples.

For decades, Navitimers ran externally sourced chronograph movements. That structural shift came in 2009, when Breitling unveiled Calibre B01, its first automatic chronograph movement designed and manufactured entirely in-house, COSC chronometer certified, built around a column-wheel and vertical-clutch architecture.

The Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 houses that caliber inside a 43mm case that keeps the model's classic visual identity: a rotating bezel with the circular slide rule, a dial with the chronograph's three counters, and hour markings inherited from the 1952 design — though with a modest 30-meter water resistance befitting an aviation instrument watch rather than a dive watch.

The bezel's circular slide rule still functions as a genuine analog calculating instrument, capable of solving speed, distance, and fuel-consumption conversions by overlaying its two logarithmic scales — a pre-electronic feature Breitling has kept as a signature seven decades after its introduction.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Navitimer's bezel slide rule for?

It's an analog instrument — two overlaid logarithmic scales — designed to solve aviation navigation calculations like speed, distance, or fuel-consumption conversion, without additional tools.

How much does a Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 cost?

Cazador has no verified price observations for this reference. We do not estimate or invent a figure without our own PricePoints; this section activates once sufficient data exists.

What is Breitling's Calibre B01?

It's the first automatic chronograph movement designed and manufactured entirely in-house by Breitling, introduced in 2009, with COSC chronometer certification and a 70-hour power reserve.

How long has the Navitimer existed?

Since 1952, when Breitling adapted the circular slide rule from its 1942 Chronomat into a chronograph built for pilots, officially adopted by the American AOPA.

Is the Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 suitable for diving?

No. Its 30-meter water resistance is typical of an everyday aviation instrument watch, not a dedicated dive watch.

What power reserve does Calibre B01 offer?

70 hours, notably higher than a conventional automatic chronograph, thanks to Breitling's proprietary in-house caliber design.

Is the AB0121211B1A1 chronometer certified?

Yes, the Calibre B01 powering this reference is COSC-certified (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres), the independent Swiss precision-certification body.

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