Breitling... 100 years Scott Carpenter = Platinum

US Navy Commander "Mercury 7" astronaut Malcolm Scott Carpenter was born May 1st, 1925... so reason for a centenary celebration in May 2025
Besides his "Aurora 7" spaceflight, which carried too many "Larry Lightbulb" experiments, Carpenter became the first astronaut to wear a wrist watch in space
After giving feedback for a bespoke Breitling Navitimer 806-24h chronograph, March 1962, he received the watch in the afternoon of May 18th, 1962
"Luckily" for Breitling, Carpenter's mission had been postponed three times, so the chronograph arrived in time for the May 24th, 1962 spaceflight mission!
The long weekend of 9 - 11th May 2025 was the closing weekend of the interesting Breitling Pop-Up museum in Zurich Switzerland...
As Breitling now has both Universal Genève and Gallet under its wings... the start of something new ?!
If there's interest I can post some more amazing watches that were on loan for display over the three floors of this location...
(Photos: Philip MWU)
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6400th post... a tribute to the man, Malcolm Scott Carpenter... because there can be only one astronaut wearing the first wrist watch in space!
#Breitling #NASA
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Thx for sharing ... @Dan S
Adding some more color to this topic... all photos #Moonwatchuniverse
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Meet Kurt in Switzerland: http://kurt-b.com/my-article-about-806809-navitimer-cosmonaute.html

On this day....
May 18, 1962.... Breitling chronograph delivered !
Between May 7 to 19 1962, Scott Carpenter's "Aurora 7" mission was three times postponed but thanks to these delays he got his bespoke Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute 806-24h just-in-time for use during his 4 hours 55 minutes long spaceflight misson on May 24, 1962.
On May 19, 1962 Carpenter wrote a thank letter to the Wakmann Watch Company, acknowledging the changes he requested were great.
In this way US Navy Cdr Mercury 7 astronaut Malcolm Scott Carpenter became the very first spacefarer to wear a wrist watch in space!
(Slide: MoonwatchUniverse)
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Most fans will know this but I want to emphasize that Scott Carpenter communicated directly with Breitling in order to get the practical changes realised in a chronograph he wanted for his mission. NASA as an agency was not involved.
Breitling did an excellent job in realising the bespoke Navitimer with a simplified slide rule and a larger bezel to be operated while wearing pressure suit gloves, protuding a bit over the crown & pushers.
Navitimers were not waterproof, but that was obviously not a requirement for a wrist watch being worn in space... even the 1965 NASA tests only required a Humidity test with the watches tested in a 95% humidity environment with temperatures ranging from 25° C to 70° C.
Breitling was not among the suggested list of manufacturers (Benrus, Bulova, Elgin, Gruen, Hamilton, Longines, Luchin, Mido, Omega, Rolex) so we'll never know how these would have performed... 🧐

1962, May 24… Breitling in space!
Early in the morning at 01:15 US Navy LtCdr Malcolm Scott Carpenter was awoken on the day of his “Aurora 7” spaceflight mission. After a medical check up, a low flatulence breakfast, Carpenter started suit-up followed by a final pressure suit test after which he strapped a bespoke 24 hours dial/movement Breitling Navitimer chronograph over his left wrist before picking up the ventilation unit to walk to the transport trailer which took him from Hangar S to Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral.
Launch occurred at 07:45 and the mission lasted 4 hours 55 minutes with splash-down 450 kilometers beyond the expected recovery point. Unfortunately, as Carpenter had to deploy his life raft and during helicopter pick up, the chronograph was water damaged. The last time we saw it was the moment Carpenter put it into one of his gloves onboard the recovery helicopter on his way to USS Intrepid.
Recommended reading: “The Astronauts” (1961 hardcover 96 pages) and “ We Seven, by the Astronauts Themselves” (1962 hardcover 376 pages).
Scott Carpenter was the first astronaut to wear a wrist watch in space!
By late 1963, the Breitling Navitimer chronograph came with white subdials (reverse Panda) and by 1969, Breitling produced the first Navitimer Cosmonaute with “24” on the dial. The 24 hours dial/movement chronograph might again appear during long-duration spaceflight to the planet Mars, a trip which will take between 250 to 300 days one way!
(Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)
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On this day... May 24, 1962
Recommended reading: “For Spacious Skies” (2002 hardcover 370 pages) a book written by Scott Carpenter and his daughter Kris to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the “Aurora 7” mission.This way, Scott Carpenter became the first astronaut to wear a wrist watch in space!
(Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)
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1962, May 24... Aurora 7 recovery
After overshooting his splash-down area, NASA astronaut Malcolm Scott Carpenter had to wait 3 hours before being picked up by a HSS-2 Sea King helicopter of USS Intrepid.During his time in the life raft, Carpenter took special care of two items, his 35mm Robot Recorder photo camera and his bespoke 24 hours dial/movement Breitling Navitimer chronograph wrist watch.
The first minutes onboard the helicopter were filmed in black & white but we clearly see the moment when Carpenter tucked his water-damaged Breitling Navitimer into his a glove of his pressure suit.
The space-flownwatch resurfaced in 2019 and nowadays belongs to the collection of Gregory Breitling himself.
(Photos: NASA)
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It's still the month of May... Breitling month
Breitling Navitimer... First Swiss-made wrist watch in space !
Designed in 1952, available since 1954, the Breitling Navitimer was the first wrist watch combining a chronograph with a complete slide rule computer function bezel. The Breitling Navitimer (Navigation & Timing) with its logarithmic calibration was specially made for pilots, navigators, radio operators and aircrew. From its inception, the Breitling Navitimer was recommended by the Aircraft Owners’ & Pilots’ Association (AOPA).
In late 1961, NASA “Mercury 7” astronaut Malcolm Scott Carpenter contacted the Wakmann Watch Company to request a Breitling Navitimer chronograph of which by February 1962 he had given practical feedback for its use in space: 24 hours dial/movement, larger bezel usable wearing pressure suit gloves, simplified slide rule (no Tachymètre) and a sturdy stretchable steel bracelet.
Finally, in the late afternoon of May 18, 1962 Scott Carpenter received his bespoke Breitling Navitimer chronograph, just in time for his upcoming “Aurora 7” mission. The next day, Carpenter wrote a thank letter to the Wakmann Watch Comp. stating the practical changes he requested were well-executed making it an ideal timepiece for spaceflight.
Unfortunately, after the 5 hours long mission, following splash-down as Carpenter had to deploy his life raft and during helicopter pick up, the chronograph was water damaged. The last time we saw it was the moment Carpenter put it into one of his gloves onboard the HSS-2 Sea King recovery helicopter on his way to USS Intrepid.
That space-flown Breitling Navitimer 806-24h, the very first watch worn by an astronaut in space, nowadays sits in the Breitling archives together with a Breitling Navitimer 809-24h owned by John Glenn. The story goes that in 1963, Willy Breitling gifted each of the “Mercury 7” astronauts a 24 hours dial/movement Breitling Navitimer chronograph but thus far only Glenn’s surfaced on an estate sale in March 2018.
(Photo: MoonwatchUniverse)
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Breitling Navitimer centenary ... celebrating 100 years Scott Carpenter!
Platinum Breitling Navitimer chronograph with a stunning blue dial referring to Earth's atmosphere examined & photographed by "Mercury 7" astronaut Scott Carpenter during "Aurora 7" wearing his bespoke Breitling Navitimer 806-24h, becoming the first astronaut to wear a wrist watch in space...
1962, May 24 #Breitling #NASA
(Photos: MoonwatchUniverse)
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It was great to meet Gregory Breitling, his wife and the Zurich Breitling team...
Mr Breitling told the story how his father showed the very first wrist watch flown-in-space during a summer diner at their home in Geneva. Willy Breitling and his family made the best possible decision, in 1962, to keep the space-flown bespoke 24 hours dial Navitimer untouched, unaltered and never to restore it ... It has the most amazing damage "patina" and the story goes Carpenter's chronograph stopped with all hands frozen at 21:20 when he was on his way from the recovery carrier USS Intrepid to Grand Turk Island where he arrived 1962, May 24 at 23:00 local time.
(Photo: Moonwatchuniverse)
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Updated the title to include " Platinum "
Yes the one man Mercury spacecraft was a very small capsule ( 50 cubic feet cockpit compared to 225 cubic feet for the Apollo)
Ready to give yet another "lecture" about the Breitling first-watch-in-space worn by an astronaut to a really interested public... #Attributes
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just for future reference: Breitling Navitimer flown onboard ISS in July 2025.
Axiom-4: Polish ESA astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski.
(photo: ESA/ISRO/JAXA/NASA)
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