Breitling Professional Watches

The Breitling Professional Collection

The watches in the Breitling Professional collection are among the most capable, durable and stylish watches available today. These are true tool watches, built with a specific purpose in mind for people who need a dependable companion on their wrist. Indeed, for this collection, Breitling’s motto “Instruments for Professionals” rings true.

Breitling Professional Watches: Features and Design

Watches in the Breitling Professional collection sport several features that make them capable in a multitude of situations. The chronograph is one of those features. A chronograph is a complication, meaning it is an extra feature beyond the basic display of hours, minutes and seconds. A chronograph mechanism allows the wearer to measure intervals of time. On the Breitling Endurance Pro, the chronograph pushers are on the right side of the watch at the 2 and 4 o’clock positions. Pressing the start / stop pusher at 2 o’clock engages and disengages the chronograph mechanism. When you are ready to clear the measured time, you push the reset pusher at 4 o’clock.

Breitling Professional Bracelets and Straps

Three watches in the Breitling Professional collection — Emergency, Endurance Pro and Aerospace Evo — offer rubber straps. These straps not only look great but are extremely functional. When wearing a tool watch in extreme situations, comfort is important. A metal bracelet looks nice but can be uncomfortable in hot or wet environments. A leather strap may be more comfortable than a metal bracelet but won’t last as long. A rubber strap is the perfect compromise. In hot or wet environments, it stays comfortable and keeps the watch secure.

The Breitling Emergency: A Distress Beacon on Your Wrist

The Breitling Emergency is one of the most famous watches in the Breitling Professional collection, and for good reason. This large watch features a dual-frequency distress beacon that can signal emergency services from anywhere on Earth. When activated, the beacon sends out two signals. One signal (at 121.5 MHz) is meant to be received by land, sea and air emergency services. The second signal (at 406 MHz) is received by the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system. This means that even if you are in an extremely remote area, the satellite system can relay your call for help to the nearest available rescuers.

The Breitling Endurance Pro: Checking Heart Rates

The Breitling Endurance Pro features a pulsometer scale calibrated to 30 pulsations. A pulsometer can quickly measure a person’s pulse using just a watch. This handy feature is easy to use. You feel for a pulse and then start the chronograph mechanism. When you get to 30 heartbeats, you stop the chronograph and read the beats per minute on the pulsometer scale. Watches with a pulsometer are sometimes referred to as “doctors’ watches,” although today a wide range of watch collectors wear and appreciate them.

Breitling Professional Certified Chronometers

All watches in the Breitling Professional collection are COSC-certified chronometers. A chronometer is a particularly precise watch. A certified chronometer is a chronometer that has been tested and certified by a third-party organization. This lends the watch some credibility, as the manufacturer cannot be involved in the testing procedure itself. COSC stands for Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, which is the largest third-party chronometer certification laboratory in Switzerland. Watches submitted to COSC undergo 15 days of testing, in which they are subjected to extreme cold and hot temperatures while being analyzed in different positions. Only the highest quality and most precise timepieces can be described as chronometers, and the Breitling Professional collection certainly qualifies.

Servicing for Breitling Professional Watches

Like a car, a wristwatch needs to be serviced by a qualified technician at regular intervals. This is especially important for tool watches like those found in the Breitling Professional collection, which should always be functioning at peak performance. Watches in the Breitling Professional collection use quartz movements, which are powered by small batteries. In many ways, quartz movements are much more durable than their purely mechanical counterparts. They have fewer moving parts and therefore do not need to be serviced at the same interval as mechanical watches. Servicing a quartz watch every 10 years is advisable, with battery changes happening as needed in between. In contrast, mechanical watches need to be serviced every three to five years.

The Breitling Aerospace Evo: Tough Like Diamonds

The Breitling Aerospace Evo is available in a diamond-like carbon (DLC) finish. DLC is a coating that is applied to various metals that takes on a matte black appearance. The thin layer is composed of a type of carbon that resembles the atomic structure of diamond and is extremely durable. This coating is so durable that the only other material that can effectively scratch it is — you guessed it — a diamond.

Breitling Professional Value and Collectibility

The Breitling Professional collection encompasses a range of watches, each with their own price points. In February 2021, a Breitling Aerospace Evo in titanium sold for $2,800, while an unworn Breitling Endurance Pro with a red rubber strap sold for $3,150 in December 2020. The Breitling Emergency has the highest prices for all Breitling Professional watches on the resale market. A Breitling Emergency in titanium with box and papers sold for $6,750 in January 2021. Vintage examples have much lower prices. A circa 1990 Breitling Aerospace Evo sold for $850 in December 2020.