Luxury Watch Brand Spotlight: Breitling

Amongst luxury watch aficionados, Breitling is firmly positioned as the makers of precision chronometers designed for aviators. Based in Grenchen, Switzerland, Breitling watches often come to mind for delivering top quality products and also carrying a great deal of status.

The Legacy of Breitling

Breitling SA was founded in Saint-Imier, Bernese Jura by the master watchmaker Léon Breitling in 1884. Focusing on chronographs, which were increasingly in demand at the time for industrial, scientific, and military use as well as athletic organizations, Léon Breitling was constantly innovating and setting the standard for watches. Amongst his innovations were a chronograph model which included a pulsograph, featuring a logarithmic scale ideal for measuring a patient’s heart rate, as well as a tachymeter which could measure any speed between 15 and 150km/h, eventually employed by police to check drivers for speeding.

In 1915, Léon Breitling’s son Gaston made history by launching one of the world’s first chronographs with a separate push-piece above the watch’s crown. The company eventually went on to patent the design with two push-pieces, allowing users of the stopwatch to measure multiple times in sequence, and birthing the button-pressing click on stopwatches that we are so used to today. Breitling only began introducing watches for civilian use around 1943.

Breitling In Society

During the World War II, Breitling watches became the staple for the Royal Air Force. Astronaut Scott Carpenter helped design a new version of the Navitimer watch with a 24-hour dial which he used during his mission aboard the Aurora 7 spacecraft. In the 1965 film Thunderball, James Bond played by Sean Connery wore a special Top Time watch which helped him locate stolen missiles underwater. Countless other celebrities have sported a Breitling on their wrists, including actress Raquel Welch, jazz legend Miles Davis, and Formula 1 drivers Jim Clark and Graham Hill.

The Breitling Collections

There are several collections for you to peruse, catering to individuals of distinct tastes. They are:

• Navitimer – the legendary aviation timepieces
• Superocean – for professional and leisure divers
• Transocean – perfect for travelers
• Chronomat – bold design created for the Italian Air Force’s elite
• Professional – multifunctional timepieces for adventurers

Selling Your Breitling Chronograph

Breitling timepieces, with their incredibly long history, are known to have a high resale value. If you have a Breitling on hand you no longer want to keep, it is important to speak to a professional, reliable jewelry purchaser so as to avoid getting cheated. Global Gold and Silver are backed up by the Better Business Bureau, and also receive large amounts of praise from satisfied customers on Yelp and Citysearch. For sellers in New York and New Jersey, it could be very convenient for you to drop by a Global Gold and Silver store (there are three in the area) and speak to a certified gemologist. Check out our store locations, and you can also sell by mail if you find that more convenient for yourself. We specialize in purchasing luxury watches, even providing repair services if your watch is no longer working. You can be sure your watch will be in good hands with Global Gold and Silver.