When one thinks about aviation watches, Breitling immediately comes to mind. It is therefore only befitting that in 1953 the brand launched the reference 765 AVI (AVI representing Aviation): a large pilot chronograph with a 12H rotating steel bezel. The first model displayed a digital 15-minute counter at 3 o’clock and was referred to as the 765 Digital. This counter design was later replaced by a larger 15-minute register with oversized luminous markers placed at 3 minutes increments, like with the present model.

As always, a watch benefits from celebrity association, and the 765 AVI boasts not just one, but two strong celebrity endorsements: Jean-Claude Killy, the famous Swiss alpine ski racer who was photographed with this model on his wrist after he won all three gold medals in alpine skiing at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, and Raquel Welch, the prominent mid-century actress and femme fatale who wore a 765 AVI in the James Bond spoof movie, Fathom (1967).

The present 765 AVI, in overall very appealing condition, shares the same movement as the more well-known Navitimer, the Venus 178.