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ALL ORIGINAL, Chronograph, NOS BREITLING/ OLLECH & WAJS NAVITIMER COSMONAUTE, CUSTOM DELUXE CALF STRAP
Condition:
New
Band Material:
NOS VINTAGE J&B CHAMPION BRACELET
Movement:
VALJOUX 7736
NEW OLD STOCK BREITLING OLLECH & WAJS (SINN) NAVITIMER COSMONAUTE NEVER USED
I AM PROBABLY THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST SELLER OF VINTAGE BREITLINGS, AND PERHAPS EVEN THE WORLD'S. MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO FIND THEIR WAY TO MY BREITLING AUCTIONS KNOW THAT THEY WANT A BREITLING NAVITIMER. PERHAPS THEY ALREADY HAVE ONE, AND WANT ANOTHER BREITLING.
AS A CONSEQUENCE, I USED TO LET MY PICTURES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES, AND JUST DESCRIBE THE GREAT BANDS THAT I PUT ON MY WATCHES.
HOWEVER, I AM NOW ATTRACTING A LARGE NUMBER OF NEW BREITLING AFICIONADOS.
USUALLY I BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING, AND YOU CAN READ THE EARLIER HISTORY IN MOST OF MY NAVITIMER AUCTIONS, BUT TODAY I BEGIN AT THE END.
TAKE A CAREFUL LOOK AT THE BREITLING NAVITIMER ADVERTISEMENT I PLUCKED FROM THE AOPA PILOT MAGAZINE. IT IS FROM 1974. SOMETIME IN 1972 TO 1973, BREITLING CEASED PRODUCTION OF ITS NAVITIMER LINE TO CONCENTRATE ON AUTOMATIC AND QUARTZ WATCHES. IT SOLD ITS REMAINING INVENTORY AND MACHINERY TO A COMPANY CALLED OLLECH & WAJS (NOW SINN). O&W WAS A BREITLING COMPETITOR FOR AVIATION WATCHES THROUGHOUT THE 60s. MANY TIMES O&W WOULD HAVE ADVERTISMENTS IN THE SAME AOPA PILOT MAGAZINE AS BREITLING. IN FACT O&W WAS EASILY THE COMPANY WITH THE MOST ADVERTISEMENTS OF ANY WATCH COMPANY IN THE AOPA PILOT, BUT BREITLING DID HAVE BIGGER ADVERTISEMENTS.
O&W CONTINUED THE PRODUCTION OF NAVITIMERS AND COSMONAUTES FOR THE BALANCE OF THE 70s AND 80s, FIRST USING BREITLING INVENTORY, AND LATER MANUFACTURING THEIR OWN PARTS USING BREITLING'S MACHINERY. THEY GAVE THE WATCHES THE BRAND NAME, "AVIATION" WHICH APPEARS ON THE DIALS.
INTERESTINGLY, O&W MADE SOME WATCHES FROM LEFT OVER OR NEWLY MANUFACTURED BEADED BEZEL CASES, LIKE THIS ONE. THEY ARE RARE AMONGST THE O&W WATCHES.
IN THE LATE 60s AND EARLY 70s, BREITLING BEGAN USING VALJOUX 7736s, LIKE THE ONES IN THESE WATCHES. THE WATCHES WERE DENOMINATED 809-36 OR -E, AND IN THE CASE OF THE 806 NAVITIMER, 806-36 OR -E.
FOR ANOTHER PICTURE OF AN AVIATION COSMONAUTE, LOOKA T THE COSMONAUTE ARTICLE IN WATCHUSEEK AT: http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=4034 YOU WILL NOTE THAT THE COSMONAITE IN THAT ARTICLE DOES NOT HAVE THE COVETED BEADED BEZEL. IN 1942, BREITLING INTRODUCED ITS OTHER MOST FAMOUS WATCH, THE CHRONOMAT. LIKE THE LATER NAVITIMER, IT WAS A SLIDE RULE WATCH. IT WAS , MARKETED BOTH TO PILOTS AND TO ENGINEERS, AND IT PUT BREITLING ON THE MAP AS A MAJOR WATCH COMPANY.
IN THE EARLY 50'S, BREITLING STARTED USING THE VENUS 178 IN ITS REFERENCE 765 WATCHES, AND TURNED THESE INTO ITS AWESOME AVI. THE AVI WAS AN EXPENSIVE, WATER PROOF, LARGE STEEL CHRONOGRAPH, BUT IT HAD NO SLIDE RULE, JUST A ROTATING BEZEL.
SOMETIME IN THE LATE 40'S, BREITLING CHANGED ITS REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES FROM WHITE PLAINS WATCH COMPANY, AND OCCASIONAL OTHERS, TO AN EXCLUSIVE MARKETING AGREEMENT WITH WAKMANN WATCH COMPANY.
ICKO WAKMANN WORKED MIRACLES FOR BREITLING, AND THE UNITED STATES STARTED TO DOMINATE BREITLING'S WATCH SALES.
ACCORDING TO BREITLING LORE, BREITLING COMMENCED MARKETING ITS FAMOUS NAVITIMER IN 1952. LIKE MANY OF THE OTHER BREITLING EXPERTS, I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT BREITLING NAVITIMERS WERE FIRST MADE IN 1954.
IN 1954 WHEN BREITLING INTRODUCED THE NAVITIMER, IT USED NO REFERENCE AT ALL. THE WATCH WAS JUST CALLED THE AOPA, FOR THE AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION IN FREDERICK MARYLAND IN THE UNITED STATES. THE MOVEMENT USED WAS A VALJOUX 72.
IN THE EARLY 60S, BREITLING MADE A MINOR CHANGE IN ITS CASE FOR THE NAVITIMER BY ENLARGING THE BEAD SIZE ON ITS BEADED BEZEL. THE WATCHES, LIKE THE NAVITIMERS BEFORE, CONTINUED TO HAVE ALL BLACK DIALS, AND WERE ALMOST ALL, IF NOT ENTIRELY, MADE FOR AOPA.
THE 24 HOUR DIAL ON BREITLING NAVITIMERS, LIKE THE WATCH IN THIS AUCTION, WERE BORN IN 1962, AT THE BEHEST OF AMERICA'S FAMOUS ASTRONAUT, SCOTT CARPENTER. THE 24 HOUR VERSION WAS GIVEN A NEW REFERENCE NUMBER, 809, LIKE THE WATCH IN THIS AUCTION, AND THE NAME COSMONAUTE STARTED SHOWING UP ON SOME WATCH DIALS.LIKE THE 12 HOUR NAVITIMERS OF THE DAY, THESE 24 HOUR NAVITIMERS OR COSMONAUTES ALSO HAD ALL BLACK DIALS, AND ENLARGED BEADS (LIKE THE ONE IN THIS AUCTION).
IN LATE 1963 OR 1964, BREITLING STARTED MAKING NAVITIMERS AND COSMONAUTES WITH SMALL WHITE SUBDIALS. ALSO, BREITLING REPLACED ITS BEADED BEZEL WITH A COIN EDGE BEZEL. .
WAKMANN MADE ONE OTHER LITTLE KNOWN CHANGE IN THE MARKETING OF THE 24 HOUR NAVITIMER. THERE ARE ERRORS IN THE PUBLISHED WAKMANN HISTORY THAT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW EXACTLY WHEN THE CHANGE HAPPENED, BUT I BELIEVE IT TO BE 1964 OR 1965. THE CHANGE HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN BY COLLECTORS TODAY. THE WORD"COSMONAUTE" (WITH AN E) IS FRENCH, AND HAS THE SAME MEANING AS THE ENGLISH WORD "ASTRONAUT". IN THE EARLY AND MID 60'S HOWEVER, THE WORD "COSMONAUT" (WITH NO E) WAS THE ANGLICIZED WORD FOR A RUSSIAN ASTRONAUT AND PRONOUNCED THE SAME WAY AS THE FRENCH WORD.
THERE WAS STILL A BIG RED SCARE IN THE UNITED STATES, AND THE WORD 'COSMONAUTE" WAS TOO EASILY CONFUSED WITH THE RUSSIAN. RUSSIA WAS BRIEFLY AHEAD OF THE UNITED STATES IN WHAT WAS CALLED 'THE SPACE RACE" IN THE UNITED STATES. THE OBSTACLE WAS A BIG MARKETING HURDLE, AND WAKMANN INTRODUCED THE NEW NAME, "ASTRO-TIMER", FOR THE 24 HOUR WATCH. THIS ALSO EXPLAINS WHY THE WORD "NAVITIMER" STAYED ON THE DIAL OF THE 809 COSMONAUTE, AND WHY THE WORD "COSMONAUTE" WAS SELDOM SEEN, ALTHOUGH IT APPEARS ON SOME OF THE EARLY DIALS FROM 1962 AND IN THE FAMOUS ADVERTISEMENT WITH THE MESH BRACELET. I AM SORRY I COULDN'T GET THE SPACE FOR THE WAKMANN CATALOG LISTING WITH THE ASTRO-TIMER NAME, BUT IF YOU WANT AN EMAILED COPY LET ME KNOW. THE WORD "COSMONAUTE" IS CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT IN THE WAKMANN LITERATURE.
THROUGHOUT THE REMAINING 60S, BREITLING MADE VARIOUS CHANGES TO ITS INCREASINGLY SUCCESSFUL NAVITIMERS AND COSMONAUTES, CULMINATING WITH A CHANGE IN MOVEMENT TO THE VALJOUX 7736. THE MOVEMENT ITSELF WAS SLIGHTLY ALTERED SOMETIME IN THE 70s.
IN 1972, BREITLING CEASED PRODUCTION OF THE 806 AND 809 NAVITIMIERS AND COSMONAUTES, AND ALMOST CEASED PRODUCTION ENTIRELY. SOME WATCHES WERE FINISHED AND SOLD UNDER THE BREITLING NAME BY OLLECH & WAJS, AND LATER, OLLECH & WAJS CONTINUED MAKING THESE GREAT WATCHES UNDER THE "AVIATION" NAME. I AM FORTUNATE TO HAVE THREE GREAT EXAMPLES. I AM SELLING ONE IN THIS AUCTION. O & W HAS BECOME "SINN", AND NO LONGER MAKES THESE "AVIATION" WATCHES. THE OTHERS, A NAVITIMER AND AN 18K NAVITIMER ARE FOR SALE AND WILL BE AUCTIONED ON EBAY IN DECEMBER.
THE WATCH IS SOLD WITH A CUSTOM DELUXE CALF STRAP MADE TO BREITLING'S SPECIFICATIONS CONTEMPORARY TO THE WATCH.
EBAY REQUIRED LANGUAGE: ?International Buyers ? Please Note: · Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. · Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying.
On Nov-06-09 at 12:22:34 PST, seller added the following information:LOOK AT THIS SITE FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.lesmala.net/jean-michel/navitimer/index2.htm
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SHAINE VINTAGE WATCH COLLECTION
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