Breitling was founded by Louis Breitling in 1884 in St Imier with the specific purpose to develop chronographs and counters for scientific and industrial applications. The late 19th century witnessed a number of unique industrial developments such as the automobile and the aeroplane. Breitling recognised that these new machines would need timing instruments and soon became a manufacturer of high quality timing instruments. Rapid expansion led to a move to the Swiss town of La-Chaux-de-Fonds in 1892 to accommodate growth.
In 1936 Breitling was chosen among others like Omega and Vertex to supply the Royal Air Force with time keeping equipment. In the late 40’s Breitling became the US Air Force official pilots watch whilst also supplying the American armed forces. By the 50’s Breitling had cemented their position in the aviation industry and was supplying cockpit clocks for most of the international airlines.

Over the years, Breitling launched a number of classic watches. 1942 saw the launch of the Chronomat, the first chronograph to be fitted with a circular slide rule. In 1952, the Navitimer was launched, a wrist watch equipped with a so called “navigation computer” that allowed pilots to calculate flight plans. This watch became an instant favourite amongst pilots. Mine is a 17 jewel manual wind Breitling signed Venus 188 movement and is in excellent working order. The chrono functions are operated via the 2 flat head pushers above and below the crown which start, stop and reset crisply. The Valjoux 7730, 7731 and 7733 are derived from this Venus 188 movement. A calender version of the Venus 188 was the Venus 200 movement.
The brushed silver dial is signed Breitling Antimagnetic and features luminous riased hour numerals and matching hands. The watch has 2 inset chrono registers at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. The dial has an outer "Miles Per Hour" scale in blue.