Swiss, Breitling team up for Navitimer Boeing 777 watch

The Navitimer is Breitling's cornerstone chronograph and a perennial go-to when special editions are called for.

And with Breitling partnering with Swiss to become the airline's 'Official On-Board Timekeeper' and Swiss looking for a unique way to celebrate the debut of its new flagship Boeing 777-300ER – well, you can join the dots.

Yes, it's is the Navitimer Swiss Boeing 777 Limited Edition.

How limited? Only 777 models of the watch will be struck and they'll be available only as an inflight purchase on the Swiss Boeing 777 and "selected intercontinental flights" such as Zurich to New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.

There's obvious cuteness with the price tag, too, at 7,070 Swiss Francs (A$9,620).

Based on the benchmark Navitimer 01, Breitling's bespoke Boeing 777 version is made unique by the small plane-shaped tip of the red seconds hand.

The rear of the highly polished steel case carries an elegantly engraved marker to the watch's inspiration.

We expect few Swiss passengers will need to resort to the advanced time-recording features of the precision chronometer, let alone the circular aviation 'slide-rule' available at a twist of the notched bezel and designed for use by skilled pilots to quickly make essential calculations mid-flight in event of an instrument failure.

That being the case, it would have been nice to see Swiss opt for the more travel-oriented Navitimer GMT, which adds 24 hour indicators around the chapter ring tracked by a dedicated red-tipped GMT hand.

The rest of the Navitimer 01's distinctive DNA remains unsullied: solid chrome-capped pushers, a padded black calf leather strap lined with heavy white stitching, and the Swiss watchmaker's in-house B01 self-winding mechanical movement with a 70 hour power reserve.

At 43mm the Navitimer is by no means a petite watch, although the wide silver-white bezel and trio of secondary dials helps it look and wear smaller, resulting in a reasonable if not retiring fit on the average-sized wrist.

For more details or just to gawk, click through to www.swiss-breitling.com.

Also read: Inside the swish new Swiss Boeing 777-300ER

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David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.