BREITLING
Navitimer
CURSIVE B

An exceptionally rare example of an early vintage Navitimer with gold applied ‘Cursive B’ logo. Coming from the family of a Romanian Pilot who flew with the watch throught the 1950s and 60s.
The very first pre 806 Navitimer’s were produced for the AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) during 1954/55 and featured their Wings logo on the dial with no reference to the manufacturer Breitling.
For the first time in late 1955 and realizing the commercial potential of the now iconic Navitimer Breitling began to experiment with their own logo to feature on the dial, this began with the gold applied ‘Cursive B’ and Breitling Geneve text. Whilst used on other models such as the Chronomat 808 during the 1950s the logo was very quickly changed and redeveloped for the Navitimer. Making for an extremely short production run of the first 806 references with this dial.
With only a handful known to exist this is probably one of the rarest of all Navitimers with what was in our opinion the most aesthetically pleasing design of an early Breitling logo, creating a clean and well proportioned dial layout with the quality of the gold application.
A highly sought after piece in original and correct condition that almost never comes to market…

Case
Beaded Bezel
Stainless steel
41 mm diameter
Signed Breitling Watch Corp case back
Signed Breitling crown
Rotating inner Slide Rule bezel

Movement
Venus 178 calibre mechanical manual winding
Signed Breitling Watch Corp curved around the bridge
as is common for very early Navitimers
BOW import code

Dial
’Cursive B’
Rare Gold Applied B logo
Matte black dial with Radium lume arabic markers
Original steel hands with slight patina
The dial has taken on an overall beautiful patina with caramel and cream tones.

Strap
Vintage style two stitch tan leather strap and steel pin buckle

Complete with
Breitling Archive Extract Certificate
Confirming watch details and manufacture
Dating to 1956
Case number - 87xxxx

In overall excellent condition with minor wear and case marks

This is particularly rare Navitimer is made even more appealing due to its original and correct condition. Featuring the key signatures of a very early Navitimer such as the Breitling Watch Corp (BOW) markings.

Dating to 1956
Serial number - 87xxxx

£23,500