The life of the Breitling Watches Chronomat began in 1940 with the application for a Swiss government patent for an innovative circular slide rule to be used in conjunction with a wrist chronograph. The first Chronomats were then manufactured and sold in 1941/42. Later, in the 1950's, the outstanding success of the Chronomat inspired the birth of the Navitimer, a chronograph with its slide rule modelled after the E6B circular slide rule used by pilots.
The Chronomat went on to be produced in many forms including a version of the first-ever automatic chronograph watch in the late 1960's and even a quartz non-chronograph during the 1970's.
In 1978 all watch production ceased at Breitling watches. The company was put up for sale and bought by Mr Ernest Schneider in 1979. From 1980 new Breitling models began to be released but it was not until 1984 that the Chronomat reappeared - as a completely different watch, now designed for pilots. This was the forerunner of all modern Chronomats up to the present day.
The Chronomat has remained one of Breitling's most successful watches for over sixty years and has in recent years proved to be Breitling's biggest seller.
