One of the most famous amongst aviator watches, the Breitling Navitimer is a small computer for the wrist. In 1952, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) commissioned ‘Navitimer’ watches by Breitling exclusively for pilots and AOPA members. The watches provided a slide rule bezel for calculating fuel consumption, flight duration and distance traveled. The catchy name, ‘Navitimer’ is a combination of the words ‘navigation’ and ‘timer.’ It soon became the official watch of the AOPA and the ‘winged’ logo of the AOPA replaced the Breitling ‘B’ on the dial. The earliest models did not tend to have a reference number, but are distinguishable by the engraved ‘Breitling’ and “B” logo engraved on reverse. Few stylistic modifications were made to this classic, except that between 1954-1955, the reference number 806 was assigned to the timepiece and the Valjoux caliber 72 replaced the original Venus 178 movement, seen here in this example. As can be expected for such a useful tool watch, the majority of Navitimers were cased in stainless steel. When found preserved in such wonderful original condition, they are considered rare collectors’ watches.