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The Avenger Chronograph has gone from being offered in 43, 45, and 48mm cases to a uniform 44mm across the board. Measuring 44mm wide and 15.2mm thick with a 53mm lug-to-lug height (300m of water resistance), the chronograph is now outfitted with the Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01 movement replacing the old Valjoux 7750. This COSC-certified in-house movement operates at 28,800 vph with a 70-hour power reserve and boasts a column-wheel and vertical clutch. The Caliber 01 allows for the new iteration to have chronograph sub-dials at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock rather than 6, 9, and 12 o’clock which most people prefer. The date window is removed altogether and the vintage-style B Breitling logo replaces the winged logo that seems to have phased out by all but the Professional line. 

The core Avenger Chronograph models come in a steel case in either black, blue, green, and sand-colored dials on a matching strap or steel bracelet. I’m glad to see Breitling also chose to update the always-cool Night Mission version which is done in a black ceramic case with either black carbon or yellow dial.

The Avenger Automatic GMT 44 also shrinks the case down a bit down from the previous 45mm iteration. Measuring 44m wide and 12mm thick with a 53mm lug-to-lug height (300 m of water resistance), the GMT largely retains the previous aesthetic albeit with the B logo rather than the wings. Still powered by the COSC-certified Breitling Caliber 32 (essentially an ETA 2893), it operates at 28,800 vph with a 42-hour power reserve. 

Finally, there is the new base Avenger Automatic 42. Previously offered in 43 or 45mm versions it is now only available in 42mm which is quite a universal fit for this type of sport watch. Done in steel, the Avenger Automatic 42 measures 42mm wide and 12.15mm thick with a 51.21mm lug-to-lug height (also with 300 m of water resistance). It is still outfitted with the COSC-certified Breitling Caliber 17 (ETA 2824) that operates at 28,800 vph with a 38-hour power reserve. Again, the dial is not changed much with the exception of the Breitling logo. It is offered in black, blue, and green dial options with matching straps or steel bracelet.

Breitling clearly knows how to read the room and the new Avenger collection reflects consumers’ desire for more wearable, smaller cases that don’t push it past the 44mm mark. They also are clearly trying to move the collection upmarket with price increases across the board. The updates to the chronograph are the most substantial which is reflected in the significant price increase to $8,000 on strap and $8,250 on bracelet. The Night Mission with yellow dial is priced at $9,300 while the carbon dial version is $9,500. The Avenger Automatic GMT is priced at $5,250 on strap and $5,500 on bracelet while the Avenger Automatic 42 is $4,600 on strap and $4,850 on bracelet.

To learn more, visit Breitling, here. 

1. ORIS BIG CROWN PROPILOT DATE ($1,550)

Oris Big Crown ProPilot Date

This pilots’ watch from Oris achieves optimal legibility thanks to its matte dial and impossible-to-overlook hands and numerals, which are coated with plenty of luminous material. The big crown can be operated while wearing gloves. The textile strap is steplessly adjustable thanks to a clamping system; the clasp works like the buckle on a seatbelt aboard an aircraft. With a date display on its dial and a time- tested automatic movement inside its case, this watch offers everything you need. Stainless steel, 41 mm, Sellita SW 220, automatic

2. TUDOR PELAGOS LHD ($4,400)

Tudor Pelagos LHD

The letters “LHD” in the name of this divers’ watch stand for “left-hand drive,” like a car with its steering wheel on the left. For a watch, LHD means that the crown is located opposite its usual position. This is convenient for a southpaw who wears the watch on his right wrist. But this watch can also be worn on the left wrist, thus keeping the crown especially well protected against impacts. Tudor’s own auto- matic movement has earned a chronometer certificate and accordingly runs with great precision. The titanium case is extremely resistant to salt- water and can resist water pressure to a depth of 500 meters. A helium-release valve rounds out the professional equipment. Titanium, 42 mm, manufacture Caliber MT5612, automatic; click here for more details.

3. CERTINA DS ACTION DIVER AUTOMATIC ($895)

Certina DS Action Diver Automatic

The DS Action Diver Automatic upholds the ISO standard for divers’ watches. The stainless-steel case is water resistant to 200 meters and has a rotatable bezel with a diving scale. The dial has luminous indexes, along with plenty of luminous material on the hands to assure that the face is always clearly legible, even underwater and in the dark. The time-tested automatic movement and the robust stainless-steel bracelet equip this timepiece for every mission. The price is appealing, too. Stainless steel, 43.2 mm, ETA 2824, automatic.

4. SEIKO PROSPEX AUTOMATIC DIVER’S ($495)

Seiko Prospex Automatic Diver’s

Nicknamed “Turtle” because of the shape of its case, the Prospex Automatic Diver’s was introduced in the 1970s. With an indestructible urethane wristband, a case that resists water pressure to a depth of 200 meters, and a unidirectional rotatable bezel, this watch is optimally equipped to accompany a diver underwater. And despite its low price, it has a self-winding manufacture movement. Seiko makes the crystal from Hardlex, which isn’t quite as scratch-resistant as sapphire, but nonetheless harder than ordinary mineral crystal. Stainless steel, 44 mm, manufacture Caliber 4R36, automatic.

5. TAG HEUER AQUARACER 300M CALIBRE 5 ($2,800)

TAG Heuer Aquaracer 300M Calibre 5

This classic divers’ watch from TAG Heuer has a trendy military look with a black titanium case, sand-colored textile strap, and sand-colored elements and gray luminous material on the dial. The watch has plenty to offer from a functional standpoint, too: Black titanium-carbide coating resists scratches and the screwed crown contributes toward achieving pressure resistance to a depth of 300 meters. The nonreflective treatment on the sapphire crystal helps assure good legibility. Titanium coated with titanium carbide, 43 mm, ETA 2824 or Sellita SW 200, automatic.

6. BREITLING AVENGER BLACKBIRD ($5,105)

Breitling Avenger Blackbird

The militarily inspired Avenger Blackbird has a distinctive 48-mm case made of DLC-coated titanium. The coating helps prevent reflections from light, which could betray its wearer’s location. With a unidirectional rotatable bezel, screwed crown, and water resistance to 300 meters, this timepiece is also suitable for diving. In addition to the case, the dial and textile strap are also black. The luminous material on the hands and indexes is beige in daylight conditions. Breitling’s Caliber 17 is based on an ETA 2824 movement and has earned a chronometer certificate to confirm its accuracy. DLC-coated titanium, 48 mm, ETA 2824, automatic; for more on the Blackbird, click here.)

7. ROLEX EXPLORER II ($8,100)

Rolex Explorer II

This watch, which debuted in 1971, is made for adventurers, researchers and expedition members. Equipped with a second time zone, the continually updated design has become iconic. This model epitomizes a tool watch, although its high price might make its wearer feel annoyed if the case should suffer a scratch or two. The 904L stainless steel that Rolex uses is more resistant to saltwater than ordinary 316L steel. And Rolex’s manufacture caliber is regarded as the sturdiest and lowest-maintenance automatic movement. Rolex’s famous accuracy is assured not only by a chronometer certificate, but also by the brand’s in-house standards, which specify that the watch be so finely adjusted that it neither gains nor loses more than two seconds per day. Stainless steel, 42 mm, manufacture Caliber 3187, automatic.

8. ALPINA ALPINER 4 AUTOMATIC ($1,395)

Alpina Alpiner 4 Automatic

Developed for rugged excursions and mountain climbing, the Alpiner 4 is equipped with a sturdy, 44-mm stainless-steel case and a unidirectional rotatable bezel. A soft-iron inner case protects the automatic movement against magnetic fields. The hands and indexes are coated with white luminous material for good legibility. The screwed crown helps keep the case water resistant to 100 meters. Stainless steel, 44 mm, Sellita SW 200, automatic; more details here.)

This article appears in the July-August 2017 issue of WatchTime Magazine.

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1. Rolex Oyster (1926)

Rolex Oyster, Ref. 679, (1926)

In 1926, watches constructed especially for use by divers appear. They have insulated crowns (the crown is the chief point of entry for water into a watch case). It was also the year that Rolex founder Hans Wilsdorf introduces the Oyster case, which has a screwed crown, screwed caseback, and securely sealing crystal. It is the world’s first truly water-resistant case. One year later, Wilsdorf asks Mercedes Gleitze, a stenographer vying to become the first British woman to swim the English Channel, to wear an Oyster on one of her attempts. She doesn’t make it all the way, but the Rolex she wears around her neck keeps on ticking.

2. Panerai prototypes (1936)

Panerai watch, PAMPR004 (1936)°

The Italian Navy commissions Panerai to develop the first prototypes of a watch that will evolve into the model now known as the “Radiomir.” The watches, water resistant to 30 meters, go into production two years later. The early Radiomir watches have movements and proprietary cases – cushion shaped and 47 mm in diameter − made by Rolex. They are named for the radium that makes their dials legible even in murky water.

3. Blancpain Fifty Fathoms (1953)

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, initial model (1953)

Blancpain presents its first dive watch, the Fifty Fathoms. The watch is water resistant to 100 meters. (Fifty fathoms is equal to 300 feet, or about 91 meters. It is the maximum depth divers can go at the time with the equipment then available.) The watch is the result of a request by Captain Bob Maloubier, who was a secret agent for the British during WWII and then became leader of the French military’s combat diving corps. He asked Blancpain to make a watch with a black dial, large Arabic numerals, clear indications and a rotating bezel. “We wanted in effect that each of the markers be as clear as a guiding star for a shepherd,” Maloubier later recalled.

4. Panerai crown protection (1956)

Panerai crown protection (1956)

Panerai receives a patent for a curved, crown-protecting bridge. Now a hallmark of the company’s Luminor collection, the bridge contains a locking cam lever that pushes the crown against the case so that it fits tightly against the crown’s seals.

5. Breitling’s first dive watch (1957)

Breitling Superocean (1957)

Breitling launches its first dive watch, the Superocean. The watch is water resistant to 200 meters, thanks in part to its monocoque (i.e., one-piece) case and its especially sturdy crystal. The watch’s bezel can be locked in place so that it won’t be knocked off position during a dive. A chronograph version of the watch comes out in 1959.

6. First Rolex Sea-Dweller (1967)

First Rolex Sea-Dweller (1967)

Rolex introduces the Sea-Dweller, a deeper-diving version of the Submariner. Its distinguishing feature is its helium valve, through which helium that has entered the watch case during time spent in a diving chamber can be released. The watch is produced at the request of the French company COMEX (Compagnie Maritime d’Expertise), which specializes in deep-diving equipment and services, chiefly for offshore oil and gas extraction. The watch is water-resistant to 610 meters.

7. First dive computer (1983)

The first dive computer is introduced. In the 1990s, the use of dive computers becomes widespread, and dive watches are relegated chiefly to the role of back-up equipment.

8. ISO invents dive watch standard (1996)

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issues standard 6425, defining the features that a watch must have in order for it to be designated a “dive” watch. They include requirements for water resistance (the watch must be 25 percent more water-resistant than claimed on the dial), legibility under water, resistance to thermal shocks and ability to measure elapsed time. Standard 6425 supplants the standard issued in 1984 and is still in effect today.

9. CX Swiss Military 20,000 Feet (2009)

CX Swiss Military 20,000 Feet (2009)

CX Swiss Military unveils the 20,000 Feet, which breaks the Rolex Deepsea’s record for water resistance (20,000 feet is equal to about 6,100 meters) and enters the Guinness Book of Records. (CX Swiss Military had held the deepness record from 2005 until the Deepsea appeared in 2008.) The watch is a chronograph with a 28.5-mm-thick case and a domed back. According to CX Swiss Military, it is actually water-resistant to 7,500 meters, thus providing the 25-percent margin of safety required to meet ISO 6425.

10. IWC Aquatimer collection (2014)

IWC Aquatimer Deep Two (2014)

IWC updates its Aquatimer collection, fitting it with an outer, bidirectional bezel and an inner, unidirectional one. The most impermeable of the new Aquatimer models, the Aquatimer Automatic 2000, is water resistant to 2,000 meters.

Discover the complete history of the dive watch in our download — available in the WatchTime Shop — which includes even more highlights and firsts, like the Rolex Sea-Dweller 4000 and the first Omega Seamaster!

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Caliber 5719: Japan’s First Wrist Chronograph

Caliber 5719 (below) powered Japan’s first wristwatch chronograph (above).

When Seiko set out to design Japan’s first wristwatch chronograph, its goal was to produce a watch that was as much status symbol as timing device. Suwa Seikosha, i.e., Seiko’s factory in the city of Suwa, developed the watch, which was launched in time for the 1964 Summer Olympics. It was powered by the 12-ligne, hand-wound Caliber 5719. The salient features of this 6.1-mm-thick movement included a single button to trigger the chronograph’s functions, horizontal coupling, and a column wheel to control the start, stop and return-to-zero functions. The balance was paced at 5.5 hertz, or 39,600 vph. With the chronograph mechanism switched on, the movement would run for 38 hours. The case was made of steel and was 38.2 mm in  diameter and 11.2 mm thick.

The watch had no elapsed-time counter, so Seiko equipped it with a rotating bezel calibrated in 1-minute increments. To measure an interval longer than 1 minute, the user started the chronograph and then rotated the bezel until the tip of the large triangle was directly opposite the tip of the minutes hand. After he stopped the chronograph at the end of the interval, he read the elapsed minutes using the rotating bezel and the elapsed seconds  using the regular dial. The problem with this first chronograph series was that the bezel had a tendency to break. Seiko rectified this by replacing the fragile bezel with a sturdy, steel one.

The Caliber 5718 chronograph had a single subdial for elapsed minutes and running seconds. It also featured a point counter at 12 o’clock.

Seiko brought out another version of the movement, the 6.4-mm-thick Caliber 5718, in a limited-edition steel watch that today is extremely rare and highly coveted by collectors. What looks like a date window at 12 o’clock is actually a golf-stroke or point counter, operated by means of the two buttons on the left side of the case. Another special feature is a subdial at 6 o’clock that doubles as an elapsed-minutes counter and a running-seconds display. There is a tachymeter scale along the dial’s periphery.

Caliber 6139: First Automatic Chronograph On The Market

The Seiko 5 Speed-Timer (above) with Caliber 6139 (below) was the first automatic chronograph to hit the market.

It’s well known that Swiss companies were working feverishly in the 1960s to develop a self-winding chronograph, but no one knows whether their Japanese competitors knew about these efforts. Seiko started working on the self-winding Calibers 6139 and 6138 in 1967, even though by then much of the watch industry was focusing its attention on quartz technology. It took the company just two years to develop Caliber 6139. Remarkably small, it had a diameter of 27.4 mm and a height of 6.5 mm. Its mainspring was a ball-borne, center-mounted rotor, which worked in conjunction with Seiko’s innovative Magic Lever (still in use today), a click-winding system that can use the rotor’s kinetic energy regardless of which way the rotor turns. After being fully wound, the watch would run for 36 hours with the chronograph switched on.

To improve the rate performance, the caliber’s developers gave the balance a frequency of 3 Hz (21,600 vph), instead of the then-standard 2.5 Hz (18,000 vph). Other technical specifications included a column wheel to control the chronograph’s functions, a counter for 30 elapsed minutes at the “6,” and vertical coupling. This last feature was quite innovative at the time: its debut here significantly predated its premiere in Swiss watches. In addition to a date display, Seiko also equipped this model with a bilingual (Japanese and English) indicator for the day of the week.

Caliber 6138 (above) was used in two self-winding chronographs Seiko launched in 1970 (below), with small seconds and elapsed-hour counters.

The new movement, housed in a watch called the 5 Speed-Timer, appeared in stores in mid-May of 1969. Seiko therefore won the race to bring the first automatic chronograph to market. (Two competitors, Zenith and a consortium of other Swiss companies − Breitling, Heuer, Hamilton-Buren and Dubois Dépraz – brought automatic chronographs to market later in the year.) Caliber 6138, which was 7.9-mm thick, debuted in 1970. It differed from Caliber 6139 because it had a running seconds hand and a counter for 12 elapsed hours. Seiko also incorporated Caliber 6138 into a so-called “bullhead” model, similar to Omega’s manual-wind bullhead, with pushers at the top of the case instead of on the side.

Incidentally, Seiko can also claim the honor of having sent the first self-winding chronograph into outer space. When U.S. astronaut William Reid Pogue flew aboard the Skylab-4 mission in 1973 to 1974, he wore a watch (nowadays nicknamed the “Pogue Seiko”) powered by Caliber 6139.

Caliber 7017: Slim Automatic Chronograph

A chronograph (above) with slim, self-winding Caliber 7017 (below) debuted in 1970.

In 1970, Daini Seikosha, which that year became Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII), introduced the so-called “70s Series” of mechanical chronograph movements. With a thickness of just 5.9 mm, the 27.4-mm-diameter Caliber 7017 set a world record. The Magic Lever winding system, the column wheel and the vertical coupling all  recalled Caliber 6139, but the 7017 was a genuinely new movement with many special features, including a “creeping” hand to tally the elapsed minutes. Decreasing the overall number of components made the movement more compact and its servicing easier. But to achieve the movement’s record-breaking slimness, the designers had to leave out an elapsed-minutes counter. They retained digital displays for the date and day.

The equally slim Caliber 7018 debuted in 1971: it had a counter for 30 elapsed minutes. Caliber 7015 and Seiko’s top-of-the-line Caliber 7016 followed in 1972. The latter had two concentrically rotating hands in a subdial at 6 o’clock: one for the running seconds and the other to tally up to 30 elapsed minutes.

The successors to Caliber 7017: chronographs with Calibers 7015 (above), 7016, and 7018 (both below)

Seiko discontinued production of mechanical chronograph calibers in 1977. In the early 1980s, it stopped making mechanical watches altogether. The machines used for their production were assigned to the scrap heap, but veteran employees refused to follow orders and did not destroy them. Thanks to these employees, the renaissance of mechanical watches – which had begun in Europe several years before – could commence in Japan in the mid-1990s.

Caliber Series 6S: The Chronograph Reborn

After a hiatus of more than two decades, Seiko returned to making mechanical chronographs with hand-wound Caliber 6S74.

In 1998, Seiko began making mechanical chronographs once again, relying on its veteran engineers and watchmakers, some of whom had retired but agreed to return to work on the project. The 28.4-mm- diameter calibers in Series 6S were initially intended only for the domestic market, for which they were encased in Seiko’s prestigious Credor line. The 5.8-mm-thick, hand-wound Caliber 6S74 from 1998 had a balance paced at 4 Hz (28,800 vph) and a 60-hour power reserve. The watch had no date window but it did have a 30-minute counter, 12-hour counter and power-reserve indicator. Like its forebears, Caliber 6S74 had a column wheel. Unlike them, the connection between the gear train and the chronograph was achieved by means of a rocking pinion, not by vertical coupling.

Seiko chronographs with Calibers 6S77 (above) and 6S78 (below)

In ensuing years, Seiko derived a whole series of other chronograph movements from this base caliber. These included the 7.2-mm-thick Caliber 6S77, which debuted in 1999. It was an automatic equipped with the Magic Lever winding system. It had a date display and a 50-hour power reserve.
Another automatic, Caliber 6S78, also debuted in 1999. Caliber 6S99, the skeletonized version of Caliber 6S74, appeared on the market in 2000. It was joined in 2001 by the self-winding Caliber 6S37, which supports both a date indicator and a power-reserve display. Caliber 6S96, which was based on Caliber 6S77, had a 60-hour power reserve but no date window.

Lastly, in 2005, Seiko launched Caliber 6S28, based on the 6S78. With this movement, Seiko made the same change ETA had made with its Caliber 7750, which morphed into Caliber 7753 when its counter for 30 elapsed minutes migrated from the “12” to the “3.” Caliber 6S28 has a date window between the “4” and the “5.”

A Seiko chronograph with skeletonized Caliber 6S99

Seiko sold Caliber 6S78, which Seiko called “TC 78,” to third parties. Its customers included Junghans, which renamed the movement J890. TAG Heuer also purchased the TC 78, subjected it to major alterations, manufactured a large percentage of its components in its own factory, and rechristened it “Caliber 1887.”

Caliber Series 8R: Seiko’s Chronographs Today

The Ananta (above) contains the self-winding Caliber 8R28 (below).

In 2009, 40 years after the premiere of Caliber 6139, people who visited Seiko’s stand at Baselworld saw a brand-new automatic chronograph called Ananta. It contained Caliber 8R28, which went into serial production in 2008. The newcomer combined traditional Seiko chronograph features such as a column wheel, vertical coupling and Magic Lever winding system with recent innovations including a three-pointed hammer that ensures all the chronograph counters return to zero simultaneously. The 8R28 has a power reserve of more than 45 hours. Seiko makes the balance, balance spring and escapement itself. The movement is 28 mm in diameter and 7.2 mm thick. It has a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vph) and contains 292 parts.

Caliber 8R39, launched in 2011, is 7.6 mm thick. It was designed for dive watches. Caliber 8R48, 7.5 mm thick, followed in 2014 and is used in the Brightz, which is sold only in Japan.

As an alternative to ETA’s Caliber 7753, third parties can opt for Seiko’s Caliber NE88A. Based on Caliber 8R39, it debuted in August 2014 and is 7.63 mm thick.

The Ananta Diver (above) contains Caliber 8R39; the Brightz, (below), Caliber 8R48.

This article was originally posted in September 2017.

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Before getting into the nitty gritty, it’s important to underscore Breitling’s commitment to responsibility and ethics when it comes to use of precious materials. As has been the topic of much discussion recently, Breitling has opted for lab-grown “better diamonds” here as part of their initiative to completely phase out the use of mined diamonds by the end of 2024. Additionally, the two-tone and full-gold pieces are done in “better gold” which means the precious metal is traceable to smaller gold mines that meet the social and environmental standards of the Swiss Better Gold Association.

Let’s start with 36mm collection, all of which have the instantly recognizable Navitimer beaded bezel with circular slide rule. There are six steel iterations that come in either mint green, silver, or anthracite colored dials either on a bracelet or leather strap. The 36mm Navis also come in two-tone or solid-gold variants (also on matching bracelet or strap) with a stunning mother-of-pearl dial with the aforementioned lab-grown diamond hour markers. All of these Navitimer 36 models are outfitted with the COSC-certified Breitling Caliber 17 movement that has a 38-hour power reserve and operates at 4 Hz. 

These 36m wide cases are 11.42mm thick (with 50 m of water resistance) and have a lug-to-lug measurement of 41.7mm. Given today’s more creative and flexible style choices, don’t be surprised to see these ladies watches on the wrists of more than a couple of men (myself included).

The 32mm versions are both smaller and do not include the slide rule which seems prudent for such a small dial size. What they do have, however, are some beautiful powder pink and light-blue mother-of-pearl dials which are a first for the brand. There is also a white mother-of-pearl dial in steel as well as the two-tone gold. Again, these are all available with a matching bracelet or strap.

The smaller Navitimer 32 models are powered by the COSC certified Breitling Caliber 77  thermo-compensated Superquartz movement. Measuring 32mm wide and 8mm thick, these have a water resistance of 50m. 

Prices for the Breitling Navitimer 32 in steel starts at $4,300 on the strap and $4,600 on bracelet, two-tone is $5,600 on strap and $7,900 on bracelet, and $9,400 for solid-gold on strap and $22,000 for solid gold with bracelet. The Navitimer 36 in steel starts at $5,000 on strap and $5,300 on bracelet, two-tone is $7,250 on strap and $9,650 on bracelet, and full-gold is $12,950 on strap and $33,000 on bracelet. 

To learn more, visit Breitling, here.