Founded in 1884, this year Breitling celebrates its 140th anniversary. Throughout the year, the brand will mark the occasion with stories of its incredible firsts, from breakthroughs in timekeeping for air, land, sea, and air, to milestones in sustainability. It will also be a year packed full of events, exhibits and special launches. 

Kicking off the festivities is a watch that recognises one of those momentous firsts: the Breitling Orbiter 3's first nonstop balloon flight around the world.

The timepiece is a tribute to an adventure that expanded the horizons of human achievement - and, best of all, each watch contains a piece of the original balloon.

"Since the birth of aviation, Breitling has been there for all those who looked to the sky and dared to dream," says Breitling CEO Georges Kern. "As we honour the pioneering spirit of the Orbiter 3 mission, we affirm our commitment to being at the forefront of aviation's future. The skies have no limit, and neither do we."

The Breitling Orbiter 3

On March 21, 1999, balloonists Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones completed a daring voyage, landing the Breitling Orbiter 3 in the Egyptian desert. They shattered records and defied expectations, becoming the first to circumnavigate the globe nonstop in a balloon.

It was considered the final great flight challenge of the 20th century. In total, 11 teams of prominent personalities made 21 attempts. Bertrand Piccard himself tried twice in 1997 and 1998 before succeeding on the third attempt with Brian Jones. The balloonists touched down in Egypt after travelling 45,633km in 19 days, 21 hours, and 47 minutes, achieving the longest flight, both for distance and duration.

Breitling's aviation heritage foes back to the 1930s, when its Huit Aviation division developed precision cockpit instruments and pilots' chronographs for military aviators. With the rise of airlines, the brand went on to become "the official supplier to world aviation" with its Navitimer chronograph, equipped with a computational slide rule, ideal for commercial air crews. Today, Breitling's Professional line of digital-analogue aviation watches are built to serve pilots in the most extreme conditions.

“Twenty-five years is a generation, but those 20 days were so intense, I remember every aspect of the flight like it was yesterday,” says Bertrand Piccard, who has worn a series of Breitling Professional watches on his missions, including the distress-beacon-equipped Emergency and multifunctional Aerospace. “It was not only about flying around the world; it was about showing that we can achieve much more than we think. Now, as then, we need to be able to dream big. To get out of our comfort zone. To be disruptive. When you apply this thinking to any topic, you can change the world.”

A Living Piece of History

The Aerospace B70 Orbiter 25th anniversary edition—with its bright-orange dial the colour of the Orbiter 3 capsule—contains its very own piece of history: a segment of the original Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon visible through the transparent caseback. The caseback also features the Breitling Orbiter 3 mission logo around its perimeter and the inscription “First non-stop flight around the world 25th anniversary.”

Presented on a titanium bracelet or a black rubber strap with a folding clasp, the watch features the Breitling Orbiter 3 mission logo on the dial at 3 o’clock. Its numerals, indexes, and hands are coated with luminescent Super-LumiNova®, making them legible even in low light. Both the case and optional bracelet have been crafted in titanium, a robust material with the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal. It’s also nonmagnetic, hypoallergenic, and highly resistant to corrosion, guaranteeing its wearers a strong, safe, and comfortable watch that will support them—even on the toughest missions.

The watch is powered by the newly designed COSC-certified Breitling Manufacture Caliber B70: a thermo-compensated SuperQuartz™ analogue and digital display movement that delivers 10 times the accuracy of a standard quartz watch. This engine powers the watch’s array of functions, including a 1/100th of a second chronograph (with split-time and flyback functions), countdown timer, second time zone, two alarms, lap function, and perpetual calendar.