#88 • Vintage Brietling Navitimer Cosmonaute Men's Wristwatch

Part of June 2025 Premier Auction (live auction by Alaska Premier Auctions & Appraisals)

High bid $3,000.00

Status: Sold

Category: Timepieces

Beloved by pilots, this vintage 1960s Breitling 809 Navitimer Cosmonaute men’s two-tone steel gold chronograph wristwatch is highly intricate and detailed with a 24-hour dial along with multiple other configurations and combinations. The original Navitimer creation can be partially credited to the NASA astronaut Malcolm Scott Carpenter, one of the astronauts participating in 1959's Project Mercury, as he suggested a 24-hour dial instead of the traditional 12-hour. His need was driven by the inability to differentiate between day and night in space, while still needed a device to measure the passage of time. Carpenter subsequently orbited the Earth three times in 1962 while wearing his Navitimer Cosmonaute watch. The example, model 809, has an adjustable length band and some overall wear commensurate with age and use; functioning at time of cataloging. Measures approximately 1.5" wide x 7.5" in circumference.