Helming history into the present

Helming history into the present

When Georges Kern became the CEO of Breitling last summer, he did so in full knowledge of the brand's matchless traditions

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
Helming history into the present
Vintage Navitimers and the Cosmonaute. Breitling

In the summer of 2017, when he'd become the chief executive of Breitling, Georges Kern learned about the long-established watchmaker from websites, books, museums and conversations with collectors.

Georges Kern.

"The first thing you do before taking the helm is go into its history. From the research and digging, what I discovered is quite remarkable, as Breitling has an amazing heritage, particularly for chronographs," said Kern, who assumed his new role in July.

Right from the beginning, in 1884, Leon Breitling specialised in making chronographs and timers used for measurement in sports, science and industry at his workshop in Saint-Imier in Switzerland's Bernese Jura.

His son Gaston introduced one of the first wrist chronographs with a separate pushpiece in 1915, and his grandson Willy took that to the next level by filing a patent for the world's first two-pusher chronograph in 1934.

In the 1930s, Breitling also took to the sky, making onboard chronographs for aircraft cockpits and its Huit Aviation Department became a major supplier of timekeeping instruments and pilot watches for the aviation industry.

In 1940, the Swiss brand patented the first wrist chronograph with a circular slide rule, named Chronomat. Other iconic models include Navitimer, designed for aviation professionals, in 1954, and SuperOcean, for professional divers, in 1957.

"Most people know of Breitling's pilot watches, but what they may not know is that the first wrist chronograph to travel in space was a Breitling Navitimer with a 24-hour scale worn by Scott Carpenter on his orbital flight in the Aurora 7 capsule, in May 1962," said Kern. "History gives reassurance to customers, and I want to share Breitling's unknown stories, and that the brand is more than a producer of pilot's watches."

Today, the watch collections include Navitimer, Superocean and Transocean, associated with air, sea and land, respectively, not to mention the universal Chronomat.

Through social media, the CEO also discovered a passionate collector, Fred Mandelbaum, who treasures vintage pieces from each watch family.

"He's one of the world's biggest collectors of Breitling watches but funnily enough, he had never been in contact with Breitling," Kern said of Mandelbaum, who's now the brand's official history expert.

The Vienna-based Mandelbaum owns hundreds of Breitling timepieces, of which 60 vintage models were displayed in a roadshow that premiered in Shanghai and went to cities such as Zurich and New York.

Fred Mandelbaum.

"I'm a chronograph collector, so what else but Breitling? They were the ones who invented relevant technology, defined how the chronograph looks and functions till today, and of course Breitling watches are the core of my collection," Mandelbaum said.

The watch connoisseur found it difficult to choose the 60 pieces for the exhibition, which includes the Breitling Eight Ref 768 from 1940, the Chronomat from 1941, vintage Navitimers, and the Cosmonaute designed for Scott Carpenter.

"While it seems a lot, it doesn't do justice to Breitling's history and heritage," Mandelbaum said.

Boasting a rich heritage, the exhibition accompanied the debut of the Navitimer 8 collection, opening a new chapter of what the new CEO calls the brand's "legendary future".

One of the onboard clocks made by the Huit Aviation Department. Breitling

Breitling Reference 768. Breitling

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