1940s Breitling Chronomat Reference 769

Why This Watch Matters The silvered dial of this Chronomat underlines how revolutionary this watch was at its launch in the early 1940s. Even if the slide rule proves less crucial in modern times, this chronograph remains visually remarkable and highly wearable. The Full Story The dial of the Chronomat tells a lot about its brilliant history. The integrated sliding rule you see here was patented (patent no. 217012, as seen on the dial) in 1942. This innovation not only performed as a tachometer and pulsometer, but also allowed the wearer to compute elementary operations such as multiplication and division. The Chronomat was obviously a very meaningful watch for Breitling, but its historical significance extends far beyond the context of the brand; it can be considered the smartwatch of its time. This example features a beautiful two-tone dial and is in remarkably nice condition with an unpolished case. A touch of red adds a nice accent to the dial. This watch is also an ancestor of the