Up for sale from my personal collection is this Grail-level circa 1973 Breitling ref. 8806 Navitimer Chrono-Matic with absolutely Mint Tritium dial and in fantastic Excellent+ condition overall. This highly uncommon version of Breitling’s classic pilot’s watch features an all stainless steel case with beautiful glossy “Big Eyes” Twin Jet dial, gorgeously patinaed Tritium luminous markers, red date and iconic left-hand crown. This is one of the rarest Navitimer references and hails from the days when Breitling bet the farm on their innovative automatic modular chronograph movement family pioneered in partnership with Heuer and Hamilton. So, instead of the usual Venus 178 found in nearly all other earlier Navitimers, this scarce 8806 preserves the iconic oversized Navitimer proportions, snap back case and chunky slide rule bezel, but incorporates an automatic Caliber 12 under the hood, with minute and hour counters but no running seconds hand and a semi-quickset date at “6” in red. Coming so close as it did to the end of the Breitling company’s first incarnation as possibly the highest profile casualty of the quartz revolution, the reference 8806 Navitimer was made in extremely limited numbers and finding one in this kind of spectacular condition is a rare thing indeed.

This beautiful Navi came to me in near NOS condition and, having worn it frequently but carefully, the unpolished 41mm steel case is still easily in Excellent+ condition, with razor sharp chamfers and lovely satined sides. This is a fantastically pure vintage tool watch with great presence and panache, as well as a model you’re not likely to see on someone else’s wrist. To put the cherry on top of the sundae, this great Breitling retains its original gloss black dial in absolutely Minty condition. Featuring two silver-white engine turned sub-registers, gorgeous puffy tan tritium luminous “12” & bar markers and intricately printed slide rule calibrations in silver “gilt”, this fantastic dial really shows off Breitling’s unmatched prowess at making highly functional, complexly printed dials back in the day.

This asking price for this genuinely rare and stunning vintage Breitling 8806 Chronomatic Navitimer is $7,875 USD including fully insured domestic US shipping. International shipping will be +$100 due to increased shipping fees. Bank Wire/direct transfer greatly preferred on this watch. Other forms of payment upon application. Payment must be made in US DOLLARS. Watch will ship upon full clearance of the funds, as well as any necessary bank vetting. Feel free to contact me via DM or at [email protected] or [email protected].

CASE & BACK: Classic oversized aviator's chronograph measures approximately 41mm wide not including crown x 48mm long lug-to-lug and about 12mm thick to the top of the crystal. The heavy steel snap back case remains unpolished and the original lug chamfers are sharp and prominent. The factory original attractively brushed finish of the case sides is likewise unmolested. The mid-case is very clean, with only a few light scratches/swirlies and no harsh nicks or dings — easily Near Mint to Excellent+ unpolished vintage condition for an over 40-year-old watch. The outer part of the steel snap-on back has some small scratches but the center section retains its original contrast vertically brushed finish with all the original Breitling reference & serial numbers still super crisp and legible — Excellent cosmetic condition. The 1.425 million serial number dates to approximately 1973 according to the best available information. The inner caseback has some minor corrosion to the lip, as does the inner case ring outside of where the gasket is seated, which is quite common with these older snap back cases, and the correct seated gasket is present. Most of the nomenclature is on the outside of the caseback at this juncture of Breitling history, although the factory name is present inside the back

BEZEL: The heavy steel rotating bezel with big, chunky serrations is Near Mint with only light marks and sharp, well-articulated knurling. The slide rule insert is quite bright white and crisp with no water damage and bright red numerals for “60” and “10". The bezel itself rotates in both directions with firm finger pressure and good resistance, as designed, and stays right where you want it to be lined up when you’re making important calculations.

DIAL & HANDS: Stunning and absolutely Mint gloss black Twin Jet-logo dial with beautifully articulated mathematical scales in shimmering silver reverse print, bright red arrows for important calculator points and two “Big Eye” engine turned sub-registers for the hour & minute counters. There are no real imperfections visible under a loupe. Original puffy tritium luminous "12" and bar hour markers are all intact and show a fantastic caramel patina. Obviously, all the complex slide rule calibrations that circle the dial are all intact. The silver-white inverse panda sub dials are also super crisp and bright and the very attractive red date at “6” is framed in silver. Correct characteristic white luminous-filled sword and dagger hour & minute hands and spear-tipped chrono sweep seconds are likewise Mint with no real signs of age, and the correct and distinctive non-matching small black counter hands are also Mint. As is typical of this era of Navitimer, the luminous fill in the hands is lighter than the dial and more of an off-white. Both dial & hands luminous glow equally briefly & intensely under UV light and then fade rapidly at the same rate. Simply put, this is an absolutely gorgeous and complicated vintage dial as only Breitling seemed able to execute and the contrast of the bright silver “gilt” printing and amazing patina on the luminous is pure eye candy.

CROWN & PUSHERS: The signed Breitling steel crown is found on the left, as in all Chronomatics, and is very clean, undamaged and in Near Mint original condition. It sits tightly to the case, winds smoothly and pulls out to the time-setting position, as it should. Both chrono pushers on the rights side of the case are likewise Near Mint and work perfectly, with crisp stop-start from the top one and clean reset with the bottom.

CRYSTAL: Large medium-dome acrylic crystal is Excellent with only some very minor superficial scuffs/scratches.

MOVEMENT: Under the hood is Breitling’s Caliber 12 autowind chronograph movement with 17 jewels, shock protection and all the correct Breitling nomenclature of the era on the bridges and beneath the balance. This pioneering modular chronograph has a bright and handsome golden brass finish to most of its parts, which is correct for the later production Caliber 12. I had this watch overhauled some years back and it still has a decent power reserve, keeps good time and the semi-quickset date change works as designed (by moving the hands back and forth between around 9pm and midnight). All chrono functions are also working properly, of course, and returning to zero.

STRAP: This cool Navitimer comes on a rugged, thick, pilot-style tan leather strap with white stitching and generic brushed steel buckle. It has been worn a bit and is delightfully distressed, IMO, and also features quick release spring bars. This big watch has a lug width of 22mm.

As a matter of policy, I make NO guarantees for the water resistance of this watch in any way, shape or form due to its age and the dodgy water resistance of most vintage chronos in general. The 8806 was also specially advertised as “Not Water Resistant” like all its other non-screw back predecessors.

This amazing Vintage Breitling Navitimer Chronomatic is offered with a 3-day inspection period from the date of receipt and may be returned for a full refund less any shipping costs incurred by the buyer. This refund is unconditional and once I get the watch back in exactly the same condition as it was sent to you, your money will be refunded. Of course, once the 3 days are over the sale will be considered FINAL.

Thanks for looking,
T.
[email protected]
[email protected]