The Navitimer 1 B01 Chronograph 46 is a pilot’s chronograph built around a circular aviation slide rule bezel, a feature the Navitimer line has carried since 1952 for calculating flight-related figures such as speed, distance, and fuel burn. This reference pairs that slide rule with the brand’s in-house automatic chronograph movement and a 46 mm steel case.
It was introduced at Baselworld 2018 as part of the Navitimer 1 collection, the first product line launched under Georges Kern after he became Breitling CEO in 2017. That collection accompanied a wider restructuring of the catalogue into aviation, diving, and land-focused families, with the Navitimer serving as the anchor of the aviation group.
The reference sits in the classic tier of the Navitimer range at its release: a full-size 46 mm three-register chronograph on a steel bracelet, powered by the Manufacture Breitling Caliber 01 and chronometer certified. It was a regular-production model rather than a limited edition.
The dial is black with three silver contrasting sub-dials. Applied baton hour markers and central hour and minute hands carry luminescent coating for low-light legibility. A red central chronograph seconds hand runs across the dial.
The sub-dial layout places the running small seconds at 9 o’clock, the chronograph 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, and the chronograph 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock. The date window sits between 4 and 5 o’clock. The outer flange carries the circular aviation slide rule scale, read against the rotating bezel.
Printed dial text reads BREITLING, CHRONOMETER, and NAVITIMER, with SWISS MADE at the base of the dial. The dial carries the simplified Breitling logo used on this generation of the Navitimer 1.
The case is round, 46 mm in diameter, in polished stainless steel, with a case thickness of 14.51 mm and a lug width of 24 mm. The crown is a non-screw-locked (push-pull) type fitted with two gaskets, flanked by two chronograph pushers.
The crystal is cambered sapphire with glareproof (anti-reflective) treatment on both sides. The caseback is a transparent sapphire display back, showing the movement. Water resistance is 30 metres.
The bezel is a bidirectional rotating steel bezel carrying the circular aviation slide rule, also called the navigation computer. Turning the bezel aligns its scale against the fixed outer flange scale to perform multiplication, division, and unit conversions used in flight planning, including ground speed, distance, fuel consumption, and rate of climb. On this reference the bezel is a working instrument rather than decorative trim.
The reference is fitted with the polished stainless steel Navitimer bracelet, a rounded-link (beads-of-rice style) design. It fastens with a folding clasp with a safety catch.
The bracelet tapers toward the clasp from the 24 mm lug width. This reference suffix (B1A1) denotes the steel bracelet configuration. The same watch was also offered on leather (B1X1) and alligator (B1P1) straps under different suffixes, and in a steel-and-gold and a red gold version under separate reference numbers.
The movement is the Manufacture Breitling Caliber 01 (B01), an in-house automatic chronograph introduced in 2009. It is a self-winding movement with a column wheel and vertical clutch chronograph mechanism, running at 28,800 vph (4 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 70 hours from a single barrel. It uses 47 jewels and is COSC chronometer certified.
Functions are hours, minutes, running small seconds at 9 o’clock, a central chronograph seconds hand, a 30-minute chronograph counter at 3 o’clock, a 12-hour chronograph counter at 6 o’clock, and a date. The movement uses an instantaneous date change and a hacking (stop) seconds. The caliber holds two patents: an auto-centering system for the reset hammers, and an index regulator system for adjusting the rate.
The chronograph is operated by the two pushers flanking the crown: the upper pusher starts and stops the timing, and the lower pusher resets the chronograph hands to zero. The date is corrected via the quickset function at the crown. The bidirectional slide rule bezel is turned by hand to perform its calculations independently of the movement.
The case, bezel, and bracelet are stainless steel with a polished finish. The crystal is sapphire, cambered and treated with anti-reflective coating on both sides, and the display caseback is also sapphire.
The dial furniture uses applied metal hour markers with a luminescent compound, and the hands are metal with luminescent fill. The clasp is stainless steel.
The overall material set is a polished all-steel construction with sapphire front and back, positioning the watch as a steel sports chronograph.
A full set for this reference’s 2018 to 2019 production era typically includes:
Older version
Newer version
Breitling announced this replacement packaging in late 2020 and began introducing it through retail in early 2021. A 2019 example is era-correct in the Gen 1 large presentation set with the brown leather travel case. A compact PET box on a 2019 watch indicates later stock packaging or a replacement rather than the original set.
A 2019 example equipped with the Manufacture Breitling Caliber 01 shipped with the Breitling International Warranty for the manufacture movement, a five-year period from the date of purchase. The five-year manufacture-movement coverage is conditional on water resistance tests being performed every two years by an authorised Breitling service centre. Breitling’s base international warranty for watches without a manufacture movement was two years in this period.
The warranty in this era used a black electronic e-Warranty card activated by the authorised dealer at the point of sale, generally recording the model, serial number, activation date, and the five-year manufacture-movement warranty term. Separate COSC and chronometer paperwork accompanied it.
Older version
Newer version
A 2019 example is era-correct with the Gen 1 black electronic e-Warranty card and separate COSC paperwork. As of 2026 the original five-year warranty on a 2019 example has expired. A dated warranty card completed by the selling dealer is the primary purchase-documentation item for a full set; a blank or incomplete card carries no activation record.
The AB0127211B1A1 belongs to the 2018 Navitimer 1 generation and is no longer the current catalogue reference for the 46 mm steel Navitimer chronograph.
At 46 mm in diameter with a 14.51 mm case height, this is a large watch with strong wrist presence, suited to larger wrists. The 24 mm lug width and the full steel bracelet add to the physical mass.
The polished steel bracelet and folding clasp distribute the weight, and the tall slide rule bezel and domed sapphire contribute to the overall height on the wrist. It reads as a full-size tool chronograph rather than a slim dress piece, appropriate for casual and everyday wear where a large aviation chronograph is wanted.
The constants across this reference are the 46 mm polished stainless steel case, the bidirectional slide rule bezel, the black dial with silver sub-dials, and the Manufacture Caliber 01 movement. What varies is the strap or bracelet the reference was sold on.
Bracelets and straps
Neighboring references (separate watches, specifications do not carry across)
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