breitling yacht timer

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Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting Watch Review & A Note On The Breitling Professional Line

Then, the start line axis and favorable side can be checked. On the dial, the line between 3 and 9 o’clock represents the perpendicular (neutral) start line in comparison to the wind arrow index located at 12 o’clock. The symbols «+» and «-» on each side of the start line enable a swift line of sight of the favorable side depending on the wind direction. The manual of the Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting contains a bunch of additional information and usage examples, none of which I’m going to bore you with.

The point from a landlocked watch-lover’s perspective is that this is a tool watch well and truly designed and made for an obscure purpose — and some of us will see the allure in that. It’s also a much more genuine and, I think, more entertaining approach than, say, Rolex tirelessly repeating how the Daytona is a race car driver’s tool just because it has a chronograph and a tachymeter bezel, neither of which you can actually use or even see in a normal car, let alone one that’s racing. By contrast, with the backlit, massive displays, the tactile, lockable pushers, the hands that you can park out of the way and the strong build (unlike the filigree, borderline feminine Daytona) of the B55 Yachting make it a much more genuine and honest tool — and hence, in my eyes, that much more respectable and enjoyable, even if I spend not much more time in racing cars than I do on boats.

The three core differences between Breitling Professional watches are as follows (outside the aforementioned presence or exclusion of Bluetooth connectivity). First and most important is the type of displays used: whereas the Exospace B50 and Exospace B55 watches use much larger and, importantly, backlit displays, the Aerospace Evo (for a good $3,000 less than these Exospace models) and Emergency (for at least a hefty $8,000 more than these Exospace models) use smaller, non-backlit screens. The larger displays are drastically easier to read day or night, rain or shine. At the press of the crown, both displays light up for an adjustable period of time — the longest is six seconds, which is the proper way to do it (unlike G-Shock’s disappointing three-second long and dim backlight). Another neat detail is that if you press on the crown to light the displays up and begin rotating the crown to look for or use different functionalities, the displays stay on until you are done; you need not turn it on every six seconds.

The second notable difference is that the Exospace B50 and B55 models, such as this Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting, rely on the crown and two pushers for all functionalities, whereas the other models use just the crown (that also works as a pusher). Needless to say, the extra pushers give room for extra features and adjustments. I especially like to switch between the main time displays: by pressing the upper pusher when home time is displayed one can choose between the number of the week, the Month-Date-Year display, the day of the week and the text: TIME. The full date just looks great, while the hours, minutes and seconds are displayed on the screen below, and on the three main hands.

The third difference is in the power supply. The Exospace B50 and B55 watches, as connected watches, need more power and need to be charged more frequently than their non-connected Aerospace Evo and Emergency counterparts, which require a service center to swap the battery every couple of years. For testing purposes, I left Connectivity turned on on this B55 (so it is always looking to connect to the phone, as it normally would with anyone who frequently used this feature), and I use the backlit display many times a day, as I wear the watch on a daily basis. Energy consumption in both the phone and the watch are kept at a minimum due to the use of advanced, Low-Energy Bluetooth connectivity.

With such use, I found myself charging the Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting every two months.

With an automatic watch, I swear I would be spending disproportionately more time over these two months on resetting the time and winding up the stopped movement (with their 2-3 day power reserves), than it takes for me to put the B55 on its charger. Speaking of which, Breitling supplies a Japanese made charger, with all the different plugs for the different sockets around the world, and a proprietary USB charging cable. You may plug the USB end of the cable into any normal laptop or other wall plug phone charger and the watch will charge pretty quickly — from zero to full in less than two hours.

Breitling says that the 410mAh battery lasts 300 charges or about ten years before requiring a change. I’d recommend taking good care of the charging cable with its bespoke, round, magnetic end that connects to the magnetic charging port on the left hand side of the case. The magnet is very weak, even carefully moving the watch will likely have it detached, so it’s best to lay the watch down, attach the charging cable and leave it alone to let it charge. There is an accurate battery display that you can see by rotating the crown that allows you to check the charge in percentiles at any time while wearing the watch — and the app also shows it, once you connect the watch. If charging the watch every two or so months is too much of a hassle for you, then you really do need a Watch Butler .

Jewelry As The Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting Does It

A lot of this is going to be linked to the previous point of entertainment. Nicely made, expensive-looking details serve as the foundation that supports the fun (if there’s any of it) in any luxury watch. As an extreme, but fitting example, that is why Konstantin Chaykin’s Joker works so well — and is worth about 2.5 times over retail.

The Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting is no different. In real life, it looks far more expensive, impressive and detailed than it does on Breitling’s stock images. Out in the real world and on the wrist, this watch looks every bit as the real deal, as any mechanical steel or titanium watch that Breitling makes. The centerpiece certainly is the dial that stands out from a sea of wilfully blocky, satin-finished titanium. Its appliqués at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock, and the (yet another type of) Breitling logo on the seconds hand’s counterweight light up when light hits it just so. The crystal is free from cheap-looking reflections (I’m looking at you, Panerai), and provides a crystal clear look. On that note, it was with my Spring Drive Chronograph that I came to appreciate the differences in the “resolution” of watch crystals. I, along with my Nikon D810, can tell that the crystal in this Breitling ranks among the nicer, higher-end crystals for its clarity and sharpness.

The point of all of this is ensuring that this watch looks well-made and appreciably expensive from up close, and afar. It certainly isn’t wearing as much make-up (i.e. as many polished indices and faceted hands) as, say, that Grand Seiko I mentioned above, but it’s a fair bit more elaborate than all those boring black and blue lacquered dials with printed-on markings. The appliqués in the four “corners” (on a round watch, I know) create a bit of a cross-hair effect, adding alignment and direction to the dial. Meanwhile, their surfaces can reflect in a flat black (dark), flat white (bright), or mirror-like ways (lots of small details reflected back).

The four polished titanium notches of the bezel were destined from Day 1 to be caught on things and indeed they all have been, and yet, their letters are still intact. I also love the screws set into the profile of the bezel, along with a tiny, etched  B  somewhere along the way. It is also strange how far a case and bracelet can go without thin veneers of polished edges along the lugs or links. While I am a sucker for every honest method that leads to deep, sharp and bright polished surfaces on a case (like a Zaratsu polish), run-of-the-mill machine-polished edges present on most watches in this price segment don’t exactly set my pants on fire. And so I appreciate the in-my-face blockiness of the B55 that matches (and adds to) its character so well.

Weakpoints As The Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting Does It

While I can’t think of a better match to the theme, functionality and looks of this Yachting edition than titanium, this lightweight metal is destined to show the signs of wear in under two months, no matter how careful you are with it. The clasp itself, as well as the links the longer end of the clasp rubs against, are the first ones to show scratches. The upside is that titanium, with its warmer hues and large, satin finished surfaces doesn’t rub these marks in your face as much as fancy steel does. Due to the consistency of the surfaces (no polished edges anywhere), a quick refinish will not be that hard to perform, once you really get fed up with the marks.

I wear the Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting all the time, except when I have another watch in for review, at which point I switch between the two. I also wear it four times a week in the gym while working out, precisely because I was curious about how it would wear and put up with it. Apart from some expected scuffs, it’s all good, I must say. The clasp, crown, bezel and buttons all work great. Despite the annoying lack of a tool-free micro-adjust bracelet, the only glaring omission (I mean, come on, Breitling!) I managed to find is a good and comfortable fit that keeps the watch secure when working out and not let it get too loose during everyday wear.

Although very comfortable to wear and nice to look at when on the wrist, the B55 is thick and wide. It’s one of those few watches that I don’t think would look good in a smaller presentation (who knows, maybe I could be surprised), because its bulky, warm grey look is an essential part of its character. That being said, coming in at 46mm-wide and 15.25mm-thick, it won’t be able to win everyone’s heart. The grandiose proportions are balanced out by the acceptable weight balance between case and bracelet, as well as the low overall weight. The watch only wobbles about on top of my wrist when my wrist contracts due to whether (and goodness knows what other reasons), but sits firmly and comfortably otherwise, thanks to the integration of the bracelet and the design of the caseback.

The last point is the price, and I mention this not because it is poor value, but simply because it’s an expensive watch. Once you consider to effort and investment required to develop and produce these movements in what has to be a very limited annual quantity, combined with a full titanium exterior with high-quality components all around and inside it, the $7,685 is in fact good value. If this was a full titanium watch with a nice, in-house caliber, with a carbon dial with appliqués and 100-meter water resistance from any of the big brands, no one would be shocked by a five-figure price tag. Yes, the movement is different but once you’ve seen a machine spit out wheels and automatically decorate bridges like its nobody’s business, the allure and “costly image” of a movement in this segment disappears quickly.

Resale value appears to be better nowadays too: momentarily there are only five of this exact watch listed on Chrono24 and the cheapest one is still only 20% below retail. Maybe Breitling more closely policing its distribution system is starting to pay dividends.

The Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting is everything but an obvious way of spending over seven grand on a luxury watch. But it’s a great watch that will not disappoint those who care to see its old-school Breitling charm, tolerate its bulkiness in return for an enjoyable wrist-presence and excellent real-world utility, and those who won’t seek a mechanical watch’s arguably fading allure in a digital watch. You can always get a G-Shock if all you want is pure utility on the cheap — but the looks, presence and tactile feel of this and a G-Shock are worlds apart.

At the end of 2019, Breitling has rooted out a large number of Breitling Professional references from its available sortiment, leaving a reduced number of these watches available. Between the Emergency, Aerospace Evo and Exospace lines, a low total of 12 models, albeit with a few different strap options, remain. That said, I consider Breitling Professional to be an essential part of Breitling, even if that is understandably not where the brand is heading these days.

Price for the Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting on the titanium bracelet is $7,685 and you can learn more on Breitling.com .

Necessary Data >Brand: Breitling >Model: Exospace B55 Yachting EB5512221B1E1 >Price: $7,685 >Size: 46mm wide, 15.25mm-thick > When reviewer would personally wear it : Every day except on more formal occasions. > Friend we’d recommend it to first : Utility and quality minded, willing to spend on good products from off the beaten path. > Best characteristic of watch : Looks and feels great to wear and use on a daily basis. Lots of Breitling DNA. > Worst characteristic of watch : No tool-free micro-adjust, still not perfect Bluetooth connectivity.

MasterHorologer

Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting Connected Chronograph

In 2016, Breitling launched the Exospace B55, a multifunction pilot’s chronograph that can communicate over a Bluetooth connection to the wearer’s smartphone. Now, the Swiss watch maker unveils a new connected watch Exospace B55 Yachting model especially designed for yachting professionals and discerning regatta competitors who appreciate high-performance multifunctional instruments.

The Breitling Exospace B55 watch had a range of functions that could assist any pilot in the cockpit, including an electronic tachymeter, a device for recording flight times (while memorizing departure and arrival times), and countless other features.

Soon afterward, Breitling introduced a version of the Exospace ideally suited for race car drivers and other motorsports enthusiasts. Now, in 2018, Breitling is introducing the Exospace B55 Yachting connected chronograph with a strong, lightweight titanium case on a sturdy, sporty rubber strap.

The Exospace B55 Yachting boasts a Breitling Manufacture Caliber B55 that has been reimagined for yachting professionals and regatta competitors. The thermo-compensated quartz electronic movement powers a chronograph with analog as well as 12- and 24-hour digital displays, all clearly visible through a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides.

The chronograph has an ingenious countdown system, featuring audio, visual, and vibrating alarms and indications. If a judge stops a countdown, it is easy to resync the watch to the new countdown when it resumes. The watch stores split times, which can be read instantaneously on the watch’s digital screen or, when the Exospace is synchronized to a smartphone, on the phone’s display.

The notched bidirectional rotating bezel can be adjusted to make it easier to perform critical calculations regarding wind direction, sailing angle, and the optimal position on the starting line of a regatta.

As with all of the watches in the Exospace B55 family, the Yachting model offers an extensive number of functions. Highlights include a chronograph that calculates up to 99 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds with an outstanding degree of accuracy – to just 10 milliseconds. It can also be used to track lap and split times. This makes the regatta chronograph ideal not only for countdowns, but also for recording, replaying, deleting, and recovering all time-related information collected during a regatta.

The Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting Connected Chronograph can be paired with a smartphone using Bluetooth Low Energy technology. A dedicated app supports data transfer and allows settings to be configured remotely.

This two-way communication enables device and timepiece to form a perfectly complementary pair in which each is used for what it does best. Since the main assets of a smartphone are its screen and ergonomic interface, Exospace B55 Yachting wearers can use their phones to perform a range of adjustments including time-setting, time zones, alarms, display preferences, and operating parameters.

The result is a considerable gain in comfort and efficiency. Conversely, the user can upload various measurements from the chronograph to their smartphone, allowing them to be read more easily, stored, or forwarded. The Exospace B55 Yachting also receives notifications from the smartphone regarding incoming e-mails, messages, phone calls, and reminders of upcoming appointments.

Powered by a rechargeable battery system, the Breitling Manufacture Caliber B55, a SuperQuartz™ movement, is ten times more accurate than standard quartz and, like all Breitling wristwatches, is a COSC-certified chronometer.

Model: Breitling Exospace B55 Yachting Connected Chronograph, Reference EB5512221B1S1

Movement Caliber: Breitling Manufacture Caliber B55 Diameter: 33 millimeters Depth: 9 millimeters SuperQuartz™, thermocompensated quartz electronic, analog as well as 12- and 24-hour LCD displays, backlight (white light) battery state-of-charge indicator Battery life: 10 years Chronograph: accurate to 10 milliseconds, maximum of 99 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds, flyback function, electronic tachymeter, lap timer, regatta chronograph with independent alarm Other functions: countdown timer, 7 daily alarms, UTC, smartphone pairing functionality (Bluetooth Low Energy) with a dedicated app allowing data transfer and remote setting configuration Connectivity: Bluetooth Low Energy Display: digital, perpetual, with weeks indication Certification: COSC-certified

Case Material: titanium Diameter: 46 millimeters Height: 15.25 millimeters Water resistance: up to 10 bar (100 meters) Glass: sapphire, convex, double anti-reflective Caseback: solid, with screws Crown: non-screw-locked Bezel: bidirectional, ratcheted

Dial Carbon Super-LumiNova® luminescent hour and minute hands

Strap Blue TwinPro rubber strap with folding clasp

Breitling New Watch Models

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BREITLING Chronomat Yachting Timer Ref 89150 40.5mm Swiss Valjoux Chronograph

$ 2,295.00

Out of stock

We take trades against any of our watches!!! We also buy watch packages!!

The history of the Breitling brand started in 1884. 

Breitling had started with their 765 AVI Co-Pilot series already in 1953, and the brand added a first Yachting version (reference 765-Yachting-CP) in 1966, followed by a second one with a newly designed handset the next year. More versions followed in the years after: the slightly bigger reference 7650 Yachting (1969), later changed to reference 7660 (1970). All these models used a Venus cal. 178 movement.

In 1969 Breitling had also started with their ‘big case’ Chrono-Matic series with reference 7651, with an even by today’s standard huge diameter of 48 mm. Driven by a cal. Breitling 11 movement (that was developed together with Heuer, Hamilton-Büren and Dubois-Dépraz), one of the first automatic chronograph movements with a date window at 6 o’clock and the crown at 9 o’clock. And later there was also a reference 7652-Yachting version available, which again had the cal. Venus 178 movement.

All these Yachting versions have both a 15 minutes subdial, divided into 3 different coloured segments representing 5 minutes each, as well as a rotating bezel with a coloured 15 minute regatta scale.

Due to the quartz crisis in the 1970’s which has led to the extinction of mechanical watches, also Breitling did launch some models with a quartz movement. But that couldn’t keep the brand from getting into financial problems. And after Willy Breitling died in 1979 the company was sold to the industrialist Ernest Schneider. He renamed the company in 1982 in Breitling Montres SA, now located in Grenchen, Switzerland. In 1984 Breitling announced the rebirth of the mechanical chronograph by launching the famous Chronomat series, which has since become one of their leading models, using the Valjoux 7750 movement.

In 1989 the first Chronomat Yachting is launched, with the Valjoux 7750 movement (Breitling 13) modified with a 10 minute regatta countdown timer. Breitling describes this as ‘a 10 minute countdown aperture and double indication of the final minute before the start of the race‘, and has filed for this invention in several patents. You can download the Swiss patent CH676313B5.

Like the previous Chronomat with the moon phase complication, the Chronomat Yachting retains the same model reference 81950, and various versions of it are made until the mid 1990’s.

Model:  Breitling   Chronomat Yachting .

• Reference: 81950 1989 Chronomat Yachting. B13047, previous ref 81.950 also stamped on back 1990. A13047 ca 1991 Chronomat Yachting. A13048 1993/94 Chronomat Yachting. A13050 1995 Chronomat Yachting.
• Caliber: automatic Valjoux 7750 (Breitling 13) movement.
• Case size: Ø 40,5 mm / 14,7 mm.
• Year: 1989 up to 1995.

A very nice example with gorgeous White Dial. This Beauty comes with the Breitling box set & a Brand New Breitling Blue NATO Strap with Breitling buckle. 

BRAND: Breitling

MODEL: Chronomat Yachting Timer Ref 89150

MOVEMENT: Swiss Automatic – Valjoux 7750

CASE: Stainless Steel with 18k Yellow Gold Chrono pushers

CROWN: Breitling 18k Yellow Gold Screw Down Crown

SIZE: 40.5mm

DIAL: Gorgeous White Dial

BEZEL: rotating diver With 18k Yellow Gold Rider Tabs

CONDITION: Pre-Owned – Very Good – Circa 1990 – Vintage

BOXES/PAPERS: Breitling Box Set, Additional NATO Strap & watch

WATER RESISTANCE: – 100m – Vintage not tested

STRAP/BRACELET: – 2 – Brand New Breitling Blue NATO strap with Breitling buckle & Additional 2 Piece Blue NATO with orange stripe and Steel buckle.

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Breitling 7650 Yachting

Why We Love it

Purpose-built watches have captured the minds and hearts of collectors for decades. Many have found an enduring place in the pantheon of classic designs even though they might not still be used for their intended purpose. The Rolex Explorer, for example, had mountaineering as its genesis, but we can’t think of many that have seen the summit of Everest since the days of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norway, and the Submariner —perhaps the most innovative dive watch—is now more commonly found paired with a three-piece suit than a wetsuit.

Like field watches and divers, regatta timers are a fascinating subset of timepieces that have transcended the purpose for which they were designed and have found a place in daily wear on the wrists of collectors who appreciate the quirkiness of their construction.

From the 1960s to the 1980s, brands such as Rolex, Heuer, Breitling/Wakmann and Lemania all produced their own versions of these unusual watches. They were used onboard sailing yachts to time the countdown at the start of a yachting race, and feature brightly colored dials to denote the remaining time. This complication stems from the unique challenges associated with racing on water.

Unlike a race on dry ground, in a regatta boats are unable to start a race from a dead stop. Short of anchoring, there's no way for them to be perfectly still. At the start of a regatta, yachts are jockeying for position behind a starting buoy for 15 minutes before the starting gun goes off, when a countdown starts and the competing vessels launch past the start line 15 minutes later.

Breitling had released a yachting timer alongside the Reference 765 AVI or Co-Pilot, perhaps the most desirable of their vintage chronographs. In the late 1960s, Breitling followed up the Reference 765 yachting timer with the Reference 7650. The 7650 was slightly larger than the 765, at 43mm, and came with two different bezels--the first being aluminum and silver, and the second painted black and with a redesigned fifteen-minute countdown. 

In 1969, shortly before the introduction of the Chronomatic, the Reference 7650 would be given a new reference number, 7660. After that, the manual-wind yachting timers (all powered by Venus movements) would be phased out in favor of the Chronomatic movements.

With a silver colored bezel, this Reference 7650 yacht timer dates from the earlier portion of the production run. Its lugs are as razor-sharp as the daggerboards on an America's Cup catamaran. The dial likewise retains its brilliant colors, the only testament to its age being the luminescent materials on the hour markers and hands, which have taken on a greenish hue.

With a case design that feels comfortable on the wrist, this delightful yachting timer will surely have your yacht timing needs covered, whether you're skippering a yacht or watching from the safety of the pier, cocktail firmly in hand!

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We generally ship our products via FedEx, fully insured, within 5 business days of purchase. An adult signature is required for receipt of all packages for insurance purposes. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost. We are also happy to hand deliver your purchase in Manhattan or you may pick it up at our showroom.

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• Grand Seiko

Yachting Timers & Watches

At worn&wound we’ve long been fascinated by watches that were designed specifically for individual sporting events. This is part of a series on these unique timepieces.

Yacht timers – also referred to as regatta timers, yachting chronographs, or sailing watches – are watches specially designed and made for the countdown to the start of a sailing race. As you can imagine, starting a race on water, with entrants powered by the wind, is not as easy as lining up on a grid, Formula 1 style, or lined up like sprinters at a track meet, waiting for the starting gun. As we just saw in the recent America’s Cup races in San Francisco, the yachts (we use the term loosely in the case of the America’s Cup boats) are already at speed as they approach the starting line. The trick for the skipper is to NOT cross the starting line before the starting gun goes off. If they do, they’re penalized quite heavily (how and how much depends on the rules in effect for the specific race).

So some sort of a count-down timer is useful to the pilot and tactician. Horns signal the start of the countdown period and a skipper can start his yacht timer by the audible signal. He then has an on board measurement of progress to the start of the race, and can sail his yacht accordingly – hopefully to reach the starting line, at speed, just as the starting gun sounds.

Over the decades there have been numerous yacht timers and specialized chronographs produced by the world’s watch companies. Perhaps the most well-known yachting timer today is the Rolex YachtMaster, but there are others, past and present. Current and recent pieces include those from Tutima, Alpina, Atlantic, Omega, Panerai, and IWC, as well as electronic offerings from TAG Heuer, Suunto, Tissot and others.

But the vintage timepieces – the regatta timers of old – are what really get our juices flowing. Sailing chronographs like the Heuer Autavia Skipper, the Regate (sold under three different brand names – Aquastar, Heuer, and Tissot), Heuer’s Yacht Timer (both wrist-mounted and stopwatch form factor), the Breitling Chronomat and SuperOcean (both in regatta timing trim), the Memosail (two are on eBay as we write this), Lemania’s self-branded Regatta Yacht Timer in handheld stopwatch format, and the wonderfully busy Wakmann.

Regatta timers have various ways of indicating the countdown time. There’s typically a multi-colored or numbered disc rotating beneath the dial with the colors or numerals showing through windows similar to a date disc. Five vari-colored dots – usually blue followed by red (Alpina, Regate), numerals against colored backgrounds (Memosail), or a separate chrono hand coupled with colored zones on the watch’s bezel (Tutima, Bretling, Heuer) or indicating time remaining to the start via a separate scale within the dial (Rolex).

Heuer’s Autavia Skipper was part of the legendary Autavia line in the 1970s. It featured the Autavia’s classic tonneau shaped case, a red, white, and blue countdown sub-dial at 3 o’clock, a small seconds at 10 o’clock, and date at 6. Chrono pushers were in the classic locations at 2 and 4, but the crown was positioned at 9 o’clock. The watch featured a 60 minute rotating bezel, and examples are often see with a blue dial & bezel combination.

Heuer’s Yacht Timer from the 1960s came in both a wrist-mounted version and a handheld stopwatch form factor. Color-wise, regatta timer dials are never shy, and the Heuer is no exception. This watch was basically a fifteen or thirty minute stopwatch (there were at least two versions) with a multi-colored dial formatted and printed for the countdown function.

Aquastar’s Regate, also branded and sold as Heuer, Tissot and other brands such as “Racing”  in the early 1980s, used a Lemania movement with a classic five-dot/ window format, with a tri-colored rotating disc beneath the dial. five windows for five minutes, and once the timing started the colored wheel would progressively show thru the windows, changing them one at a time from blue to red to white (or silver).

In the 1960s and early 1970s, Breitling produced watches in regatta timing trim in both the Chronomat and SuperOcean lines. The Chronomat featured a center mounted minute with a multi-colored inner chapter ring. The SuperOcean used the center-mounted totalizing hand with a multi-colored bezel. These black-cased watches featured Venus 178 or 188 movements, modified to handle the unique needs of a yachting chronograph.

Lemania’s self-branded Regatta Yacht Timer is another handheld stopwatch format timer. The timing function is the familiar series of five windows with a colored disc beneath, but with the letters S-T-A-R-T replacing the third color (similar to the Memosail).

The Wakmann , yet another 1970s piece, looks almost too nice to have been a working watch. To us, it looks more like a dress watch for the Yacht Club awards banquet (but then, so does the current Rolex Yachtmaster II). The timer’s motor is a Lemania Caliber 1341 automatic with hour sub-dial at 6 o’clock and running seconds at 9 o’clock. Countdown chrono minutes and seconds are indicated by center mounted hands with orange tips. The display has a lot going on, with a date window at 3 o’clock, a white stationary chapter ring with days of the month, a multi-colored chapter ring with days of the week (moveable via a secondary crown at 10 o’clock – line it up with the correct day of the week for the current month), and a third multi-colored chapter ring outside the first two, this one with 15 countdown minutes in the first quadrant and a tachymeter over the following three quadrants. We’d be concerned about reading this in the heat of racing battle. That said, we love this watch for its center minutes totalizer, its unique display of day of the week and month, and it’s cool 1970s cushion styling.

With ultra-modern quartz-based timers available (TAG Heuer produced what was effectively a dedicated smartwatch, specifically to be worn by members of the America’s Cup Team Oracle, which relayed real-time data stream of boat performance to each crew member), and the inevitably harsh conditions of sailboat racing, these wonderful vintage racers have probably seen their heyday (one can’t imagine a skipper actually wearing a Rolex Yachtmaster II in a modern race). But their unique styling, and sheer mechanical timing abilities are works of wonder in any age. We’d wear one, even if it’s only to sail our desk into next week.

by Ed Estlow

special thanks to our friends at analogshift.com for lending us the Wakmann

and Francesco B for use of his Racing Regatta images

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Bluetooth Breitling

Breitling exospace b55 yachting // $7,685.00+.

Swiss watchmaker Breitling has introduced a new yachting watch, the Exospace B55 Yachting connected chronograph. The first series of Exospace B55s’ were chronographs for pilots that imagined the smartphone as an accessory for the watch. A series designed for racecar drivers and motor enthusiasts followed, and now Breitling is adding sea to their domain.

The Exospace B55 Yachting’s key feature is its ability to connect to a smartphone using Bluetooth. A dedicated app allows data transfer to change settings remotely; time zones, time settings, display preferences, and alarms can all be adjusted from your phone.

More traditional features include an electric tachymeter and chronograph that calculates 99 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds with accuracy to 1/100th of a second. The watch stores split times which can be read on the watch’s digital screen or a synced phone. A regatta countdown system has audio, visual, and vibrating alarm and the notched bidirectional rotating bezel can be adjusted to calculate wind direction and find the best regatta start line. If the countdown is stopped by a judge, it’s easy to resync the watch to a new countdown.

The B55 features a lightweight titanium case and either a titanium or rubber strap. The rechargeable quartz electric movement powers an analog and 12- or 24-hour digital display, all visible through a sapphire face with anti-reflective treatment.

The Breitling’s Exospace B55 Yachting watch looks about as high tech and classy as they come. You won’t find one of these at the local swap meet. Find out more at breitling.com , starts from $7,685.00. 1528240506365 -->

Evin Moore is an assistant editor at Northwest Yachting. He grew up in Redmond, Washington, graduated from UW, and looks to get on the water every chance he gets. Say hello at [email protected]

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Chronomat Series - Chronomat Yachting

Description.

The Chronomat Yachting has the same Caliber 13 Valjoux 7750 based movement, however it has been modified to have a 10 minute countdown timer useful for sailling.

Specifications

Complications

Chronograph, Date

Regatta Yachttimers

An overview of sailing regatta watches.

This website aims to tell the history of regatta yachttimer watches. To do this as complete as possible your help is needed. For your feedback or a contribution to the site please go to the Contact page.

Lifestyle brand BOLDR introduces their Odyssey Regatta watch!

April 17, 2021.

Read more →

It’s now 2020 and still new regatta watches are created!!

June 3, 2020, new classic tornado by tack & gybe with automatic movement released, may 3, 2017, this website is dedicated to regatta-yachttimer watches., but what exactly is a regatta watch.

A regatta is a series of boat races, especially for sailing or rowing but even for powerboats. The term regatta comes from the Venetian regata (contention for mastery) or regatare (compete). Unlike any other competition at a regatta audible and visual signs are given before the actual start, instead of at the starting time. At first this was a 5 minutes period, later on 10, 15, and even 3 or 6 minutes. This countdown enables the competing yachts to manoeuvre the boat as best as possible to the starting line and time of the race.

Yachttimers, also referred to as regatta timers, yachting chronographs or sailing watches, are watches specially designed and made for the countdown to the start of a sailing race. They have a special feature to visualize the remaining time to the start, helping the helmsman to obtain the best position, reaching the starting line at full speed, just as the starting gun sounds!

Over the years various mechanical (and quartz) regatta movements have been developed. These movements are described in the brand list, underneath you see the caliber timeline.

Caliber timeline:

Mid 1960’s: introduction of the Aquastar Regate , with a  Felsa 4000N movement. Shortley after used by Heuer as well. The first wristwatch movement using the 5-dot system for measuring the 5 minute regatta countdown!

x – x – x – x – x

Beginning 1970’s: both Le Phare and Lorenz introduced their yachttimer, with a Valjoux 237 movement.

1970’s: introduction of the Memosail , with a Valjoux 7737 movement. In 2007 Habring uses this movement for their ChronoSport Nautic.

1970’s: introduction of the new Aquastar Regate , with a  Lemania 1345 movement. Followed by Tissot, Omega and again Heuer and a little later by Lemania itself.

Late 1970’s: introduction of a V.I.P Memosail , with a Valjoux 7767 movement. Later both Lorenz en Constantin Weisz will use the movement as well.

Mid 1980’s: the Valjoux 7757 movement appears in the Memosail Automatic , the  Atlantic Skipper , the  Wyler Vetta La Giraglia  and the Eberhard Regatta  (and some smaller brands). Sofar it’s not clear which came first, but probably the last one.

1997: introduction of the Piquot Meridien Volantis Regatta , with either an ETA 2892-A2 movement with a DD 2027 regatta module, or an  ETA 2824 movement with a  DD 2028 regatta module. These regatta modules were developed by Dubois-Dépraz in 1993.

2003: introduction of the Omega Seamaster Diver America’s Cup Racing , with the Omega 3602 movement ( ETA 2892-A2 with a DD 2027 regatta module). Same caliber used in the Bulgari Diagono Professional Chrono Amplificator .

2003: introduction of the Bulgari Diagono Professional Regatta , with an  ETA 2892-A2 movement with a  DD 42028 regatta module.

2004: introduction of the Louis Vuitton Tambour LV Cup Régate automatique , with an ETA 2892-A2 movement with a DD 2140 regatta module.

2005: introduction of the Audemars Piguet Roal Oak Offshore Alinghi Polaris Chronograph , with an AP 2326/2847 fly-back movement ( Jaeger LeCoultre 899 with a DD 2847 regatta module).

2007: introduction of the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II Regatta Chronograph , with the  Rolex caliber 4160 movement.

2007: introduction of the Audemars Piquet Roal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team Chronographe , with an AP 2326/2848 fly-back movement ( Jaeger LeCoultre 899 with a DD 2848 regatta module).

2007: introduction of the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Regatta Tourbillon chronograph , with the GPV02 fly-back movement.

2011: introduction of the Alpina Extreme 40 Sailing Chronograph . with an  Alpina AL-880 movement, based on a Sellita SW-500 chronograph movement.

2013: introduction of the Corum Admiral’s Cup AC-One 45 Regatta, with a  Corum CO 040 movement.

2013: introduction of the Panerai Regatta 3 Days Chrono Flyback Automatic Titanio , with a  Panerai P.9100/R movement.

2013: introduction of the TAG-Heuer Aquaracer 500m Calibre 72 countdown chronograph , with a TAG Heuer caliber 72 movement, which is a  Sellita SW-300 chronograph, with a DD2140  regatta module integrated.

2015: introduction of the Maurice Lacroix Pontos S Regatta , with a Sellita based movement with a DD2018 regatta module.

2015: introduction of the TNG Classic Tornado , with a Valjoux 7750 based TNG-7750H movement.

2016: introduction of the Bremont Regatta AC and Otusa , with a Valjoux 7750 based Bremont BE-17AE movement.

2017: introduction of the Ulysse Nardin Marine Regatta , with their  Ulysse Nardin UN-155 movement. The first mechanical Yachttimer movement that runs anti-clockwise during the regatta countdown!

2019: introduction of the Frederique Constant Yacht Timer Regatta Countdown , with their  FC-380 movement, based on an automatic Sellita SW-500 chronograph movement with a regatta countdown module.

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Breitling Chronomat Comprehensive Guide: History and a Review of the Modern Collection

The Breitling Chronomat traces its most emblematic design elements back to the relatively recent year of 1984, but the model’s roots reach much further back, to the dawn of Breitling’s role as a leading innovator of watches for pilots. On the way to becoming one of the watch world’s iconic chronograph wristwatches, the Chronomat has also been the host model for some of the most significant innovations in movement technology. Today, it remains one of Breitling’s flagship models, with an array of sizes, materials, colorways, and complications for men and ladies alike. Here is the story of the Breitling Chronomat, from its groundbreaking origins to its 21st Century revival.

The Original Chronomat (1941)

Breitling’s long and storied history in the arena of aviation begins in 1938, shortly before the start of World War II, with the founding of the Huit Aviation Department by third-generation company chairman Willy Breitling. Taking its numerical name “huit” from the eight-day power reserve offered by Breitling’s watches and clocks — an innovation pioneered by Willy’s grandfather Léon Breitling —  the Huit Aviation Department was devoted to making the most precise and robust onboard timekeepers for the cockpits of military planes. 

Two years later, Breitling unveiled a world’s-first invention destined to make a historical impact on both watchmaking and piloting: the first timepiece equipped with a logarithmic scale on its rotating bezel that could be used by the wearer to make vital calculations and conversions. Based on the E6B slide rule devised by mathematician Robert Marcel — which enabled users to convert between standard miles, kilometers, and nautical miles, the most important units for aviation — the multifunctional scale could be used in conjunction with the watch’s chronograph function to determine factors such as fuel consumption, distance traveled, and climb and descent rates. Breitling called this versatile tool watch the Chronomat — a  “Chronographe” with “Mathématique” — and released it to the public in 1941. It featured a bicompax dial, with tachymeter, pulsometer and telemeter scales accompanying the slide rule bezel for additional calculations, and contained the Swiss-made, manually wound Venus Caliber 175. Despite Breitling’s heavy involvement with aviation at the time, including its role as an official supplier of chronographs to the British Royal Air Force, the original Chronomat was initially aimed not at pilots but at scientists and mathematicians.

The Chrono-Matic Era (1969)

In 1969, after several years of intensive research and development, and fierce competition throughout the industry, Breitling became one of the very first watchmaking firms to outfit a watch with a self-winding, or automatic, chronograph movement. Breitling had joined a consortium of its competitors, which included the watch firms Hamilton-Buren and Heuer-Leonidas (today’s TAG Heuer) as well as Swiss movement maker Dubois-Dépraz, to jointly develop the now-legendary Caliber 11. All the watch brands in the group shared custody of the movement and each one used it in one or more chronograph watches: Heuer in the Monaco and the Carrera, Hamilton in the Chrono-Matic and the Pan-Europ, and Breitling, in a new version of the Chronomat, bestowing upon it the new moniker of “Chronomatic.”

The Modern Chronomat (1984)

Right on the heels of the Great Chronograph Race of 1969, however, came the Quartz Crisis of the 1970s and ‘80s. (The first quartz wristwatch, ironically, came out the same year, 1969, as the first wave of automatic mechanical chronographs, the former milestone nearly rendering the latter one almost instantly obsolete.) Traditional Swiss watchmakers that adhered to using mechanical movements rather than adopting the new technology — embraced by the Asian watch manufacturers that had brought it into the mainstream — faced stiff competition and even the threat of extinction. Watches with quartz movements could be mass-produced much more inexpensively than their mechanical counterparts and priced accordingly for a wide audience. 

This new version of the Chronomat was unmistakably a watch designed with piloting in mind: Schneider developed it in cooperation with Italy’s Frecce Tricolori aerobatics team — the model’s first customers before it was released to the public. The rider tabs, placed strategically at the quarter-hour markers, were designed to be easily gripped by a wearer who wanted to set a countdown time with the integrated chronograph function, making them as useful for sports like yacht racing as they were for aerial maneuvers. The second-generation Chronomat’s versatile appeal also spoke to motorsports enthusiasts, with its tachymeter scale flange. Behind the three-register dial was an automatic chronograph movement, the Valjoux 7750, which was ubiquitous throughout many high-end chronograph watches of the era. Despite launching right at the heart of a quartz-dominant era, the Breitling Chronomat found a large and enthusiastic audience — including actor/comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who famously wore one on many episodes of his legendary, eponymous 1990s sitcom. 

The Chronomat B01 (2009)

Luxury watches with mechanical movements would weather the Quartz Crisis era to enter a triumphant renaissance in the 21st Century, and many historical Swiss watchmakers, including Breitling, would vigorously pursue a higher level of vertical integration. In 2009, Breitling introduced its first in-house movement of the modern era, the column-wheel-chronograph-equipped, COSC-chronometer-certified Caliber B01. The first watch to contain that movement, appropriately, was the Chronomat, the model in Breitling’s lineup with the most history. The Chronomat B01, as the newer model was dubbed, took its place alongside other popular models like the Navitimer and Superocean as a flagship of the collection while Breitling continued to build upon the B01 movement with additional complications. 

The Retro Redesign (2020)

Ernest Schneider’s son Teddy, who had become majority shareholder, sold Breitling in 2017 to an investment group. One of the group’s shareholders, former IWC executive and luxury watch veteran Georges Kern, took over as CEO, and with new management once again came a new generation of Chronomats, one heavily inspired by the original “Frecce Tricolori” 1980s models. The most notable “retro” feature of the new Chronomat models are the distinctive “Rouleaux” integrated bracelets, which debuted on the earlier versions but had been discontinued under the previous regime. The most recent wave of Chronomats — which offer case options in all-steel, steel-and-gold, and, at the highest end, all-gold — have also added a clever and useful element to the ratcheting bezel and its rider tabs: the tabs at 12 o’clock and 3 o’clock are interchangeable, which means the first 15-minute interval on the scale can be used for either counting up or counting down. The Chronomat B01 42, which derives its numerical suffix from its case diameter, has since begotten a wide and diverse range of offspring, from the robust, wrist-dominant dimensions of the Super Chronomat B01 44 models to the understated elegance of the three-hand Chronomat 32. 

The Collection:

Chronomat b01 42 .

Price: $8,750 - $32,900, Case Size: 42mm, Thickness: 15.1mm, Lug-to-Lug: 50.5mm, Lug Width: 22mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic Breitling Caliber B01

The first, and still the leader model, in the revamped Chronomaster collection that rolled off the runway in 2020, the Chronomat B01 42 offers a substantial but not overly imposing case diameter of 42mm and a profile slightly over 15mm. The tricompax dials, with subdials at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock for chronograph minutes and hours and running seconds, respectively, are in a variety of two-tone and tone-on-tone colorways. The chronograph pushers flank a fluted crown that screws down securely into the case for a 200-meter water resistance. All Chronomat B01 watches contain the Breitling Caliber B01, which holds a lengthy 70-hour power reserve. 

Super Chronomat B01 44

Price: $9,450 - $26,000, Case Size: 44mm, Thickness: 14.4mm, Lug-to-Lug: 53mm, Lug Width: 22mm, Water Resistance: 200m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic Breitling Caliber B01

Just about a year after the relaunch of the Chronomat B01 42 came the somewhat inevitable debut of a bigger, bolder version in a 44mm case, the Super Chronomat B01 44, described by Breitling as its “supercharged, all-purpose sports watch.” The “Super” versions of the Chronomat also stand out from their siblings in their use of colored ceramic inserts for the unidirectional, ratcheting “rider tab” bezels, and in their range of bracelet and strap options, from the hallmark Rouleaux-style steel bracelet to a selection of rubber straps with three distinctive textures from state-of-the-art injection molding — matte, slick, and woven-look. The in-house, chronometer-certified Caliber B01 ticks inside the Super Chronomat models, behind a screwed-down caseback that secures the 200-meter water resistance.  

Super Chronomat 44 Four Year Calendar

Price: $15,000 - $18,500, Case Size: 44mm, Thickness: 14.5mm, Lug-to-Lug: 53.5mm, Lug Width: 22mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic Breitling Caliber 19 (ETA 2892-A2 base

The most complicated member of the Super Chronomat family combines the signature chronograph function with a so-called “semi-perpetual” calendar display. The Super Chronomat 44 Four-Year Calendar contains the self-winding Breitling Caliber B19, which melds an ETA base movement with a proprietary module that powers its multiple functions: central hour and minute display of local time, small seconds, 1/4-second chronograph, plus a calendar function with day, date, month, and moon-phase that requires adjustment only during leap year — or precisely every 1,461 days. It is a user-friendly complication that settles nicely into the middle ground between annual and perpetual calendar. The model is available in two versions, both in steel, with two-tone dial executions, on either a Rouleaux bracelet or a rubber strap. 

Chronomat Automatic 40 GMT

Branching out from the Chronomat’s signature stopwatch functions, Breitling introduced the dual-time version of the model in 2022, a stylish and functional traveler’s undoubtedly timed to appeal to enthusiasts just beginning to get back to their globetrotting groove after several years of pandemic-era restrictions. Still a relatively small sub-family, the Chronomat Automatic 40 GMT (the 40 refers to the case diameter; the GMT, for “Greenwich Mean Time,” a hint to the watch’s main complication) consists of stainless steel models on Rouleaux bracelets with colorful dials displaying the local-time hour and minute plus a second time zone via a 24-hour scale on the flange and a central arrow-tipped GMT hand. Inside the GMT models is an ETA-based automatic movement, the Breitling Caliber 32, offering a 42-hour power reserve and a COSC chronometer certification (Breitling takes pride in all of its movements, in-house or outsourced, meeting these chronometric criteria).  

Chronomat Automatic 36

Price: $5,100 - $27,500, Case Size: 36mm, Thickness: 10mm, Lug-to-Lug: 43.3mm, Lug Width: 18mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Automatic Breitling Caliber 10 (ETA 2892-A2 base)

On the heels of the first Chronomat B01 42 models in 2020 came two iterations of the watch in smaller executions aimed at women. The larger of the two, the Automatic 36, is outfitted with the ETA-based automatic Breitling Caliber 10, with a 42-hour power reserve, and features simple three-handed lacquered dials in a range of colorways. Several models also feature diamond-set bezels and indexes. In 2023, Breitling added the Chronomat South Sea capsule collection, which takes its inspiration from “the beauty of tropical land and seascapes.” The South Sea models have metallic or mother-of-pearl dials in ice blue, green and pink, diamond hour indexes, and multicolored gem-set bezels and come on either color-coordinated alligator leather straps or the signature “Rouleaux” bracelet.

Chronomat 32

Price: $4,250 - $21,500, Case Size: 32mm, Thickness: 8.5mm, Lug-to-Lug: 39.4mm, Lug Width: 16mm, Water Resistance: 100m, Crystal: Sapphire, Movement: Breitling SuperQuartz Caliber 77

Launched alongside the Automatic 36 models were the most dainty and understated versions of the Chronomat, with steel cases measuring 32mm in diameter and just 8.5mm thick. Like their self-winding bigger sisters, the Chronomat 32 features a dazzling array of dial colors and several gem-set options in steel, two-tone, or gold. The movements in these smallest members of the Chronomat family is Breitling’s thermocompensated “SuperQuartz” Caliber 77, which is 10 times more accurate than a traditional quartz movement and carries a four-year battery life.

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Introducing The New Breitling Chronomat Collection (Live Pics & Pricing)

Not your dad's chronomat..

The Chronomat has been a mainstay of Breitling's watch collections since it was first launched in 1984 (in the version still in production; the very first Breitling watch to have the name debuted in the 1940s) and since then, it has had more incarnations than the Dalai Lama. It has appeared in virtually every variation imaginable and probably a few you would not have thought of in your wildest dreams, but two things have remained consistent about it since day one. These are the use of the oddly archaic onion-shaped crown and the use of the so-called "rider tabs" on the bezel. The latter are perhaps more strongly identified with the Chronomat than any other design element of the watch; they have lent it the sort of immediate recognizability that most watch models only dream of, and while they have historically been something of a love-it-or-hate-it feature of the Chronomat, they have made it as much what it is as the octagonal bezel has made the Royal Oak what it is.

Original Breitling Chronomat advertisement, 1987.

At the same time that it has achieved (at least to my way of thinking) a definite retro-cool vibe in its original design, it is also true that the Chronomat was overdue for a re-evaluation and a refresh, which is what it has just gotten. The new Chronomat collection features a very subtly tweaked and updated version of the watch, intended to give it a more contemporary appeal while at the same time, underscoring some of the vintage design cues that made the watch such a huge hit in the first place.

Vintage Breitling 1983 Frecce Tricolori, the inspiration for the original Chronomat.

The original Chronomat from 1984.

The new version of the Chronomat brings us a more subtle take. The rider tabs are still there (it wouldn't be a Chronomat without them), but they lie more flush with the bezel while still providing the functionality of the original design, both in terms of timing, and in terms of providing a better grip. I have no idea how many pilots nowadays still wear mechanical chronographs in the cockpit (but, as with saturation divers and mechanical watches, it's probably more than we think), but the rider tabs certainly make the bezel easier to grip and turn. With them, you can easily turn the bezel with gloves on (I should know, I just tried), and you get the dual benefits of a countdown bezel with a chronograph. Add that to the fact that with the lume on the dial and indexes and the 200-meter water resistance, you have an ISO 6425 compliant dive watch, and an in-house self-winding chronograph movement that in toughness and precision gives up nothing to any of its competitors, and you have a very attractive value proposition.

One other interesting feature of the rider tabs, is that you can unscrew the tabs at three and nine o'clock and switch their positions, which lets you use the bezel as either a countdown or count-up timer (Breitling strongly recommends that if you want this done, you have it done at a Breitling boutique rather than going DIY).

At launch, the collection will consist of four steel on steel models, with silver, copper, blue or black dials, at $8,100. There will also be Bentley or Frecce Tricolori Limited Editions, with steel cases; the Bentley model with a green dial and the Frecce Tricolori model with a blue dial, at $8,250. In addition, there is a steel version with gold rider tabs, a silver dial, and steel bracelet, at $9,350;  as well as a model with a steel and gold case, with an anthracite or blue dial, on a steel and gold Bracelet, at $12,100. Rounding out the collection is a model with a full-gold case and anthracite dial, which comes on a black rubber strap, at $20,200.

I was never particularly a fan of the Chronomat. I have to be honest, it always looked like a kind of frat-boy parody of a technical watch to me, which is unfairly judgmental, but I suppose we all have our prejudices and that is one of mine. The new version of the Chronomat very much surprised me in two ways. First of all, it made me like a Chronomat, which I would have not placed any money on happening any time between now and ... well, ever. Secondly, it made me look at the existing Chronomat models in a new light.

It has, in short, become a very interesting and compelling watch, at least to my tastes, which as I have said I was not expecting. The rider tabs, possibly the most polarizing element of the Chronomat, now feel functional, and present in the service of functionality. The general feel and look of the watch is much more technical and far less striving for attention than I think it has ever been in decades. It's a very careful and I think smart refresh that respects what made the original Chronomat such a hit, while at the same time acknowledging and even getting ahead of the need for a long-awaited update to the line. 

One other final point: The new/old rouleaux bracelet is very exciting. It gives the new Chronomat models a very strong visual connection to the past, which I am sure was its intention, but it is also supple, comfortable, visually pleasing, and an excellent complement to the newly redesigned Chronomat itself. The polished interlinks in the bracelet also connect visually to the rider tabs, giving the entire watch a more harmonious look overall. Normally, I prefer straps to bracelets just in general, and I know this is not what we generally refer to in strict terms as an "integrated bracelet," but it feels like one of the most nicely integrated bracelets, from a design and feel standpoint, that I have seen in a long time. No spoilers, but as I write I have a prototype in hand, and I look forward to bringing a more detailed evaluation once I've had a chance to spend some more time with the actual watch. For now, I have a very positive first impression of the new Chronomat collection.

The new Chronomat looks great on-wrist.

Brand: Breitling Model: The new Chronomat Collection Reference Numbers: AB0134101G1A1/AB0134101K1A1/AB0134101C1A1 or AB0134101B1A1; Bentley model, AB01343A1L1A1, Frecce Tricolori model, AB01344A1C1A1, IB0134101G1A1; UB0134101C1U1 or UB0134101B1U1; RB0134101B1S1 (18k red gold)

Diameter: 42mm Thickness: 15.10mm Case Material: stainless steel, gold and steel, or 18k red gold Dial Color: varies with model Lume: dials and applied markers Water Resistance: 20 bar/200 meters Strap/Bracelet: varies with model Other details: Unidirectional countdown/count up bezel with rider tabs, screw-down double gasket crown; sapphire front and back

Caliber: Breitling caliber 01 Functions: hours, minutes, running seconds; 12-hour chronograph Diameter: 30mm Thickness: 7.2mm Power Reserve: 70 hours Winding: manual and automatic Frequency: 28,800 vph Chronometer Certified: yes; COSC certified Additional Details: column wheel, vertical clutch, self-winding chronograph movement

Price: From $8,100 in steel to $20,200 in gold on a rubber strap Availability: Available now Limited Edition: No, regular production except for the Frecce Tricolore model

See the new Chronomat Collection at breitling.com.

Live Photos: Masaharu Wada, HODINKEE Japan

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By Elisabetta Povoledo

Deep-sea divers with Italy’s firefighter corps resumed their search on Tuesday for six missing passengers — including a British software mogul and his daughter — of a yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily the previous day.

Twenty-two people were on board the 180-foot British-flagged sailing yacht, the Bayesian, which was anchored near the port of Porticello, when it was hit by what witnesses described as a waterspout, a small tornado on water, during a sudden and violent storm.

Fifteen people who managed to get to a raft were rescued by the captain of a nearby sailing cruise ship. The body of the yacht’s cook, identified by news outlets as Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian Antiguan, was recovered on Monday. But several people are still unaccounted for, according to Salvatore Cocina, an official with Sicily’s civil protection agency.

Those still missing are Mike Lynch, a British technology entrepreneur; his daughter Hannah; Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Christopher J. Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Mr. Lynch was acquitted of fraud in a U.S. trial in June, ending a high-profile, decadelong legal battle against accusations that he had defrauded Hewlett-Packard when he sold his company, Autonomy, to Hewlett for $11 billion.

Mr. Lynch and the others went missing days after Mr. Lynch’s co-defendant at the fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, a former vice president of finance at Autonomy, was fatally struck by a car on Saturday while out for a run, his lawyer, Gary S. Lincenberg, said in a statement.

Prosecutors in the Italian city of Termini Imerese, east of where the yacht sank, are opening a formal investigation into the yacht’s sinking. Reached by telephone, the chief prosecutor declined to comment.

The search for the missing passengers began on Monday but was suspended late that night as crews found themselves limited to the bridge deck and items like furnishings “obstructing passage,” the firefighters’ corps wrote on social media .

When divers resumed the search on Tuesday, ships trawled the waters near the site, the corps said in a statement. The Italian Coast Guard also said in a statement that search operations were “continuing unabated,” with the deployment of helicopters. There was no evidence that gasoline was leaking from the yacht, the Coast Guard said.

The yacht was lying on its right side in about 165 feet of water, meaning that divers, working in pairs, could stay underwater for only about 12 minutes at a time, said Luca Cari, a spokesman for the firefighters’ corps.

Divers were seeking a safe point of access to the vessel’s cabins. “Obviously, everything fell and the space is very tight,” Mr. Cari said, adding that the divers were having to remove obstacles, like furnishings and electrical wiring, that were “completely blocking passages.”

The firefighters’ corps said in a statement that it was impossible to verify whether people were inside the hull.

Mr. Cari said that several divers had been part of the search-and-rescue operations when the Costa Concordia, a cruise liner, capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio in 2012, killing 32 people. It is considered one of the worst maritime disasters in modern Italian history.

“It’s like the Costa Concordia, but much smaller,” Mr. Cari said in a telephone interview, comparing the search operations. “In the Costa Concordia, we came across many obstacles but we somehow were able to overcome them. Here, the obstacles block the passages and have to be removed.” He added, “This makes it more difficult.”

Crews were also trying to raise the yacht, which experts will examine to try to determine why it sank. Until then, experts can only hypothesize what happened.

Karsten Borner, the captain of a ship, the Sir Robert Baden Powell, which picked up the Bayesian’s 15 survivors, said in an interview that when the wind picked up around 4 a.m. Monday, the Bayesian was about 490 feet behind his vessel. Once the wind wound down, he said, he could not see the yacht anymore.

“My theory was that she was capsized first and then went down over the stern,” Mr. Borner said.

Dario Boote, a ship structures and naval architecture professor at the University of Genoa, said: “Now I imagine that a whole series of lawsuits will be triggered, obviously to ascertain whether there is any responsibility, as always happens very unpleasantly in these situations.” He said, however, that in this case, responsibility might be hard to determine. “Clearly, only once the wreck is raised will we know more,” he added.

Several fishermen told Italian news outlets that they had witnessed a waterspout. Peter Inness, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, said they were relatively common in the Mediterranean, though their occurrence and intensity are unpredictable.

“Until one actually forms, you can’t start telling people where it is,” Mr. Inness said, or “how to get out of the way.”

The inclement weather — with lightning intermittently streaking through the sky — made it hard to know exactly why the yacht sank. Col. Attilio Di Diodato, director of the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, said the agency had registered intense lightning activity and strong gusts of wind in the area at the time the boat sank.

The Bayesian had one of the tallest aluminum masts in the world, according to its builder, Perini Navi. “Having a tall aluminum mast would not make it the safest port to be in case of a storm,” said Andrea Ratti, associate professor of nautical design and architecture technology the Politecnico di Milano. The type of intensity unleashed by a violent lightning storm “could have created a significant shock wave,” he added.

He, too, cautioned that “a lot of questions will remain until we have other elements at our disposal.”

Modern yachts are built to withstand meteorological events of reasonable intensity, and all international naval registers suggest that new ships be designed for higher waves and more frequent and extreme weather events.

But “this seems a case of an unreasonable extreme event,” said Emilio Fortunato Campana, an expert in Naval Hydrodynamics at Italy’s National Research Council. “In that case, no ship is 100 percent safe,” he added. “I think the Titanic showed that nothing is unsinkable.”

Elisabetta Povoledo is a reporter based in Rome, covering Italy, the Vatican and the culture of the region. She has been a journalist for 35 years. More about Elisabetta Povoledo

Tech Billionaire Goes Missing After Superyacht Sinks

"they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.", fatal premonition.

A British tech tycoon and his 18-year-old daughter have gone missing after the superyacht they were vacationing upon sank off the coast of Sicily.

As the BBC reports , Autonomy and Invoke Capital founder Mike Lynch and his daughter are two of the six people missing after the Bayesian, the 183-foot-long luxury yacht  on which they were sailing, sunk early in the morning on Monday after being struck by a tornado east of the port town of Palermo.

Considered " Britain's Bill Gates ," the 59-year-old tech tycoon became a billionaire after selling his enterprise software firm Autonomy to Hewlett Packard in 2011. As The Guardian  notes , Lynch was under federal fraud investigation in the United States for that sale until June of this year, when he was acquitted on all counts.

Prior to his disappearance, Lynch said that he believed that if he went to prison over the fraud charges, he would likely have died there due to a lung condition he suffers from.

"I have various medical things that would have made it very difficult to survive," he told the Guardian last month . "If this had gone the wrong way, it would have been the end of life as I have known it in any sense."

Death Spout

Witnesses to the tragedy told the Italian news agency Ansa , per the BBC , that the force of the waterspout — a tornado that occurs over water, basically — caused the ship's aluminum mast to snap in half, causing the craft to become unstable and eventually sink.

Of the 22 people on board the Bayesian, 15 people — including an infant girl and Lynch's wife Angela Bacares — have been rescued. One person, whose identity has not been revealed, has been found dead, and three other people whose names have not been revealed are also missing.

As  CNN notes in its reporting on the luxury vacation gone horribly wrong, Bacares, the one-year-old girl, and six other people were hospitalized. The person who died was apparently found on the ship's hull, per an Italian Coast Guard statement provided to CNN.

Salvo Cocina, who leads Italy's civil protection agency, noted in a media conference quoted by ABC that another superyacht in the vicinity suffered far less damage than the Bayesian.

"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time," Cocina said.

He also noted, per  ABC , that the other nearby yacht, the Sir Robert Baden Powell, helped rescue Lynch's wife and the 14 others who were saved from the disaster.

More on maritime terror: Man Rowing Across Ocean Suddenly Realizes He's Surrounded by Over 1,000 Whales

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