Breitling and Miles Davis share a little bit of history. The jazz legend actually wore a mid-1960s Navitimer ref. 806 Mk5, taking what was conceived as a pilot’s calculating instrument and making it part of his individual style. No wonder then that to celebrate his centenary, Breitling is issuing the Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Miles Davis.
Davis had an understanding of time rather different from most musicians. He is widely credited with the line, “Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing,” and his playing made the point more eloquently: the pauses, the held notes, the refusal to fill every available second. Timing, for Davis, was as expressive as sound. A chronograph celebrating him therefore seems like a fitting tribute.
From icon to tribute: Miles Davis wearing his Breitling Navitimer on stage, and the new Navitimer B09 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Miles Davis collection, celebrating the jazz legend’s centenary.
Breitling has wisely resisted overdoing it. The 41mm steel case matches the diameter of Davis’s original, while the monochrome reverse-panda dial, cream-toned Super-LumiNova and period-correct Twin Jet logo recreate the character of the ref. 806 Mk5. Davis’s Mk5 was the first Navitimer to combine that Twin Jet emblem with a reverse-panda dial. The circular slide rule remains, a reminder that this piece of jazz history began life as serious cockpit equipment.
Inside is the hand-wound Manufacture Calibre B09, COSC-certified, with a 70-hour power reserve, column wheel and vertical clutch. Manual winding is a smart historical choice: Davis’s watch came from an age before automatic chronographs.
The Navitimer Miles Davis on the revived Air Racer bracelet, its distinctive perforated design first introduced in the 1960s.
Through the sapphire caseback, the hand-wound Breitling Manufacture Calibre B09 reveals its intricate mechanics.
The 18k yellow-gold Navitimer Miles Davis on black calfskin, pairing its reverse-panda dial with a warmer, more luxurious finish.
There is another lovely piece of watch-spotting lore here. Davis was photographed wearing his Navitimer on a broad leather cuff, transforming an already substantial instrument into something unmistakably his. He was also spotted with a Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox, suggesting his interest in watches went beyond a single accidental purchase. The new Breitling comes on gradient brown calf leather or the revived, ventilated Air Racer bracelet, first introduced in the 1960s.
Only 500 will be made, each engraved “One of 500” and “Miles Davis Centennial”. Owners also receive two years’ membership of the forthcoming Breitling Social Club in Williamsburg, New York. A separate 50-piece Lifetime Club Member Set contains steel, yellow-gold and platinum versions in a trumpet-case-inspired box with blue lining, a nod to Kind of Blue.
Davis’s Navitimer was already part of history. Breitling has brought it back on stage and, appropriately for Miles, known when not to add another note.
Author: Lina Ress
If you are a Breitling fan, you may enjoy reading our review of the recently launched Breitling Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Aston Martin DB5.
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