In 2024, Breitling celebrates 140 years since its founding. But there are other important dates in the history of the brand. For example, the 25th anniversary of the Breitling Orbiter 3 project, which became the first non-stop flight around the world in a hot air balloon. To celebrate Breitling's historic mission and sponsorship, the company has released a special Aerospace model with a hybrid analog-digital display.
Despite the fact that the overall design of the new product has not changed, this model is still fundamentally different from the previous generation of Aerospace models. Although the case is still made of titanium, measuring 43mm in diameter and 22mm between the lugs, the watch is slightly larger. The case thickness is 12,95 mm, and the distance from lug to lug is 52,25 mm.
Like the previous Aerospace Evo watch series, the upper part of the case is equipped with a sapphire crystal, the bezel rotates in both directions, and the water resistance is 100 meters, which allows this watch not to be afraid of accidental contact with water. What the previous generation did not have were small cutouts on the sides of the case, which reduce the weight of the watch and give it a distinctly modern appearance.
But these are all minor things. The main update to the watch can be seen on the right side of the case. While in previous Aerospace models all operations were performed using the crown, the new Aerospace B70 Orbiter has an additional pair of stylish oval pushers.
In addition, instead of a blank case back, which is equipped with all Breitling quartz watches, the case back of the new product has a sapphire window. Through it you can see a real piece of the Orbiter 3 balloon, on which the first trip around the world was made a quarter of a century ago.
The model's dial is orange with a gradient effect. In addition to the pair of familiar hands on the dial, there are 2 displays that display all the additional functions of the watch. The orange color of the dial refers to the dial of the Breitling Emergency watch, which was on the wrist of one of the members of the Bertrand Piccard expedition.
Although nothing has changed globally in the design of the dial, the mechanism underneath is new. This is a Breitling B70 quartz caliber with thermal compensation mechanism, which is a COSC certified chronometer and is ten times more accurate than standard wrist quartz. Functions supported by the movement include a chronograph with 1/100th of a second accuracy, a countdown timer, a second time zone, two alarms, a lap timer and a perpetual calendar.
Battery life is modest - only 2 years. At the same time, the mechanism has a battery indicator that will notify the owner at the right time about the low charge level. Since the Aerospace is a digital chronograph, it can track events lasting up to 99 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds.
The watch is available on a rubber strap or a three-link titanium bracelet with a matte finish. The estimated cost of the model is $4 (rubber) and $700 (bracelet). There is no indication of a limited edition of the series in the Breitling press release.
