This one made a brief appearance in a recent edition of This Week In The Shop, and it’s been on my mind ever since. With its rose gold case and vintage-inspired color palette dominated by cream and brown tones, this iteration of Breitling’s flagship aviation watch is also its most romantic.
As Breitling’s self-proclaimed original “wrist instrument,” the Navitimer was originally introduced in the early 1950s and made specifically to serve the needs of pilots onboard their aircraft. The Rattrapante is a more modern take on this line, maintaining the split-seconds chronograph functionality but bringing the model family up to speed with an entirely in-house manufactured movement, the B03. While this limited edition is an immediate charmer with its neo-vintage design ethos interspersed with touches of rose gold, it isn’t for the faint of heart. The 45mm case with a 15.5mm profile is one of Breitling’s typical intimidation tactics, but its overall good looks, heritage appeal, and tool watch functionality will no doubt lead it toward its intended audience https://www.highluxurystore.ru/.
Given that we’re already on the subject of aviation-inspired timepieces, I thought I might as well shift to a similar pick with a bit more approachable dimensions. Released at LVMH Watch Week circa 2023, this model is a part of Zenith’s efforts to revitalize its Pilot model family.
Aside from the funky corrugated dial and the oversized date window of its namesake, it will come as no surprise that the multi-colored minutes totalizer subdial endeared itself to me at first glance. Other than adding a nice pop of color to a rather austere dial, this detail is a reference to the El Primero Rainbow Flyback released in 1997. As its name suggests, this watch is complete with flyback functionality, allowing you to easily reset the chronograph functions with the press of a button https://www.highluxurystore.ru/.