THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: BREITLING
MODEL: 765 AVI
YEAR: 1965
BOX/PAPERS: NO/NO
CASE DIAMETER: 41MM
CASE MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
BRACELET MATERIAL: LEATHER
MOVEMENT: MANUAL WIND

Here at Falco, the Breitling 765 family from the mid-1950s to the 1970s are some of our favourite vintage chronographs out there, and equally some of the hardest to find. This week, however, three of them went live on Falco's website at the same time, each representing a different era of the 765 lineage. 

The line-up was born as the ref. 765 AVI in 1953, featuring a 41 mm case and highly legible design. It was the brand’s attempt to secure a contract with the French Air Force, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, in part due to the absence of a flyback function. Fortunately, the model was released to the public, and over the following decade the 765 underwent a series of incremental changes. Early 765 AVIs feature an all-black dial (somewhat similar to early Navitimers), whereas the now-iconic “reverse panda” configuration appeared around 1962.

In 1965, Breitling upgraded the line-up again with the 765 CP, featuring a clicking anodised aluminium bezel and a distinctive enlarged 15-minute counter at 3 o’clock. The present example therefore falls within the short window of Breitling 765s with a reverse panda dial and aluminium bezel. The watch was famously worn by Raquel Welch in her 1965 film Fathom. 

The watch remains in honest condition after six decades of life: the dial shows some ageing, especially on the white subdials; most of the lume remains intact, with minor losses on some markers. The case has only been lightly polished before and remains very strong. The movement came to us in great health, running at +3 s/d, with 295 amplitude and a 0.2 ms beat error.