Breitling Navitimer Jupiter Pilot Ref. A59028, ca. 1995

Identity

Breitling Navitimer Jupiter Pilot, Ref. A59028, ca. 1995. Quartz chronograph movement with alarm, Breitling calibre 59, three registers and date window. Steel case, 42 mm diameter, rounded lugs, screwed caseback with six screws engraved Jupiter Pilot, Acier Inox, Quartz and the reference A59028. Bidirectional rotating bezel carrying the circular slide rule. White dial with three black registers at 9, 3 and 6, date window at 4, Alarme marking below the nine, applied baton indexes and luminous hands, red central alarm hand. Mineral crystal. Leather strap with original monogrammed Breitling pin buckle.

Horological context

Founded in 1884 at Saint-Imier by Léon Breitling, the maison devoted itself from the outset to short-time counters, and in 1934 signed the two-pusher chronograph that became universal. The Navitimer was developed in 1952 and appeared in 1954. Its rotating bezel carries a circular slide rule inherited from the E6B flight computer of the 1930s: it solves distance, flight time, speed and fuel consumption. The first examples were reserved for members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, who bought them directly for eighty-seven dollars fifty. The Ref. 806 appeared in 1956, driven by the manual-winding Venus 178 calibre and produced until the early 1970s; in 1964 the Twin Jet logo replaced the AOPA wings and the notched bezel definitively succeeded the beaded one. In the early 1980s the Navitimer moved to quartz under the Jupiter name, delivered notably to several Middle Eastern air forces. The Jupiter Pilot succeeded it in 1988: the same case and the same rotating bezel, but a quartz chronograph with three registers and a date window, produced until 1994. The line remains in the catalogue.

Character

The dial is a panda: white ground, black registers. The Alarme marking below the nine dates it on its own — Breitling only carried it on the Jupiter Pilot dial from late 1994. The word is in French, as are the caseback engravings, Acier Inox and Étanche 100 M: this example was delivered to the French market. The luminous fill on the indexes has turned cream and stands out clearly against the white dial, where the red alarm hand is the only other accent.

Serviced. Patina and normal wear. Delivered with its original warranty certificate, the brand box and the Contre-Temps 24-month warranty certificate.