This week we were introduced to the Breitling Airline Capsule Collection, a set of 3 Navitimers to be sold individually and to commemorate 3 Airlines and their history in aviation, particularly the glamorous and retro era of the 1970s.
The 3 editions are Swiss Air with Black reverse panda dial, Pan Am with Blue dial and TWA Silver dial with Anthracite subs.
I will endeavor to review this collection in more detail closer to the availability date as I should be able to get hands on with the pieces when at Baselworld this year.
Here we will focus on the inspiration for the collection, which is very much Breitling’s iconic and very cool 70s era…
The New Breitling Swiss Airlines Capsule Collection, but what does it look like?…
There has been a lot of talk about how some of the inspiration for in particular the dial design of these pieces comes from the 1970s Breitling Chrono-matics due to the Sub dial design, this is very true but for me the Chronomat 7808 has more of the overall aesthetics and features.
The rare Breitling Chronomat reference 7808
Released in the early 1970s the reference 7808 with Valjoux 7740 movement was one of the last pieces from Breitling that still retained a fairly classic look with just a touch of retro flare over the Navitimer. The mid to late 70s would see more adventurous designs and then the unfortunate turmoil of the Quartz crisis felt by the industry as a whole.
When placed side by side it is plain to see how similar these two Breitlings are even though there is about 45 years between them.
The Chronomat 7808 on the Left next to the New Swiss Air edition on the Right.
The Chronomat 7808 shares the same case as the Navitimer 7806 from the early 70s and is what we commonly recognize as the Navitimer case design, although it was in fact the original Chronomats of the 1940s that led to the development of the first Navitimer and that iconic look that is still there today with the modern Navitimer range and this new collection.
Other similarities include the retro squared hands (which are also the deep orange red colour on the Panda dial version of the original 7808 and new TWA edition), the deep orange red is also emulated on the slide rule and dial highlights. It has the same steel markers with lume tips and the same dial layout with 3 sub dial registers and date feature at the 4.30 position.
My Chronomat 7808 is New Old Stock condition!
My New Old Stock 7808 is a stunner and it is great to see this era of design being emulated in new Breitling pieces.
Role on Baselworld 2019 when I will get the opportunity to see the Airline Capsule Collection in real life.
All the Best
S
