Although Willy Breitling was only 19 years old when he assumed leadership of the company that bore his family name, he had already received extensive commercial and technical training and was ready to steer Breitling into its next great era.

The Future Was in the Skies
In 1932, chronographs were very much at the heart of Breitling’s business, but chronograph wristwatches were still operated by a single pusher. Willy Breitling saw this as a deficiency, and, in 1934, he filed a patent for the world’s first two-pusher chronograph. In 1936, the young entrepreneur introduced a specially designed aviator wrist chronograph with a black dial and luminescent numerals and hands. Willy Breitling had seen Breitling’s future, and it was in the skies.