“The founder’s son, Gaston Breitling, came up with the ingenious idea of ensuring a clearer separation of functions by creating a pushpiece independent of the crown to control the three chronograph operations. Keen to ensure smooth, ergonomic handling, he chose to place the pushpiece at 2 o’clock, where the thumb or forefinger naturally rests, whether the watch is on the wrist or held in the palm of the hand,” according to Breitling.
To produce a chronograph that operates from a single pushpiece Breiling developed a new hand-wound manufacture movement, the Breitling caliber B14. It is ingeniously equipped with a two-tiered double column-wheel system that allows it to control start/stop and reset all from the conveniently located single pusher at 2 o’clock. A patent has been filed for this configuration.
The dial is silvered and features patinated luminous Arabic numerals outlined in black, a historical printed Breitling logo and baton-type, luminous hour and minute hands. The two-register dial has a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock and a 30-minute chronograph counter at 3 o’clock. The chronograph can record times down to 1/4th of a second using the central chronograph second hand and the printed outer chapter ring. A date aperture sites on top of the 6 o’clock marker.
The movement runs at 4Hz, has 33 jewels (or “RUBIS” as denoted on the dial at 6 o’clock), a 70-hour power reserve and is decorated with Geneva stripes that can be admired through the see-through caseback. The stainless steel case measures 43 mm by 14.60 mm, with an inter-lug width of 22 mm. Water-resistance is 100 meters.
The Bretling Transocean 1915 will be available in with an Ocean Classic mesh steel bracelet or a brown leather strap. Caseback is engraved with “100eme anniversaire du premier chronograph a poussoir” as a homage to Breitling’s 100 years of chronographs. It will be issued in a numbered series of 1,915 pieces.
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