Even as an apprentice watchmaker he was obsessed by the idea of further developing the measurement of short periods of time with the help of special watches. There is little wonder therefore that it was a chronograph that took shape shortly after the end of his training. That chronograph started the professional career of Leon Breitling. Further chronograph developments and the construction of practical measurement tools for watchmakers ensured that Breitling became increasingly talked about in the profession. The first chronographs with counters, signed by the inventor and produced in his home-town of Saint-lmier, made their appearance in 1884. In 1892, the young entrepreneur set up the G. Leon Breitling S.A., Montbrillant Watch Factory in neighboring La Chaux-de-Fonds. By continuing to concentrate on chronographs, Leon Breitling showed that he had backed the right horse.

In 1914, his son Gaston Breitling began his career in the family firm, and his father died in the same year. Gaston, who inherited his father's passion for chronographs, set the company on the road to success with single-minded determination. One of his patented models, the "Vitesse", attracted the special interest of the police, because with its help, they could measure the speed of vehicles and penalize those who broke the limits. Keeping up with the trends of his era, Gaston Breitling pushed ahead with the development of chronographs for the wrist.

In 1932, the third generation took over the helm. Gaston's son, Willy Breitling, was to introduce a chronograph for aircraft cockpits in 1936, the "Chronomat" with a disc calculator in 1947, and, in 1952, the "Navitimer" with improved calculating features. In 1962, a Breitling chronograph was catapulted into space on the wrist of the astronaut Scott Carpenter. In 1969, the brand, which mainly used the Venus caliber in its hand-wound models, pioneered automatic chronographs with its "Chronomat" model with mini-rotor.

In 1979 Breitling ceased business. Ernest Schneider from the Sicura company became boss, and in 1982 registercd Montres Breitling S.A. in Grenchen.

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19.08.2000 by Courtesy of Gisbert L. Brunner