The History of Pilot's Watches

By Watches of Switzerland Group | 1 minute read

The vast, rich history of Pilot's Watches spans over 110 decades and since 1909, they have been a prominent timepiece that, over time, have been refined and perfected by some of the world's most leading watch manufacturers. This episode of The Calibre Podcast looks at just that - the history of Pilot's Watches. Discussing Rolex, Patek Philippe, Zenith, Cartier, Breitling and more, the episode is led by CEO of The Watches of Switzerland Group, Brian Duffy and joined by David Lindsay, Head of VIP Sales and Mark Toulson, Head of Watch Buying, and covers the inception of the Pilot's Watch up until present day.

The episode opens in 1904, where Louis Cartier created the Santos-Dumont model for aviator and friend of Cartier, Alberto Santos-Dumont. The remarkable story of how Breitling's Navitimer came to be in 1952 is also discussed, how it had utilised the slide rule mechanism, and how the founder of Navitimer, Willy Breitling, wasn't necessarily interested in the aviator watch but the demand from clients encouraged him to introduce the timepiece into the market. The History of Pilot's Watches episode is the latest in the line of our 'History of' series. Other episodes in the series include The History of Rolex, The History of The Chronograph and The History of Patek Philippe.

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The History of Pilot's Watches