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A sunny day and an early Chronomat 769

  1. nicolas07

    nicolas07 Dec 23, 2015

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    Hi all,

    In this sunny day, I took some pictures of my freshly arrived Chronomat 769.
    I was searching for one for quite a long time but finding one not damaged by water ingress has not been so easy...

    Released in 1942, it is the first appearance of the slide rule. The patent (#217012 Switzerland patent) is dated from 1940.

    Despite the 36mm case, the dial is very clear and full of details. And the different shades of grey/champagne tones add to the readability of the dial.
    It is powered by a Venus 175.

    It represents for me the base of the more known Navitimer line and is a concentrate of Breitling know-how: technical watches made with refinement.

    Have a good day all and please post yours!

    Nicolas

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    And with its younger (but bigger!) sister (an early pre 806 Navitimer):

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    omegastar, DirtyDozen12, khmt2 and 6 others like this.
  2. 1685

    1685 Dec 23, 2015

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    Wow 2 great pieces and nice pictures. I do have to ask what you mean by "pre 806 Navi"? Did the AOPA not carry the 806 moniker? Just curious but eIther way can't pass up A photo op :)
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    nicolas07, Bienne2998 and Garv like this.
  3. nicolas07

    nicolas07 Dec 24, 2015

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    @1685 Nice piece :)
    First batch of AOPA 806 (meaning AOPA written in the logo), from 54 to mid 55, was sold to AOPA members only and does not have the 806 stamped on the caseback as it was not on Breitling catalog.
    Then, in the second half of 1955, they started to produce Navitimer for the open market and 806 was stamped on the caseback.
    The so called "pre 806" was powered by the Valjoux 72 while the 806 was powered by the Venus 178.
    Also, AOPA logo is slightly different if we compare both photos: "flatter" for the 806 and more curved for the pre-806.
    Size of bead of rice was increased all along the production, started from 124-126 for earliest ones (54-55) to 93 in 1963.