Its huge size, extensive seating capacity, and long-range flight capability gave the Boeing 747 the title of ‘Jumbo Jet’ and the “Queen of the Skies”. This legendary aircraft revolutionised the face of airlines and air travel when it first taxied in 1969 and took its first commercial flight in 1970. With four engines, two decks, and two aisles, it could fly more than 5000 nautical miles and has carried over 3.5 billion passengers since it first arrived on the scene.
With technological advancements in aviation, more fuel- and cost-efficient aircraft were introduced that had the capacity to carry the nearly same number of passengers over a greater flight range. This has now led to the roll-off of the Jumbo Jet that spanned 55 years in the production line, the last of which, the 1574th, will be delivered in late January 2023 to Atlas Air.
Breitling has taken this opportunity to pay its tribute to the iconic aircraft, and its Navitimer has proved to be the perfect canvas introduced as the first pilot’s chronograph in 1952, the Navitimer was devised for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). Seventy-one years later, and in honour of the last Boeing 747, the watchmaker has unveiled a new edition, the Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Boeing 747, which will be produced in a limited number of 747 pieces.
The new Breitling Navitimer Boeing 747 features a classic 4 mm stainless steel case, a bidirectional bezel, and a cream dial that holds the aesthetics of the Jumbo Jet with a defining red and white slide rule with ‘Boeing 747’ inscribed in the inner scale, black subdials, and blue accents. At 12 o’clock lies the AOPA logo and at 6 o’clock the integrated date window with the subdial. The indexes and hands are coated with Super-LumiNova® allowing time readability in low-light conditions.
“One of 747” and “The Original Jumbo Jet” engravings on the caseback ode to the long revolutionary service of the Boeing 747. The automatic Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01 runs the watch with about 70 hours of power reserve and can be seen through the cambered sapphire caseback. The watch is water resistant for up to 30 metres and comes with a black alligator leather strap with a folding buckle and a seven-row stainless steel bracelet with a butterfly clasp.
Images : Courtesy Breitling
