THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: BREITLING
MODEL: 769
YEAR: 1942
BOX/PAPERS: NO/NO
CASE DIAMETER: 36MM
CASE MATERIAL: NICKEL PLATED BRASS
BRACELET MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
MOVEMENT: MANUAL WIND

Smart watches are commonplace these days. They tell you how healthy you are, when to brush your teeth, or what time Home and Away is on. But in the 1940s, this was the first smart watch. 

The Chronomat (a portmanteau of Chronograph and Mathematics) was introduced in 1942 and was the first watch to feature a slide rule built into a wristwatch. Willy Breitling was so proud of his company’s invention that early 769 dials, like this one, bear the patent number 217012. The watch was designed for scientists, mathematicians, and engineers to help make calculations on the fly. Whether it be exchange rates, average speeds, multiplication, or division, the Chronomat could do it all. 

The example here is from the first year of production and is also the first iteration of the 769. The earliest examples do not have the red arrow between 5 and 6, and the Breitling signature is absent from the movement bridge—a feature that appeared around 1945/46.

The dial and slide-rule bezel have remained untouched and have mellowed beautifully over time. The early non-luminous blued hands and red-painted chronograph hand remain, as do the correct subdial hands. The case is nickel-plated brass and is also untouched. You can see some of the base metal showing through, mainly around high-wear areas such as the edges of the lugs. 

The watchmaker did an incredible job servicing this. At eighty-four years old, it is still running at +14 s/d, with 300° amplitude and a 0.4 ms beat error.

The watch is paired with a straight-end beads-of-rice-style steel bracelet, which will accommodate a 19 cm wrist.

A serious slice of horological history for less than £5k!!