When the Boeing 747 took its first flight in 1969, commercial air travel still held a special, romanticized enigma and it was still unclear what the future would hold as far as accommodations and luxury. The partially-double-decker Jumbo Jet was the first of its kind: far bigger than anything Americans had traveled the skies inside and some variants even included a swanky lounge on the top floor.
Unfortunately, growing changes in airline travel towards utility rather than luxury, catapulted even further due to the global pandemic, have contributed to the demise of the Boeing flagship, and this past December, production ended after a 54-year run. To honor the legacy and importance of the 747, Swiss watchmaker Breitling has released a special edition of its Navitimer B01 Chronograph.
The industry’s most iconic and ubiquitous pilot’s watch, which also saw its first automatic chronograph iteration in ‘69, is a fitting canvas for such an occasion. Housed in a 43mm stainless steel case, the new retro-inspired model, named after the jet itself, features a cream-colored dial with a red inner slide-rule and a trio of black totalizers — based on the color scheme of the original 747 planes.
Of course, the timepiece is limited to just 747 examples, with the edition number engraved around the outside of the open caseback. Available now, the Navitimer B01 Chronograph Boeing 747 is priced at $9,400 on Breitling’s website.
