Horological Meandering

cisco
972

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Breitling 809 Cosmonaute Part 3: the beauty that became a beast

Unlike many toolwatches, Breitling are elegant, far from the brutal thickness that you can find in other toolwatches ( which has its own charm for sure). It's something typical that you can also find on SuperOcean 807 and 1004, divers that are thin and refined, not massive like Big Crown Submariner or Ploprof 600.

The Navi has a unique personnality, a refined toolwatch especially with the early "small pearl" bezel. The Cosmonaute "all black" misses that refinement but is more "powerful", has more presence especially because of the bezel, I will show it later.

First there is the size 42mm for the Cosmonaute because of that bewel (41 for the Navi) with long lugs that extends on the wrist.

But there is also that thin profle which is typical of Navi. Unlike Speedmaster or Daytona, it's a snap on caseback, not a screwed down caseback. That combined with the proportions of the Venus 178 give that large but thin profile to the Navy.

The long lugs and their progressive chamfer are part of the charm too. This case remind me a bit of the Blancpain Air Command but thinner.

The bezel takes some place though. Toward the end of the 50s small pearl are replaced by bigger one (I won't go into details here) , big pearl that you find on the Cosmonaute but with a different bezel profile compared to the normal Navitimer.

It's not straight contrary to the classic Navitimer, there is an angle that widen the bezel and makes this watch bigger than the already big Navitimer 806.

This special bezel is unique to the early cosmonaute , it is one of the great strength of this watch, looks like a crown... or a flying saucer upside down

It makes this watch even more present than the normal Navitimer, very special.

The other attraction is obviously the dial, like any Navitimer it's a visual shock

The combination black dial with lume reminds a bit of military watches but contrary to the military watchesm it's full of writings and infos everywhere.

The white slide rule with decimal scale , the inner logarythmic scale , the minutes, the "MPH" with that spear above, "STAT" , "NAUT" around nine o clock, and , of course, the stunning AOPA golden wings that contrast with the black dial.

And there is the name: "Cosmonaute" , bringing dreams and stories

This super busy but stunning dial is what make Navitimers something quite unique, its the identity of all Navis, identity that one loves or doesn't.

The white Syringe hands, also correspond to what man expect from a pilot's watch. The latter Cosmonaute do not have these hands and I must say I like them.

The subdial are concentric striated, giving nice reflections with lights.

This watch has a huge presence and is utterly charming at the same time.

A shooting star in Breitling production

Breitling could have chosen the easy way to celebrate Scott Carpenter achievement. A Navitimer with something written on the dial nothing too complex, it would have been less expensive.

But they chose the right way, they produced it with the special bezel and the 24 hours dial

The name is acquired in 1961 but nothing is certain when the production actually started. If Carpenter is the first (or one of the first)  to have it, which is logicial and what I believe, the 809 Cosmonaute production could have begun around April or May 1962 with this bezel and the all black dial.

By the end of 1962, the black dial is replaced with a "panda" dial, and cosmonaute disappears from most dial... much better to sell to the big market of the time, the US. In 1963 the wide bezel is replaced by the classic navitimer Bezel 806.

As you understand, the Cosmonaute "all black" of Scott Carpenter was produced for some months only and the big bezel less than a year...

Its beauty, its genesis and its rarity makes it the grail of Navitimers and to my eyes of many postwar chronograph.

So, is it?

Obviously there are not many "Carpenter" Cosmonaute.

Less than 500 for sure. How many? I don't know. But if I trust the number I see on the market, on wristscans etc... I would say much less.

As you see on photos, it's not in great shape, this one had a tough life , it's okay for a toolwatch.

it has a lot of patina and the dial has been damaged, certainly humidity ... which is surprising for a watch well known to be not waterproof, and moreover that it was a very expensive one.

$230 in 1963 , it's at the top of the stainless steel Breitling watches. To compare a Rolex Daytona cost $210 in 1964 , a classic watch from a good brand is around $50. An AquaLung diver chronograph is at $100

The one of Scott Carpenter has been submerged at the "Splashdown" recovery before being sent to Breitling which fits with the dial damages

In the same idea, the pushers base is oxydized with some green that reminds me sea water oxydation.

These are coincidences and it would mean that the watch stayed in a drawer since 1962 , hard to believe actually...

The conclusion is you can conclude nothing of course , the chances that this is THE one are actually close to zero. But these coincidences are fun and I like to imagine that this is the one that went to space... after all, vintage watches are here to give us a dream aren't they ?

Thanks

A huge thanks to Watchfred and Dracha for their help, their infos, their culture and their friendship, there won't be a review without them! Thanks guys !

To Jean-Michel who was one of the first on the Navitimer topic.

To all friends for their support, which had to endure my spamming and my madness

Site Info.