First thing I thought of when I saw these new watches from Breitling was "wow, these are pretty big." They even wear larger than their 'mere' 45mm wide steel case would suggest. Probably because the case is on the flatter, broader side of things. This is Breitling's newest watch to bear the ETA SuperQuartz COSC Chronometer certified movement - in the wonderful lineage of the Breitling Aerospace. The Chronospace is larger, has more going on, and is arguably easier to use than the watch it is distantly based on. The movement is the Breitling Calibre 78 (base ETA), and has lots of cool functions. These include time, 1/100 of second chronograph (with actually pushers as opposed to having to dig in the menu with the scrolling crown pusher), alarm, calendar, countdown timer, GMT time, and second timezone display. All in a really nice quality, dial LCD screen display in addition to the time and chronograph hand on the main time. Having that chronograph hand there makes it possible to use some of the more traditional chronograph functions, and I believe perhaps some of the slide-rule functions.
A slide rule it does have, and also "night vision compatibility." Something about the backlighting system of the watch and LCD screens make them viewable through night vision goggles (NVG) - which apparently was something in demand...? Breitling says that the watch has a double sectioned caseback that works to amplify the alarm sound to about 90 decibels. They call this the "resonance chamber." Which actually is useful if you need the alarm in anywhere but the quietest place - an environment an airplane cockpit is not.
At first the large 3 and 9 o'clock indicators on the dial are a bit much. The watch feels like a toy. This is one area where I wonder if Breitling could have done better. But you do eventually get over that, and if you do, you'll notice lots of other good qualities about the watch. Any timepiece with a thermocompensated quartz movement is rewarding, as they are super accurate (like 5-10 seconds a year). The hour indicators are large, and covered in a long of lume, and the hour and minute hand are highly distinct. This is because the minute hand is longer in two directions. The crystal is domed sapphire with lots of AR coating, so legibility overall is excellent.
The watch comes with four dial colors and three strap options. You have Volcano Black, Mariner Blue, Tungsten Gray, and Stratus Silver. They are available with a mesh metal bracelet, pilot leather strap, and diver style rubber strap. A very useful watch from Breitling with an odd looking fitting its functional forward attitude. Its utility will likely make it beautiful. Look out for the new Breitling Chronospace watches soon.
See Breitling watches on Amazon here.
I truly enjoy these multi-task Breitlings. Although, I’m slight of wrist, so their Leviathan sizes require I put my 2 wrists side by side to
obtain a reasonably comfortable & realistic fit.
Sadly, Breitling cannot produce these models in
smaller sizes due to the caliber, & not
without compromising the various functions.
umm, the night vision compatibility has nothing to do with night vision goggles, it has everything to do with the orange led colour, which does not damage night vision [red and oranges are night vision safe], the Citizen Skyhawk AT uses and has been using this for years.
With no radio control that means the watch must be set manually every time you change time zones.
Sorry but in comparison to the AT the Breitling is a fail.
An environment in a cockpit is very quiet as one wears noise cancelling headsets that allow one to hear a pin drop.
Water resistance to 40 metres [5 bar], means that you can’t even shower with it on, conmpared to 200 metres on the AT.
1 bar is equal to one atmosphere or 10 meters of water (therefore 1 bar at the surface and one more each 10 meters). to be approximately equal to the rating based on meters. Therefore, a 5 bar watch is equivalent to a 40 meter watch
A soild titanium case and bravelet with dlc [duratect], solar powered, ie no battery running out mid flight; another fail, cost 750 CDN retail. the Breitling?
And if you really want to get watch snobby, the AT has a true manufacture movement, the Breitling not so much
I have always liked these High Accuracy ETA Breitlings with their thermoline super quartz movements. However at -/+ 15 secs per year, they don’t shatter any records (And this is true in light of the upcoming Bulova Precisionist watches rated at -/+ 10 secs per year with no thermo compensation, 256MHz oscillating 3 prong quartz crystal and smooth sweeping seconds hand).
I also agree with the previous poster than in light of the excellent quartz-solar Citizen Radio Controlled watches with world time fuctionality, these Swiss offerings are falling behind the times. As nice and fancy looking as this Breitling may be, it just can’t hold a candle to my 2 Japan market radio controlled Citizen Attesas (ATV53-3022 & ATD53-3011) for around $1,500 less. The fit and finish of these Citizens is right on par with the Breitlings I have had the oppty to handle.
The Swiss are falling behind in high end quartz and, to the best of my knowledge, none offer radio controlled solar quartz timepieces. Outside of Germany’s Junghans, no one else in Europe is going to be able to contain the raising tide of excellent radio controlled-solar multi function quartz watches coming out of Japan.
I absolutely love the new Chronospace.
The styling and the attention to detail on Breitling’s watches has always be exceptional. I’ve owned many Citizens in the sub $1000 range, and while they are well-made watches, I do not feel that they have the same level of finish as the multi-thousand dollar Breitling watches.
I’ve owned several Citizen Skyhawks, and while I like them for their multi-function capabilities and myriad of features, they just don’t compare to Breitling watches in terms of fit and finish.
Now whether the price justifies it.. well, just let the buying public decide.
Thanks for the thoughts. I agree with you. While Citizen makes very competent watches, in terms of build quality and materials, Breitling is in a different league.
However, there is a big difference between US market Citizens and Japan domestic market Citizens. My Attesa Direct Flight ATD53-3011 is constructed in high grade titanium + Duratect and has an incredible level of finish and attention to detail that is not found in Us market Citizens. The watch retails at 105,000 JPY or USD $1,300 at today’s exchange rates.
When you get to handle a JDM Citizen Attesa, Exceed, etc, then we’ll talk.