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Add Texture to GoogleSome watches require daily winding, while others demand, above all, a certain amount of visual attention. The Navitimer Cosmonaute belongs to the latter category. Its hour hand completes a full rotation in twenty-four hours, whereas civilian watchmaking has established a twelve-hour cycle. A captivating anomaly born of a very practical necessity: in 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter needed to be able to distinguish between morning and evening during orbits punctuated by a sunrise every 90 minutes. More than sixty years after that first spaceflight with a Swiss watch on his wrist, Breitling is no longer treating this 24-hour Navitimer as a limited-edition anniversary model.
Starting October 22, the Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute will become a permanent fixture in the catalog, alongside a hand-wound Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41. This move is noteworthy: until now, these two models had primarily been available only in commemorative or limited-edition series. The Cosmonaute, in particular, resurfaced in 2022 in a version with a platinum bezel produced in a run of 362 pieces, and more recently, with a meteorite dial dedicated to Artemis II. The B09, meanwhile, had just been featured in a 500-piece edition dedicated to Miles Davis.
Seeing them become available without limited editions or a rush to reserve them changes their status. Breitling isn’t just reintroducing two chronographs inspired by the 1960s; the brand is reintegrating into its current collection a part of its instrumental language—that of pilots, racetracks, and the space race.
The return of an unconventional way of telling time
The Cosmonaute has never been a Navitimer like any other. Its black dial features a 24-hour Arabic numeral scale, and the hour hand moves across it with unusual slowness. This display takes a few seconds to get used to, but it gives the watch an identity that the mere evocation of space alone would not be enough to create. It remains, first and foremost, a timekeeping tool designed for an environment where terrestrial reference points become useless.
This contemporary version retains the graphic contrast that made the historic Cosmonaute models so charming: a black background and white sub-dials in a reverse-panda style. At 6 o’clock, the date is integrated into the totalizer and rendered in a color that does not disrupt the dial’s balance. This detail is important on a Navitimer, where the circular slide rule, chronograph markings, and hour indices already create a dense surface.
The watch also revives the Twin Jet logo, adopted by Breitling as early as 1957 and featured on Navitimer dials starting in 1965. Here, it is crafted in gold. This choice does not detract from the watch’s technical character, but it prevents the overall design from veering into an austere recreation. The Cosmonaute thus embraces its heritage without attempting to slavishly imitate a vintage model.
The original model, reference 809, continues to hold a special place among collectors. Well-preserved examples were selling for around 5,000 pounds sterling at the time of the most recent appraisals mentioned. A relatively modest sum considering what this watch represents: a Navitimer linked to both the history of the aviation chronograph and that of manned spaceflight.
Two manual-winding calibers, two distinct characters
The true common thread between the two new models lies beneath the dial. Breitling has abandoned the convenience of automatic winding in favor of the more direct act of manual winding. The Cosmonaute is powered by the in-house B02 caliber, a column-wheel chronograph with a vertical clutch comprising 273 components. COSC-certified, it beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour—or 4 Hz—and offers a 70-hour power reserve. It is currently not used in any other watch in the Breitling collection.
The B02 also stands out for its architecture, which is designed for a 24-hour display. It is this additional mechanical complexity that explains the price difference compared to the B09, and above all, the Cosmonaute’s more distinctive character. In a market saturated with blue dials, military reissues, and modest complications, a 41-mm watch displaying time over a full 24-hour cycle retains a genuine ability to stand out.
The Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 adopts a more classic—but no less coherent—design. Its B09 caliber shares the manual-winding column-wheel architecture, without the 24-hour mechanism. It comprises 244 components, remains COSC-certified, and retains the same frequency as well as the same 70-hour power reserve. On paper, this power reserve means the watch only needs to be wound every three days. In practice, many will prefer to feel the slight resistance of the crown each morning—which is precisely what automatic winding had eliminated.
The B09 omits the date, thereby simplifying the dial’s design. Breitling offers it in black or blue, always with clear sub-dials and a white flange. This understated design brings it closer to the 1960s Navitimers worn by Jim Clark and Graham Hill, two race car drivers who were also pilots. The Navitimer’s slide rule had a purpose that extended beyond the cockpit: it could assist with calculations on the racetrack just as well as during flight operations.
The 41 mm: A Balance Point
Both watches feature a stainless steel case measuring 41 mm in diameter, 13 mm thick, and 47.9 mm from lug to lug. These proportions matter more than the diameter alone. A Navitimer remains a visually striking watch, with its bidirectional rotating bezel featuring a slide rule. The 41-mm size allows it to maintain its expected presence without reverting to the sometimes imposing dimensions that caused certain models to stray from the balance of the 1960s.
The domed sapphire crystal features an anti-reflective coating on both sides, while the transparent case back offers a view of the movement. Both models feature a non-screw-down crown and are water-resistant to 30 meters, or 3 bars. This is not a swimming watch, and nothing in its history suggests otherwise. The Navitimer remains true to its purpose as a wrist-worn navigation instrument, with all the specialization that entails.
Breitling highlights a slimmer profile for the B09 than that of the automatic Navitimer B01 Chronograph 41, thanks in particular to the removal of the rotor. The technical specifications, however, list a thickness of 13 mm for both new models. The difference, if it exists on the wrist, is therefore not the result of a radical transformation. It is more about the relationship with the watch: without an oscillating weight, featuring a dial without a date, and with a movement that requires the owner’s touch, the B09 seems closer to a Navitimer designed before the chronograph became a matter of convenience.
Steel or leather: the detail that shapes the story
The strap options significantly alter the character of these Navitimers. The Cosmonaute is available on a brown gradient calfskin leather strap with a folding clasp, or on a seven-link steel bracelet alternating between satin-finished and polished surfaces. The black B09 features the brown leather, while the blue version comes with a blue leather strap with a gradient finish. Both can also be ordered with the steel bracelet.
The metal gives the B09 a sportier look, one that’s almost closer to the world of auto racing with which it’s associated. Leather is a natural fit for the Cosmonaute: it evokes the configuration worn by Scott Carpenter and preserves the warmth of an object designed first and foremost to be read, handled, and wound—not to be treated as a versatile accessory.
The Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 is priced at 6,200 pounds on a leather strap and 6,500 pounds on a steel bracelet. The Cosmonaute is priced at 7,950 pounds on a leather strap and 8,150 pounds on a steel bracelet. The premium associated with the latter stems as much from its exclusive B02 caliber as from its 24-hour display. Complete information about the collection is available on the Breitling website.
Of the two, the B09 should appeal to those seeking a Navitimer stripped of a date function and true to the pleasure of manual winding. But the Cosmonaute goes a step further. It does not seek to make space history comfortable or decorative; rather, it preserves a tangible aspect of it—this unusual way of circling the dial in a full day.
