Bringing the Globe to Your Wrist: The NEW Breitling Navitimer Unitime 43

There is something about a world timer that is just so provocative. Maybe its the jet-set vibe they represent? Or the genuine practicality of the complication?

Either way, one of our favorite timepieces to come out of Baselworld (and the Roadshow) this year is the new Breitling Navitimer Unitime 43. This timepiece boasts a lot of impressive features - for international travelers and those who live for weekend getaways - including the ability to tell time in 24 different timezones. As part of their new Navitimer 8 collection, Breitling introduced the Unitime 43 to be 2018’s quintessential world timer but trust us when we say it accomplishes much more than that…

Breitling has gone through a radical shift in the last few years as newly appointed CEO, Georges Kern, has made major changes to the company’s branding and established new standards for the its existing collections. As with all the timepieces in the new Navitimer 8 collection, Kerns enlisted his team of watchmakers to draw inspiration from the archives at Breitling, which is why the Unitime 43 has a brilliant mix of historic simplicity and modern features - a modesty most feel the brand has been lacking for some time.

Breitling's Unitime from the 1950's

The Unitime 43 is characterized by a coin edge bezel, luminous Arabic numerals and hours, minutes and seconds hands, and your choice of a silver or black dial. And because of the dual-action ball bearing system, you can adjust the hour hand in both directions. There is far more negative space on the dial than the Unitime’s predecessors as it’s no longer dominated by the old “winged B” logo. The brand is now represented by a simple script B and the name Breitling in a sans serif font.

What we love about the change in branding and lack of distraction on the dial is that it allows for this timepiece’s most desired complication to stand out - a 24-hour and 24-city ring around the edge that allows you to tell time in each location simultaneously. In addition, the rotating bezel (you heard right…) can be positioned at 60 different points so you can use the embossed arrow to time events between cities and hours.

This timepiece also features the brand’s Caliber B35 which was Breitling's very first non-chronograph, in-house movement when it was released back in 2015. While the styling of this watch dates back to the 1950s, it’s engine does not. The Caliber B35 includes a mechanism that lets you set the hour hand forward and backward in one hour jumps so you can easily adjust to new local time when getting off a flight. The Unitimer 43’s movement is also a COSC-certified chronometer.

This watch is finished with a 43mm stainless steel case and your choice of an alligator leather strap or stainless steel bracelet. It’s also water resistant up to 100 meters, includes a date complication and a power reserve of 70 hours.

While the Unitime 43 won't be available until early this summer, we can still fantasize about all the place we'll take it.

Come in and explore all of Breitling's adventurous timepieces at our Richmond locations before your next vacation.