Introducing: The Breitling Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute Scott Carpenter Centenary

What We Know

In the realm of the hotly contested horological space race, Breitling has some serious bona fides. The Grenchen, Switzerland-based manufacturer lays claim to producing the first Swiss wristwatch worn in space. Way back in 1962, U.S. astronaut Scott Carpenter wore a special-order Navitimer with a 24-hour dial and a wider bezel over his spacesuit when he orbited the Earth three times aboard NASA’s Mercury-Atlas 7 mission. It was this custom watch that inspired the Cosmonaute commercial model, and today the brand is launching a special premium limited edition, housed in precious metal platinum, to celebrate the product line and a century since Carpenter’s birth in 1925.

The big-ticket timepiece stays true to the Cosmonaute’s original task and purpose with the signature 24-hour dial that Carpenter requested to better track day and night as he orbited across a rapidly rising and setting sunscape. It has the requisite Navitimer slide rule for calculations without the aid of electronic instruments and, of course, a chronograph for timing. 

This limited edition features a dark blue dial offset by white for the slide rule, Arabic numerals, and subdials. The chronograph timing hand and several accented numbers are a bright red. It’s not the first time Breitling has used a blue dial for the Cosmonaute, but the shade is rarer than the traditional black fronting the original.

What really sets this high-end iteration apart is the platinum case. Limited to just 50 pieces, the precious metal housing adds heft and cost to the proven case shape. The Carpenter Centenary is priced at $42,000 and comes on a dark blue alligator strap that features an 18-karat white gold buckle. 

On the underside is a platinum screw-in exhibition caseback engraved to mark Breitling’s standing as the first Swiss wristwatch in space, the number of limited pieces for the model, and the Carpenter centenary, 1925 to 2025. Through the sapphire glass, beats the mechanical, hand-wound B02 chronograph movement. On this version, the bridges are engraved with annotations noting Carpenter and the mission, including the name of his capsule, the “Aurora 7,” the number of earth orbits achieved on the flight, and NASA’s first astronaut group, the “Mercury 7.”  These same movement engravings were used on a limited edition of the Navitimer Cosmonaute in steel with a black dial launched by Breitling in 2022 to mark 60 years since the mission. That watch was priced at $14,900.

What We Think

Considering its platinum case, engraved movement, and hefty price tag, this is undoubtedly the ultra haute-luxury version of Breitling’s famous Cosmonaute timer. It’s an extravagant reworking of an important piece of horological history, when watches were tools and very much instruments used by their owners. Carpenter specifically asked Breitling to make him a watch customized for the challenges of his demanding mission that gave him access to critical data in analog form at a time when space exploration was still in its infancy. 

We know that Carpenter’s mission didn’t go exactly as planned. While the watch served him perfectly during the launch and orbiting portions of the flight, his re-entry and splashdown veered 250 nautical miles off course, and Carpenter had to endure some three hours in the Atlantic in a life raft before he was located.

Flooded with seawater, the Cosmonaute prototype stopped running shortly after Carpenter was rescued. Breitling gave Carpenter and other NASA astronauts new versions of the watch that they and others continued to wear while on duty. Meanwhile, the original damaged prototype, the first Swiss wristwatch worn in space, was kept secure by the company head, Willy Breitling (and his family) for decades.  With its highly marred dial, the watch resurfaced for the first time in 2022 as documented in this in-depth piece by Jeff Stein on Carenter and the Cosmonaute. As Stein rightly points out, the watch was designed to function not at sea but in space, and it did admirably. 

For those with whom the story of the first Swiss wristwatch in space and the astronaut who helped create and wear it resonates deeply, the Carpenter Centenary might be the ultimate way to mark it. Rather than a flashy yellow gold case or exotic dial, it’s the weighty (and costly) assurance of platinum and a functional, instrumental face ensconcing a watch that’s mission-tested to get the job done. Call it highly capable luxury.

The Basics

Brand: Breitling
Model: Cosmonaute
Reference Number: LB0240211C1P1
Diameter: 41mm
Thickness: 13mm
Case Material: Platinum
Dial Color: Blue
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 30 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Blue alligator leather strap with 18K white gold folding buckle

The Movement

Caliber: Breitling Manufacture Caliber B02
Functions: Hours, seconds, date, chronograph
Diameter: 30mm
Thickness: 6.83mm
Power Reserve: Approximately 70 hours
Winding: Mechanical hand-winding
Frequency: 28,800 a/h or 4 hertz
Chronometer Certified: Yes, COSC-certified

Pricing & Availability

Price: $42,000
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: Yes, 50 pieces

For more, click here.

​Hodinkee 

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