- Model: Breitling Chronomat 769
- Year: 1942
- Material: Stainless steel
- Size: 36 mm diameter
- Movement: Venus 175
Mint Breitling Chronomat 769 from 1942 – patent 217012 with a extremely rare black dial
The commercial release of the Chronomat in 1942 was a big event for Breitling and for the watchmaking history as a whole. Like its cousin the Navitimer, the Chronomat was a slide rule watch but it came down as the first chronograph to bear such a useful complication.
A slide rule is a tool enabling to make complicated calculations (multiplications, additions, logarithm…) by juxtaposition of two logarithmic scales. Adding the chronograph complication expanded the range of possibilities, as it added the ability to measure an average speed or a heartbeat. This tool watch was useful for both pilots and engineers and put Breitling on the map as a major watch company. The idea of combining a chronograph and a slide rule on the wrist was novel and actually protected by a patent, hence the 217012 number displayed on the dial
With a serial number 527x, this 769 is one of the early Chronomat ever made
