Breit Prospects

Breitling CEO Georges Kern dispenses insights on his brand’s current crop of novelties, including the long-awaited relaunch of the iconic Chronomat

- Alvin Wong

Even though, like so many brands in 2020, Breitling had to rely on an online webcast to showcase its latest timepieces, the brand has lost none of it pizzazz. A sleekly produced ‘Global Summit’ webcast in April with CEO Georges Kern introducing the novelties, followed by endless rounds of video press conferences and interviews helmed by the man himself helped drum up excitement. But still, the products had to speak for themselves and, credit to Breitling, the brand didn’t seem like it was holding back.

Prior to the Global Summit, Breitling had already launched the Top Time-limited edition, a 1960s-inspired model available as an online exclusive, as well as the AVI Ref. 765 1953 Re-Edition, a like-for-like remake of the ‘CoPilot’ chronograph. For the online showcase, Breitling went much further. The latest product line-up includes the Navitimer Automatic 35, a 35mm version of the iconic collection for women; the SuperOcean Heritage ’57 capsule collection, a funky, vintage-y line that boasts a model with rainbow-coloured indexes; and the undisputed star of the show, the revamped Chronomat collection.

Decidedly more upscale, the new Chronomat draws inspiration from its 1984-era model as a resolutely mechanical chronograph collection against the proliferation of quartz watches. While they flaunt signature design elements like rotating bezels with inter-changeable rider tabs (at three and nine o’clock), and integrated Rouleaux bracelets with butterfly clasps, the watches boast new features, key of which is a new engine in the in-house Calibre 01 automatic chronograph movement. In this interview with Kern, he explains the rationale behind the new Chronomat launch, as well as his thoughts on other 2020 novelties.