[INFORM] Breitling Aerospace: Two Year Review.

I turned the titanium crown bearing Breitling’s “B” logo with a bit of bravado to reveal the local time in a gold digital text right above the 6 o’clock. My right hand then returned to cover my ripcord handle on as we began our approach towards the rear of our C-27J Spartan aircraft, and the hot air swirling from its propellors down the flight line. When I got to the plane’s ramp, I peeked down and realized my watch was still in its second time zone function. I checked the other jumpers on the bird to make sure they were seated with their seatbelts secured, before waddling to my designated seat. After shifting my ruck sack (or kit) to make room for my left leg, I executed a trust fall and landed in my seat with my modular airborne weapons case (or “MAW-C’) firmly pressed into my armpit. The aircraft slowly began taxiing towards the landing strip. I looked back down at my watch and turned my right wrist downward. With my left hand, I turned the Breitling's small but nicely grooved crown once again. This time, the digital screen below the 12 o’clock read “CHRONO" and the screen above the 6 o’clock read “00:00:00”. The C-27 stopped again and, as its engines reached their crescendo, it began to accelerate with a thunderous roar. The loadmaster tapped my shoulder and held up six fingers. I made eye contact with the other Jumpmaster seated across from me on the plane's starboard side. We both nodded and I pushed down on the crown. As the chronometer began to measure the time remaining until we reached the release point and I gave the command “GREEN LIGHT, GO!” to the first jumper, the other Jumpmaster and I clapped our hands three times. “SIX MINUTES!”

Overview

	My daily “multi-tool” companion of over two years, the Breitling Aerospace (reference E75362, from 2004) is a timepiece made of Grade 2 Titanium. This material provides increased hardness, resistance to corrosion, and an elegant lightness compared to stainless steel traditionally used in sports watches. After I purchased my then-seventeen-year-old timepiece from Crown and Caliber for $3,000 two years ago (properly serviced, with papers, but no box), I proceeded to put my first “big name” luxury watch through an absolute ringer. I wore it every day for eight months straight. The Aerospace accompanied me on 16 airborne operations (as both a jumper and a Jumpmaster) along with six “field trips” overseas to conduct PSYOP with joint and combined partners, execute training, and survive planning conferences. The dull yet gleaming titanium brought a analog-digital “drip” to my outfits for every occasion – from my Army Combat Uniform and casual Air Jordan 1 “Lost and Founds” with jeans and a hoodie, to a suit or formal Army Service Uniform in black tie configuration. I wore my Aerospace comfortably to the gym and over several miles during morning runs and ruck marches. Most importantly, I wore this watch in whatever newly-stained shirt I was wearing during my first year as a new dad. Some may argue the dual-digital screens are too “sports,” but these screens can be turned off to provide a clean symmetry. The Breitling Aerospace’s suite of digital functions controlled by pushing, pulling, or turning the crown like an Apple Watch has proven itself useful in daily activities. If it wasn’t for my undying obsession with watches, my Aerospace would honestly be suitable for creating a “two-watch collection” (I'd still need the corrective trauma from my Garmin reminding me to run better). My Breitling Aerospace gets the most wrist time out of my collection of over ten watches. The high accuracy (collective gasp) quartz movement provides all the horological nerd-ness I could ever want, the durable titanium makes any scratches look like they belong, and its ergonomic design/weight makes it feel like I’m not wearing anything at all. The slogan of the Instagram account Watches of Espionage (@watchesofespionage) says “use your tools”. I use the hell out of this tool and at the seasoned age of 19, she’s not quitting anytime soon.

 History 

	The #ThrowbackThursday titanium retro vibes of the Aerospace started with its release in 1985 as reference 80360. This had “Navitimer” written on the dial and featured chronograph, dual time zone, and perpetual calendar functions. Breitling introduced digital displays to the Aerospace in 1995 when it began to share the same movement as the Breitling Emergency. Two years later, the Breitling Aerospace received a “glow up” in reference F65062, receiving its thicker, italicized numerals and the text “Aerospace” on the dial. Fast forward to the year 2000 pending Y2K, the Breitling Aerospace upgraded to Breitling Caliber 75 based on the ETA Thermoline 988.352 caliber. With the Breitling 75, a COSC-certified caliber, the Aerospace entered into the high accuracy quartz stratosphere. The Caliber 75 is ten times more accurate than standard quartz movements. Maintaining the spirit of its original design cues popularized in the 80s, the now discontinued Breitling Aerospace offers a bulletproof retro watch with functions that apply in the cockpit of an aircraft, in sports, and in countless mundane day-to-day activities. Some notable Breitling Aerospace users include Jerry Seinfeld, Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall, Prince Harry, and @WatchesofEspionage.

Case & Bracelet

	When reviewing the case alongside the bracelet or strap, I prioritize comfort. You know a timepiece is worth the cost if the way it looks to you compliments the feeling on your wrist when it's worn. Some enthusiasts prefer the weight of stainless steel – heft is traditionally associated with luxury. The Breitling Aerospace disappears on the wrist while its titanium build ensures the durability of its job as a tool watch. The 9.8mm thinness allows the watch to slip under cuffs when dressed in a suit. When executing Jumpmaster duties, the watch seamlessly avoids equipment when conducting hands-on safety inspections of jumpers (for those in the know, people wear their parachutes tight!). The bidirectional rotating bezel turns with smooth, light clicks. The bezel has four “rider tabs”, making it a breeze to grip either barehanded or with gloves on. As for looks? Titanium might not be as “blingy” as some stainless-steel timepieces, but the titanium's finish is purposeful.  It provides a high-quality look that’s tough to scratch. Speaking of battle scars, they look better on titanium (no eye-twitching when I scrape the bracelet against my M4). The Aerospace's case back is closed with a centered Breitling logo circled by lightly stamped conversion charts for weight, liquid, and distance measurements from metric to freedom units. The brushed titanium bracelet is light, comfortable, and secured by a flip lock clasp that's still secure.

Dial

The Breitling Aerospace's dial is a dark grey that changes depending upon the lighting. Bring it outdoors and into the sun, and the dial turns a light gunmetal grey that compliments the titanium case, the white indices and Arabic numerals, the black digital screens, and the gold Breitling emblem. The Arabic 12-3-6-9 digits are bold, italicized, which, depending on the owner, is either a home run or strikeout. Looking at the watch holistically, it is perfect. Breitling is known for having “loud” designs, where its timepieces such as the Navitimer have so much information. The Aerospace is bold and daring, maintaining a unique Breitling personality in a clean, retro fashion.  
The two lines of text on the dial are “Breitling” and “Aerospace Chronometre”. This is enough to me…I enjoy that the watch is still a reminder that it is a COSC-certified watch built during an era where COSC really mattered. The lume is fine. It's not the brightest, but it’s just enough to tell the time in low light after 19 years. The digital dials aren’t illuminated, but the latest models of the Aerospace EVO do feature a backlight. The digital screens are a faint gold where Breitling used gold in the LCD to provide legibility in a negative digital screen.

Movement & Functions

	The Breitling 75 is an in-house (not true in house, as it is modified from ETA) SuperQuartz movement that is thermo-compensated to maintain its accuracy. Most quartz watches are accurate to about +/- 25 seconds a month. After two years, I can report that this piece is accurate to -3 seconds a month. For comparison, mechanical movements are measured to an accuracy of +/- 4 to 25 seconds a day. From an engineering standpoint, it is an advancement in timekeeping where the movement adjusts multiple times a day based on the environment’s temperature. This isn’t the best high-accuracy quartz movement (Grand Seiko and Citizen have entered the chat), but it is absolutely robust. Breitling watches are meant for abuse. 
The digital dials display its other functions that you can scroll to using the crown. To prevent accidental change “in action,” you have to quickly turn the crown about a quarter of the way. It takes a bit of getting used to, but the purpose is to minimize accidental function change. You can activate the functions pushing the crown like a button. Pulling the crown resets the function. The analog minute hand ticks halfway every 30 seconds, which is a cool feature. There’s no seconds hand, which really helps in forgetting that the movement is a quartz. I travel frequently, and changing the analog hands to the local time is a breeze. I just turn the watch with a bit of oomph and shift the minute hand to the left or right. Shift with more oomph (turning halfway quickly), and the minute hand smoothly scrolls to change the time by an hour. It’s a bit of work, but I enjoy changing the time while waiting for my flight. Between meetings, operations, training, and airborne operations, I frequently use the chronometer, countdown timer, and second time functions.  
The Aerospace's coolest function is its minute repeater. When the watch is in its time-telling settings (blank screens, second time, day-date, or day-seconds), pushing the crown activates an audible beep. The beeps tell the current time. For example, 1436hrs is two long beeps (2 o’clock), pause, three double beeps (every 15 seconds), pause, then six quick beeps (6 seconds). During the first two months of my son’s life, I used the hell out of this function. Could I use my phone? Hell no, my wife wakes up to any light and needs to sleep. But under a pillow, the beeps were muffled enough that I knew it’s time to sneak out and get the bottle ready (I had night shift after midnight).

Closing Comments

This watch has spoiled me. Two years later and it’s still a joy to look at with its eclectic dial design surrounded by a case that continues to look better with wear and tear. I compare its comfort to every potential follow-on watch purchase. I recently added an Artem NATO strap to accentuate the retro vibe, but it also really elevates the comfort (thanks for the recommendation, Nacho Conde Garzon of Fratello Watches). Whether in the office, in the field, or during miles of ruck marching, my Breitling Aerospace just feels right. Its lightness maintains the spirit of a sports watch, but it doesn’t distract you so you can focus on whatever activity you're doing. You won’t break even or make any profit selling this watch. The investment value means nothing to me because I’m never letting it go. You won’t find homages or other brands mimicking the Aerospace's design or to compete as an alternative. The Breitling Aerospace isn’t the most popular piece within the brand’s stable, which features the Navitimer, Emergency, Chronomat, SuperOcean, and Endurance Pro series. It is relatively affordable on the used market, making it a solid first “fire and forget” luxury piece. You won’t mistake another watch in the wild as this retro 80's baddie (except the Breitling Emergency) because nobody wants to copy it. Damn right…that’s an Aerospace and no, those aren’t solar panels.

The good? It looks unique and, depending the owner, really cool. Its lightness, bracelet flexibility, and ergonomic case shape makes it an extremely comfortable watch. It has enough presence to remind you that you’re wearing a Breitling, but it’s slim enough that you'll use it as a tool without care. It has a full suite of digital functions that can be activated using the crown, which keeps the overall design simple to wear for any occasion (below a tuxedo; you can argue against wearing this with a suit, but those rules don’t matter – people are wearing dive watches and chronographs, for God’s sake). It’s the least "loud" of the "loud" Breitling pieces. The 20mm lug width makes finding straps easy-peasy.

The bad? It doesn’t have the luxury heft. The titanium doesn’t show a lot of bling. The dial design is a hit or miss to people. The clasp is stamped (mine has so many scars I don’t care anymore). Quartz is still a negative perception to the JV watch community and those who view watches for the “perception of wealth.”

The ugly? You could get a G-shock full metal for half the used market price of the Aerospace if you don’t care for the high accuracy quartz. If you’re one of the few that want one, the Aerospace is tough to come by and you won’t be saving as much. The pre-Apple watch era crown takes some finesse to use. You will always compare this watch to other luxury timepieces and want more. For me, there was some buyers’ remorse during the first two days I had it until I jumped out of an airplane and checked the time. This watch wasn’t meant to show off to people. It’s meant to be used.

✨Pending any questions✨ next slide

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 https://www.breitlingsource.com/watch_details/Professional_25.html
 https://www.fratellowatches.com/strap-check-this-artem-straps-nato-is-a-perfect-match-for-my-oddball-breitlingaerospace/#gref

[INFORM] Breitling Aerospace: Two Year Review.

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