To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the first Swiss wristwatch in space worn by astronaut Scott Carpenter on board the Aurore 7 spacecraft, Breitling reissues the Navitimer Cosmonaute inspired by the watch worn.
Press Release information with commentary in italics.
New: Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute
Retail price for the Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute is SGD 15,850 in strap. The bracelet is a SGD 500 additional. Prices are inclusive of GST.
Commentary
Breitling boosts news of the lesser known fact that the first Swiss Wristwatch in Space was a Breitling. This feat was achieved with a Navitimer on the wrist of astronaut Scott Carpenter, on 24 May 1962. The event was preceded by Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who was the first man in space, and he wore a Soviet made Sturmanskie on 12 April 1961 aboard the Vostok 1.
The watch worn by Scott was the Navitimer Cosmonaute, and his actual was has never been exhibited to the public, but now, is on display in Breitling Zurich. As noted in the release notes, the watch is in poor condition, and is unrestored.
However, tody, Breitling announced the release of a new Cosmonaute, and this watch is a period correct style, true to the original with subtle updates.
The most significant being the B02 movement. The B02 movement has had an interesting history in the Breitling lineup, and is a handwound chronograph with 24 hour display which is in production since 2013. The Cal. B02 is a modification of the hand-winding Cal. B09, which is itself based on Cal. B01. The central hour hand traces 24 hours in a day rather than 12 hours twice. Thus it requires a special dial with 24 hour markings. More details on the Grail Reference link.
The visuals we received looked very good, and a traditional looking Navitimer, with the typical slide rule, and signature busy dial. The size is also rather typical of the Navitimer lineup, measuring 41mm in diameter. The watch is available with a strap or a steel bracelet.
Release information
On the 60th anniversary of its journey aboard the Aurora 7 spacecraft, the mythic watch with the 24-hour dial is set to lift off once again in a new release that pays tribute to the historic mission. To mark the occasion, Breitling offered the first-ever public viewing of the original Cosmonaute since 1962—and revealed the watch’s incredible story.
In the 1960s, Breitling’s Navitimer was the undisputed pilot’s watch. But the world’s attention was rapidly advancing beyond air travel and into space exploration, and that meant a different kind of Space Race was quietly underway. This time, between watchmakers vying to be the first on astronauts’ wrists.
Breitling’s expertise in aviation watches shot the brand to the head of the pack. On 24 May 1962, Breitling officially claimed the title “first Swiss wristwatch in space” after astronaut Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times while wearing the Navitimer Cosmonaute during his Mercury-Atlas 7 mission. The watch had been Carpenter’s personal request, a variation on the iconic aviator’s watch he’d encountered in his flight days, but with a 24-hour dial to tell day from night in space.
Today—on the 60th anniversary of that mission—Breitling not only unveiled Carpenter’s original Navitimer Cosmonaute, but also launched a modern tribute to it. This special release is limited to 362 numbered pieces that recognize both the spacecraft’s circumnavigations of the Earth and the year the mission made history, marking a crucial step in manned spaceflight.
Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling, says, “When we introduced the redesigned Navitimer earlier this year, a question on everybody’s lips was, ‘What about the Cosmonaute?’ Today, I’m thrilled to finally announce two Cosmonaute reveals: the first-ever public viewing of the watch Scott Carpenter wore into space, and a 60th-anniversary limited-edition timepiece that pays tribute to its history-making forerunner.”
A PIECE OF SPACE HISTORY IN A FIRST-TIME PUBLIC VIEWING
On 24 May 1962, five hours after launch, the Aurora 7 space capsule with Carpenter aboard splashed down safely in the Atlantic. The recovery operation lasted three hours, with the long exposure to seawater resulting in irreparable damage to Carpenter’s Cosmonaute. Breitling immediately replaced Carpenter’s watch, but that battered and corroded piece of space history remained in the Breitling family archives—unrestored and widely unknown. That is, until today.
Now, exactly 60 years after its historic flight, that great space watch was exhibited for the first time to select collectors, journalists, and watch enthusiasts at a space-themed event in Zurich. It was an afternoon of lively interaction, co-hosted by Georges Kern and former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, and featuring an impressive lineup of guest speakers that included members of the Carpenter family, Gregory Breitling, and historian and collector Fred Mandelbaum. The panelists reflected on the Cosmonaute’s creation, the significance of Carpenter’s mission, and how both fit into the wider context of the space program at the time.
Also exhibited was a Cosmonaute once owned by astronaut John Glenn and acquired at auction in 2019 by Gregory Breitling.
THE 24-HOUR WATCH, COMMEMORATIVE AND REFRESHED
The Cosmonaute is a true Navitimer, meaning it has all the hallmarks of Breitling’s aviation icon: the circular slide rule for performing mathematical calculations, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association “wings” logo, and the trio of chronograph subdials. What separates the Cosmonaute from the rest of its family is its ability to tell 24-hour time. The Breitling Manufacture Caliber B02 was specifically designed for this task.
At first glance, the new Cosmonaute is a faithful reproduction of the original, made timeless with an all-black dial and black alligator strap or seven-row stainless-steel bracelet. On closer inspection, though, the elegantly proportioned 41 mm watch is packed with new features. One is its platinum bezel, a premium touch that makes this numbered edition even more of a collector’s piece.
Another is its open sapphire crystal caseback that provides a window on the B02 movement with its special bridge engravings to mark the occasion: the words “Carpenter,” “Aurora 7,” and “3 orbits around the Earth,” along with the name of the original group of seven astronauts chosen for NASA’s first human-crewed spaceflights, Mercury 7.
While other watch brands have claims to space firsts, only Breitling can call itself the “first Swiss wristwatch in space.” The only other Swiss timepiece to have reached orbit previously was a pocket stopwatch equipped with a strap. The Cosmonaute, meanwhile—a wristwatch worn in space and designed according to an astronaut’s specifications—was kept precisely to those specs when it became available for purchase in 1962. Not only did the 24-hour timepiece go on to become a hit amongst collectors, it was frequently spotted on other astronauts’ wrists.
Today’s Cosmonaute takes us back to the origins of space travel, when the race was on, stakes were high, and every mission was a triumph of human ingenuity. This new watch honors the aesthetics of the original Cosmonaute, with subtle updates that work almost imperceptibly to give it its modern-retro appeal. As a final tribute, the caseback is engraved with the date of Carpenter’s mission, the watch’s number out of 362, and the phrase “First Swiss wristwatch in space.”
Technical details
Reference: PB02301A1B1A1 or PB02301A1B1P1
WATCH MOVEMENT
Caliber: Breitling Manufacture Caliber B02 30 millimeters
Diameter: 30mm
Depth: 6.83mm
Winder: mechanical hand-wound Power reserve: approximately 70 hours. Balance frequency: 28,800 bph Chronograph: column wheel vertical clutch Display: 1.4th second, 30 minute and 12 hour totalizers, hour, minute, second, date Certification: COSC
6.83 millimeters
mechanical hand-wound approximately 70 hours
CASE
Material: stainless steel and platinum
Diameter: 41mm Thickness:13mm
Height (upper lug tip to lower lug tip): 47.09 mm Water resistance: 30m Glass: cambered sapphire, glareproofed on both sides screwed steel Caseback: sapphire crystal Crown: non-screw-locked, two gaskets Bezel: platinum, bi-directional with circular slide rule two gaskets
DIAL/HANDS
Black with tone-on-tone chronograph counters
Super-LumiNova® luminescent indexes and hour and minute hands
STRAP
Black alligator leather strap (22/18 mm) with a folding buckle or stainless-steel seven-row Navitimer bracelet with a butterfly clasp.
