Beautiful magnificence: Check of the Breitling Premier Heritage B15 Duograph 42 | WatchTime

This text was initially revealed within the January/February 2022 difficulty of WatchTime print journal.

The brand new Premier Heritage B15 Duograph 42 is simply Breitlings most elegant timepieces and a tribute to the pioneering spirit of the corporate founders. Like its predecessor of the identical title from the Nineteen Forties, it could actually document time intervals and is breaking new floor in doing so. We take a more in-depth look.

Three generations formed the historical past of timekeeping at Breitling: Léon Breitling based the corporate in 1884. He later utilized for a patent for a easy timepiece with a tachymeter that would measure any velocity between 15 and 150 kilometers per hour.

About 30 years later, his son Gaston created one of many first wristwatch chronographs with a separate pusher on the 2 o’clock place. This innovation made it doable to separate the beginning, cease and reset features from the crown – an enormous benefit when timing sporting occasions.

In 1934, Léon’s grandson Willy filed a patent for the second separate chronograph pusher at 4 o’clock. Willy Breitling was not solely technically gifted, he additionally acknowledged individuals’s need for magnificence and glamour. This impressed him to create the “Premier” within the Nineteen Forties.

Presently, Breitling was a longtime buyer of the physique shell producer Venus. Willy Breitling purchased watch actions from this firm as early because the Thirties. He additionally acquired the Venus 179 caliber and offered it within the “Premier Duograph” mannequin in 1944. This was a hand-wound rattrapante chronograph motion that Venus produced in modest numbers between 1940 and 1952. The watch was operated by way of two pushers and a rattrapante button built-in into the crown.

Rattrapante module hidden underneath the dial

In 2017, Breitling picked up on this free thread within the story with the Navitimer Rattrapante. The in-house automated caliber B03, launched with this timepiece, now additionally serves as the premise for the hand-wound caliber B15, which was developed for the Premier Heritage B15 Duograph 42, our take a look at watch.

The watchmakers initially positioned the sophisticated split-seconds mechanism with a further column wheel, rattrapante wheel and brackets instantly underneath the dial, as high-precision drilling of the lengthy chronograph tube was a problem. Within the Venus 179 caliber, the split-seconds mechanism was moved to the again of the motion.

With the caliber B03 and later the B15, Breitling introduced the split-seconds complication, together with the rattrapante wheel, column wheel and clamps, again to the entrance of the motion. The position of the complication instantly underneath the dial was not solely for easy historic causes. Immediately, fashionable watchmaking and development strategies permit numerous technical options for a rattrapante mechanism. Breitling went its personal manner, which resulted in two patents.

The modular design of the B03 motion, and due to this fact additionally the B15, allowed the rattrapante mechanism to be relocated to the dial aspect of the motion, which is now situated between the principle plate and the date ring. Sadly, this implies it’s invisible via the sapphire glass window within the caseback. The rattrapante mechanism makes use of a standard gear and a split-seconds wheel manufactured from chrome steel. The second patented innovation is an isolation system that acts as an energy-saving separation between the stopped split-seconds and the precise chronograph mechanism. The Rattrapante wheel includes a rubber O-ring that replaces the serrated edge. Your complete split-seconds mechanism consists of solely 28 particular person elements.

Hand-wound caliber B15 with out date

The modular design of the B03 caliber provided a variety of prospects proper from the beginning. This caliber can use a self-winding mechanism to wind the motion, however the B15 doesn’t supply this; As a substitute, it follows the rising pattern in the direction of hand-wound watches. And in contrast to the B03, the B15 would not have a date show, similar to the unique Premier Duograph from the Nineteen Forties.

The bicompax structure of the counters reveals the working seconds at 9 o’clock and the elapsed chronograph minutes at 3 o’clock. The chronograph counter used to measure as much as 45 minutes, however the fashionable duograph makes use of the extra frequent 30-minute counter. The elongated line markings at 3, 6 and 9 minutes are taken instantly from its predecessor. These have been as soon as helpful for figuring out phone name charges. Does anybody want them nowadays? Admittedly, they’re enticing and genuine. Much less enticing are the truncated numbers 2, 4, 8 and 10, however this design has a historic foundation. On the whole we discover that the primary Premier Duograph from 1944 contained clearer data.

Knowledgeable stopwatch perform

The boxy sapphire crystal is unquestionably a retro design ingredient, however the dramatic curved edge tends to distort the tachymeter observe. In any other case, the anti-glare coating on each side of the glass ensures a transparent view of the fashionable blue dial. The sunburst sample adjustments coloration from the middle and the recessed counters have concentric round grooves. The tachymeter observe across the dial is printed on a barely raised ring. The stopwatch rail on the internal ring has highlighted numerical 5-minute markers and, as befits an expert chronograph, exactly marks fractions of a second within the 4 Hz rhythm of the B15 caliber. The hand-wound motion is housed in a sturdy chrome steel case with a slender, polished, graduated bezel on the high, a brushed end within the fluted center part and the attribute Breitling case again with a sapphire crystal viewing window that may solely be opened with a particular instrument. The B15 has a really high-tech look. As we noticed in our take a look at of the Aviator 8 B01 Chronograph Mosquito (see “Currents within the Air”, October 2020 difficulty), we sadly additionally see indicators of damage on the chronograph levers.

The stopwatch perform is operated utilizing elongated pushers with safe strain factors. Regardless of the column wheel, beginning the chronograph requires extra effort than stopping and resetting. The rattrapante pusher feels clean and works persistently effectively contained in the crown. The deeply grooved crown itself could be very straightforward to grip for every day winding. And must you neglect to wind the watch, the B15 caliber, like all fashionable Breitling in-house actions, has an influence reserve of 70 hours with good efficiency and dependable amplitudes, even when the chronograph is switched on for an entire day.

A shimmering dial with lengthy fingers and utilized markers

Since only some producers supply this complicated rattrapante know-how, it’s a pleasure to see and expertise on the face of a watch. As a reminder, Rattrapante comes from the French phrase rattraper, which suggests “to catch up.” A rattrapante chronograph has two stopwatch fingers that may be stopped independently and rejoined at a later time. One chronograph hand can “catch up” to the opposite. If each fingers run on the identical time, the precise stopwatch hand strikes together with the second hand, which is why it’s sometimes called a split-second chronograph. The 2 lengthy, needle-shaped fingers hardly differ visually, however their quick ends are straightforward to tell apart. The thicker higher stopwatch hand ends in a hoop, whereas the marginally thinner rattrapante hand has an arrowhead beneath. These symbols have been already a part of the 1944 Duograph. Typically the metal fingers and utilized markings shimmer and mirror gentle, requiring you to maneuver the watch a little bit to learn the elapsed time. At the hours of darkness, solely the principle time with hours and minutes is seen, which glows gentle inexperienced.

The strap is lined with a shiny yellow that contrasts with the golden brown sheen of the alligator leather-based on the highest, harking back to Willy Breitling’s thought of ​​fulfilling individuals’s need for magnificence and glamor with the Premier assortment. Immediately, the Premier Heritage B15 Duograph 42 is obtainable to these searching for a classy chronograph, simply because it was supposed.

Breitling Premier Heritage B15 Duograph 42 Specs:

Producer: Breitling Chronometrie SA, Allée du Laser 10, 2300 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

Reference quantity: AB1510171C1P1

Options: Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph (central cease seconds, 30-minute counter), rattrapante, tachymeter

Motion: Breitling B15, hand-wound, primarily based on Breitling 03 automated, COSC-certified, 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), 27 jewels, copper beryllium stability, Nivarox hairspring, effective adjustment by way of eccentric screw, Kif shock absorption (stability and escape wheel), 70- Hour energy reserve, diameter = 30.0 mm, peak = 8.68 mm

Case: Chrome steel case, curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on each side (high), case again manufactured from sapphire crystal, waterproof to 100 m

Bracelet and clasp: Alligator leather-based strap, easy folding clasp

Consider outcomes: Deviation in seconds per 24 hours (absolutely wound / after 24 hours)

Dimensions: Diameter = 42.11 mm, bridge width = 22 mm, peak = 15.57 mm, weight = 124 g

Variations: With 18k pink gold case and black dial (Ref. RB1510251B1P1, $22,850)

Value: $10,250

Outcomes:

Bracelet and clasp (max. 10 factors): Excessive-quality bracelet, distinctive shine, practical folding clasp. 9

Case (10): Strong, pretty thick case with box-shaped sapphire crystal and curved caseback, a really genuine look. eighth

Dial and fingers (10): Historic design in stylish blue, superbly crafted; some numbers are partially minimize off. eighth

Model (15): The watch is harking back to the design of its historic predecessor with a sexy retro look. 13

Readability (5): Clear view with anti-reflective crystal, the time is straightforward to learn each day and evening; Reflections on the markers and fingers and the tachymeter observe is distorted. 3

Course of (5): The chronograph and rattrapante pushers work completely, the crown is straightforward to grip, the clasp could be very straightforward to make use of. 5

Consolation (5): Regardless of its thickness, it sits effectively on the wrist because of the comfy strap. 4

Motion (20): Fashionable clockwork with a uncommon, patented rattrapante mechanism and a correspondingly technical look; Small scratches on the chronograph levers. 17

Fee outcomes (10): Chronometer-level outcomes, secure amplitudes with reducing energy reserve and with the chronograph switched on. eighth

Complete worth (10): Excellent worth for cash for a uncommon and complicated complication from a well-liked sports activities watch model. 9

TOTAL: 84 factors

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