Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling has cemented itself as a pioneering company dating back to its inception in 1884 when Léon Breitling opened his first workshop at Place Neuve 1, Saint-Imie. This year marks 140 years of firsts, and the celebration of a stacked catalogue of era-defining watches.
During Geneva Watch Days, an annual event showcasing both cutting-edge and historic timepieces, Breitling debuted its first exclusive perpetual calendar chronograph movement with three flagship models—the Premier, Navitimer and Chronomat. Each is equipped with the Breitling Manufacture Caliber B19, promising a century of precision without requiring any major adjustments, and packing an enduring 96-hour power reserve.
These limited-edition timepieces pay homage to key touchstones in the watchmaker’s history. From the inception of the company and establishing the form of the modern chronograph to releasing its first in-house-developed movement, the Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01.
With a series of innovations paving the way to another landmark moment for the watchmaker, it only made sense to look back through the annuls of time to get a deeper understanding of what makes the company tick. Who better than Breitling historian and board advisor, Fred Mandelbaum, to take us on this tour through the ages? Mandelbaum is also the author of Premier Story, an avid watch collector and an enthusiastic advocate for wrist-worn chronographs. In other words, he knows everything there is know about Breitling.
Tour Through Time: Q&A with Breitling Historian Fred Mandelbaum
Men’s Health: What specifically drew you to collecting Breitling watches and documenting the history of the Swiss watchmaker?
Fred Mandelbaum: “I started out being a chronograph user in my day-to-day business life. These were hugely important tools when I grew up in business. I was a naturally inquisitive person. I don’t just put any watch on my wrist or drive any car, without being interested in it and looking at the background history of the technology, et cetera…
FM (cont.): “The interesting thing is if you approach that large segment of watchmaking, the chronograph, with an open mind, not because your neighbour told you that A or B are the best investment… you’ll find that anything relevant happening in the chronograph arena from the 1890s onwards actually was either initiated by Breitling or that Breitling played a major part in that development. So, to anyone asking me as a chronograph collector why do you collect Breitling, my answer would be what else?”
MH: And then that interest turned into a career as the de facto Breitling historian?
FM: “Now, it’s something like a second job… a second career. But originally, it was purely a hobby… I’ve been into technology manufacturing since the 1980s and I’ve seen how quickly that stuff becomes obsolete. We knew we’d launch a [tech] product while we were already finishing the product that would make the former product obsolete in two or three years. It’s very different with watches.”
FM (cont.): “[With watches] we’ve reached a stage that you can’t really improve upon them, and they’ll likely be on your wrist for a lifetime. With certain [other] types of technology, we have periods of redundancy—but not with watches…. It’s a mature technology. It’s still a miracle for me that something made a hundred years ago is still functioning perfectly and as useful as it was the day that it left the factory.”
MH: Even with this “mature” technology, Breitling seems to always find a way to innovate. That’s what’s being celebrated as part of 140 years of firsts. Are there any of Breitling’s watches that best embody this pioneering spirit?
FM: “It’s actually something that runs through [their] entire catalogue. And it’s something that’s on display during Geneva Watch Days. [Breitling] is always looking for the next step. Many people have tried to redefine the way time is displayed… and there will always be innovation in movement technology and in design of course. But again, this will always be in a way represented by the company’s heritage.”
MH: That leads on to something you were quoted as saying, that watchmakers should always have a “respect for the past”. Do you believe that Breitling stands out for its commitment to its legacy?
FM: “[While] I don’t know if this [respect for the past] is unique to Breitling… Breitling may be unique in the wealth of back-catalogue examples. There isn’t one line of watches that represent this as important as the Navitimer. But there are many other [Breitling watches] that are as clearly iconic in their roots. You can really date them to a specific year when an iconic design code comes up.”
MH: To celebrate its 140th anniversary, Breitling has launched three limited-edition watches, each celebrating specific landmarks in the watchmaker’s industrious history. Is there one you could single out that really encapsulates Breitling’s legacy?
FM: (He laughs) “All of them. That’s why they’ve been selected. They stand for three cornerstones of the brand dating back to the 1940s, each of them—in a way—deserving… But if you forced me to choose one, I’d probably… as funny as it is… choose the one that’s the least vintage. I think the [Breitling Super Chronomat B19 Chronograph 44 Perpetual Calendar 140th Anniversary] is sensational… It’s a piece of the eighties… Every component of it, there’s nothing in it that copies the past. It just tries to [capture] the spirit of the time… that exuberance, and so it truly represents the era. If I could have only one, it would be that one… It’s always difficult to pick your favourite child.”
MH: Breitling has a knack for being able to adapt to, and reflect, changing economic and social conditions. Can you pick out some examples of how the watchmaker has achieved this?
FM: “Every watch is a [snapshot] of a certain period in time. Look at the Breitling Avenger, it’s a 2000s watch. Very clearly it represents the era and stands for it. I mean, Breitling is not doing smartwatches, but if you look at that sector, we’ve got a company that represents smartwatches. And any attempt at this sector would be ridiculous and guaranteed to fail.” (He laughs) “We’ll definitely never try that. It’s actually what we see is that smartwatches bring back the appreciation of how much telling time on your wrist makes sense. And actually, smartwatch manufacturers bring us new clients who are looking at alternatives to be one of the proud millions who see how much joy it can bring you to just glance at your wrist for a second and there’s a piece of mechanical art on it.”
FM (cont.): “I’m quite sure that [the traditional watch] is going to be around forever and smart watches will be a memory of the past. We talk about 140 years, and there are people who’ve had watches, specific watches, for significant chunks of that time… Many, if not most of my watches, are now octogenarians. If you treat them well, they’ll be up and running, young and full of character just like the day they were born… The legacy extends further than just a brand, you know, you have these living breathing, ticking mementos of time.”
MH: Breitling’s new manufacture movement, the chronograph Caliber B19, marks another massive step forward for the company. What technological innovations in the company’s history have paved the way for this next stride?
FM: “With 96 hours of power reserve, that’s something very complex. It took years of work to push the boundaries here from something that was already impressive (70 hours)—and that’s still one of the best in the industry. But pushing that boundary just a little bit further required years of hard work [and] years of failures. The B19 isn’t the first attempt. It’s hard work to push the boundaries in a mature segment, of course…. When you’re delving into these incremental gains that require very complex rethinking of the process and that kind of thing, there’s immense pressure. This moment has involved tons and tons of passionate people throughout history to really push and strive, spending days not knowing whether what they were doing would work… and it has to work perfectly. [When it comes to] luxury watches, a product launch has to be absolutely reliable. And that makes it even more complex.”
MH: Talking about innovation, let’s go back to 1915 with Breitling’s invention of the first-ever wrist-worn chronograph with a pusher separate from the crown. It’s a breakthrough moment that not only cemented Breitling’s reputation as the king of the chronograph, but a master of innovation. Why are these moments so important to the company’s legacy?
FM: “These pioneering moments, that’s kind of what we talk about when we say 140 years of firsts. It’s somebody who had an idea, and they made it happen. [In the 1930s], when Willy Breitling’s father (the company’s CEO, Gaston Breitling) passed away, Willy was still in school, and he was 18 when he came to work for the company. Nineteen when he took over as CEO… and you see him start to rethink everything, question everything, question the manufacturers he was working with, question the segments he was developing for, taking the chronograph—which was just a small niche market—into one of the major relevant market segments.”
FM (cont.): “Then, [in the 40s just before the end of World War II], Willy starts producing exuberant watches, starts advertising—not war—but lifestyle and hope. So it’s always about being ahead of the curve… and I think Georges Kern [the current CEO of Breitling] does that extremely well, too. You have to gauge where the market is going and think strategically about how we position ourselves to be at the right point when that happens.”
MH: Georges Kern is a big advocate for hope, optimism and exuberance; and that seems to be a theme running throughout Breitling’s collection. Why is representing that an important facet of the company?
FM: “I think companies need to represent that hope, that belief in a future that will “represent” the joy of living life. Any company that doesn’t catch that is doing something wrong.”
MH: What aspects of Breitling will you be celebrating as they commemorate their 140 years of firsts?
FM: “It’s heritage, innovation and a pioneering spirit. You have that throughout. You have it with the very first patent of Breitling in 1889, five years after [Léon Breitling] opened his workshop where he worked on a method to make chronographs easier to produce and more affordable to the masses. So this is always—always—what Breitling has done. And I think that you can be proud that after 140 years, you still represent that.”
*MH Partnership
