Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute A22322 automatic watch 41.5 mm Full Set 2010

The pitch

By the early 1960s, Breitling's Navitimer had become the undisputed pilot's watch. But in the space race era, another competition was quietly taking place. It pitted watchmakers against each other, vying to be the first on the wrists of astronauts. On May 24, 1962, Breitling once again showed its talents and officially became the first Swiss chronograph to be worn on the wrist in space, when Scott Carpenter took off on the Mercury-Atlas 7 rocket wearing the Navitimer Cosmonaute. The watch was a personal request from the astronaut, a variant of the iconic Navitimer with the addition of a 24-hour dial to distinguish day from night in the darkness of space. The Mercury-Atlas 7 circled the Earth three times before landing on the Atlantic Ocean, making aeronautics - and watchmaking - history.

A computer with a flyback complication

This Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute is a formidable calculation tool! Thanks to its internal circular slide rule, you will be able to prepare all the operations related to flights without any other tool: calculation of consumption rates, calculation of the time of ascent, conversion of Miles/Nautical Miles/Kilometers, realization of multiplications, etc. Its 24-hour time reading is also very practical and intuitive. But its real interest lies in its Flyback complication. Indeed, in the early 1980s, we witnessed the return of the Breitling Cosmonaute with reference 81600 equipped with a Lemania chronograph caliber. But in the early 2000s, we see the end of the use of Lémania movements, because the company was taken over by the Swatch group. The reference then changes for the version A22322, now animated by the caliber Breitling B22 Flyback. This modular movement is based on ETA 2892A2 with a Dubois Depraz chronograph module. It is then the first time that a Cosmonaute is found with a Flyback complication, which will make thereafter its disappearance, returning then to a more "classic" part, whose aura will quickly fade.

The package

This 2010 Cosmonaute Flyback is in perfect condition and works perfectly. Icing on the cake, it will be delivered to you Full Set with case, warranty, COSC certificate, warranty manual and even the slide rule! The case has been brightened up and the Breitling leather strap is new. As an official Breitling dealer, Lepage certifies the authenticity of this watch which was serviced in 2020. As such, it benefits from the Lepage Vintage 1 year warranty.