Tool watches worn as fashion statements has become such a normal part of the space that it’s easy to forget somebody actually had to do it first. Miles Davis was wearing a slide-rule pilot’s chronograph under the stage lights in the mid-1960s, decades before “desk diver” ever entered the vocabulary.
Now, to mark the centennial of the jazz legend’s birth, Breitling has faithfully recreated his personal watch with the new Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Miles Davis.
The Watch Behind the Trumpet
The Navitimer launched in 1952 as a members-only tool for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, complete with the organization’s winged logo. Civilian versions sold through Breitling retailers wore the brand’s “Twin Jet” emblem instead.
Davis’ watch, the ref. 806 Mk5, happens to be the first Navitimer to pair that Twin Jet logo with a reverse-panda dial.
Faithful Down to the Winding
The new edition sticks to the script with a 41mm stainless steel case, a black dial with contrasting white subdials, cream-colored Super-LumiNova, and that Twin Jet logo sitting under the lone Arabic numeral at 12.
Breitling even resisted the urge to drop in an automatic. Since self-winding chronographs didn’t exist when Davis bought his, the watch runs the brand’s hand-wound manufacture Caliber B09, a COSC-certified movement with 70 hours of reserve. It’s all visible through a sapphire caseback engraved with “One of 500” and “Miles Davis Centennial.”
Now, About That Bracelet
Buyers can opt for a hand-colored gradient brown leather strap, and it’s a handsome one. But easily our favorite part of this entire release is the return of the Air Racer, Breitling’s rally-inspired steel bracelet from the 1960s that Serge Gainsbourg turned into a signature two decades later.
Those big vented portholes are just so rad, and the revived version adds hinged links near the clasp for modern comfort. In a sea of lookalike integrated bracelets, this thing just feels like a breath of fresh air.
Spec Sheet
Model: Breitling Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Miles Davis
Reference: AB09501A1B1X1 (leather) / AB09501A1B1A1 (Air Racer)
Case Size: 41mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Thickness: 13mm
Lug-to-Lug: 47.09mm
Movement: Breitling Manufacture Caliber B09 (hand-wound, COSC certified)
Power Reserve: Approx. 70 hours
Water Resistance: 30m
Band: Gradient brown calf leather or stainless steel Air Racer bracelet
Limited Edition: Yes, 500 pieces
Pricing & Availability
The Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Miles Davis is available now, priced at $8,900 on leather or $9,600 on the Air Racer bracelet, and every one of the 500 buyers gets a two-year membership to the Breitling Social Club opening in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in late 2027. There’s also a 50-piece “Lifetime Club Member Set” that packs steel, 18k gold, and platinum versions into a trumpet-case-inspired box, with lifetime club membership included.
Recap
Breitling Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Miles Davis
Limited to 500 pieces for the jazz icon’s centennial, Breitling faithfully recreates the reverse-panda Navitimer Miles Davis wore on stage, complete with a hand-wound movement and the gloriously revived Air Racer bracelet.
