Late last year, Breitling updated its Avenger pilot’s watch collection, downsizing the cases for modern tastes and adding welcome touches such as beveled lugs and polished “rider tabs” on the bezels. Jettisoning the classic winged Breitling logo, the brand replaced it with the more modern version with a large “B” and switched out the Arabic numerals with simpler baton indices. The result is a sleeker, distinctly more contemporary everyday offering that nevertheless maintains Breitling’s idiosyncratic touches. With a 42mm automatic, a 44mm GMT and a 44mm chronograph, there was truly something for everyone. (Provided everyone enjoys a 40mm+ case, of course.)
A longtime maker of pilot’s watches, Breitling has been associated with aviation for nearly a century. (Indeed, its famed Navitimer model is practically synonymous — along with certain models from I.W.C. — with the very term “pilot’s watch.”) The Avenger platform is a much different animal, however, than that busy midcentury timepiece: Absent is the beaded bezel, computational dial and thin, short sword handset. Bigger, bolder, and more “Breitling” — at least in the company’s modern connotation — the Avenger is a watch that, in its chronograph guise, announces itself with bravado.
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Not only is it possible to find a reliable timepiece in this price range, but you’re actually spoiled for choiceThree new iterations of said Chronograph have just landed, each of them inspired by U.S. naval aviation and boasting tactical touches that make them seem well-suited for night maneuvers: Measuring 44mm, each has a large, black ceramic case measuring 15.2mm thick; a titanium screw-down crown and dual paddle pushers; a cambered, glare-proof sapphire crystal; and a unidirectional, fully hashed timing bezel with Breitling’s well-known “rider tabs.” Power is provided by Breitling’s COSC-certified Manufacture Calibre B-01 automatic chronograph movement with bi-directional winding, 70 hours of power reserve and column wheel activation with vertical clutch.
Boasting a triple-register chronograph with 30-minute and 12-hour counters, each dial is slightly different: While one reference, the Night Mission U.S. Naval Academy, features a blue background with yellow accents, black chronograph totalizers and the U.S. Naval Academy logo within the running seconds display, the Night Mission U.S.N. Bloodhounds has an anthracite grey background with yellow accents and the logo of the VX-30 Bloodhounds — a U.S. Navy test squadron flying the E-2D Hawkeye, Lockheed P-3 Orion, Gulfstream NC-20G and Lockheed C-130 Hercules — in its running seconds display. The third reference, in black with red accents, swaps out the VX-30 Bloodhounds livery and logo with that of the VX-31 Dust Devils, another U.S. naval aviation test squadron flying out of China Lake, CA.
Paired to heavy-duty blue or black leather straps with contrasting stitching and titanium pin buckles, each Night Mission chronograph uses a sapphire caseback, 300m of water resistance, and chronometer accuracy. The combination of a timing bezel with a triple-register chronograph is always a welcome touch, providing as it does the utility of multiple timing systems within a single watch. The chronometer-certified B-01 movement, meanwhile, is an in-house caliber; how much you value each of these features will determine your stance on the Night Mission’s $10,200 price tag. But as the larger watch world begins downsizing cases and catering to the more average-wristed among us, having offerings out there for those who still prefer the 1990s/early 2000s size and aesthetic is actually a welcome development. (Though I wouldn’t complain about a 38mm Night Mission Chronograph, should anyone at Breitling happen to be reading!)
Breitling Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 Night Mission
Diameter: 44mm
Movement: Breitling Manufacture Calibre B-01 automatic
Water Resistance: 300m
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