Vintage 1946 Breitling 769 Chronomat Chronograph Venus 175 Certified Watch

Having a love for complications and complicated watches, makes me love Chronograph watches. At first two register chronograph for simplicity of the dial and providing chronograph functionality for the most. Then the three-register chronograph for the complication of movement and the history of the movements, like of the iconic Omega Ref. 321, Ref. 861 (used in famous moon landing), Zenith El Primero, Venus mostly used in Breitlings, Landeron, and one of the most well-known movement makers Valjoux. With their famous Valjoux 72 put in the vintage Rolex Pre Daytona’s and of course the big dog Patek Philippe reference 2499 using Valjoux 88 my favorite which sold in auction for $3.30 Million in 2018.  I also love the Heuer Caliber 11 first micro automatic chronograph movement with date.

A Chronograph is simply a watch that combines the function of a stopwatch with a timekeeping display watch, by utilizing an independent sweep second hand. Chronographs often have complications on the face of the watch which can be used to record different time measurements, moon cycles, heart rate and more. Chronographs have usually have a separate buttons to stop, start, and reset (unless it is an monopusher) the stopwatch complication, with the start button typically at the two and four o’clock position.

The name Chronograph is derived from the Greek words ‘Chronos’ – the personification of time – and ‘graph’, meaning to write. The first modern Chronograph was created in 1816 by French watchmaker, Louis Moinet. Invented solely for use in union with astrological equipment, Moinet’s Chronograph could measure time accurate to 1/60th of a second – an unrivaled degree of precision at the time of its creation.

"poor man's" Heu-ers represent an interesting facet of Heu-er's history and also provide a sensible way for individuals to collect these chronographs on a more reasonable budget. The term "Poor Man's Heu-er" only to refer to chronographs manufactured by Heu-er for other brands one of which is Zodiac & Clebar, which is one of my favorite brands. Please note on ebay there are few brands that are not made by Heu-er and still refer to as Poor man which is not true.

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 has remained 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 watch is also an ancestor of the Navitimer, which would extend the same principles to the world of aviation a decade later.

This Chronomat is extremely legible, and highly useful if you know how to operate a slide rule. The dauphin handset is sharp, and easy to spot over the silver dial, which exhibits the characteristic design of the 1950s, with the applied logo and Genève line. Note an aging mark on the right sub-register and lose of lum on miniatures hand; otherwise its condition is spectacular for a 70-year old watch. The stainless steel case also shows some superficial scratches on the case bands, but its thin lugs have been well preserved. 

Breitling patented in 1940 for the first time its Smart Watch chronograph. The Breitling 769 Chronomat was designed as a chronograph for mathematicians, with a rotating logarithmic slide rule. A tool for Mathematicians and Engineers that allowed complex calculations with the turn of your fingers.A Breitling 769 Chronomat remains near the top of virtually every vintage watch collectors wish list. Jerry Seinfeld, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Miles Davis all wear (or wore) a vintage Breitling. The Breitling chosen as the official timepiece of AOPA, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Something which Breitling has traded on ever since.