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BREITLING– Super AVIB04 Chronograph 46 Mosquito Night Fighter and Ref. 765 AVI 1964 RE-EDITION2023
From brave first takeoffs to the birth of commercial air travel, Breitling’s history is inseparable from that of flight. In the 1930s, Breitling’s Huit Aviation department made its name inventing precision cockpit clocks. Two decades later, it introduced yet another novel flight instrument, this time in wearable form: the Ref. 765 AVI. That pioneering pilot’s watch provided the technical backdrop for today’s Super AVI, a collection inspired by the rugged spirit of famed early aircraft.
BREITLING MARKS 70 YEARS OF THE “CO-PILOT” WITH THREE NEW RELEASES BASED ON THE ORIGINAL REF. 765 AVI
Today’s unveiling of the 42 mm Classic AVI puts a universal spin on the rugged aviator’s chronograph inspired by the original 1953 Ref. 765 AVI Co-Pilot and four legendary planes. Meanwhile, the 46 mm Super AVI assortment gets a bold new addition with the introduction of the black ceramic Mosquito Night Fighter.
“People love the sturdy, understated look of the Super AVI, but not everyone has the wrist to pull off the extra-large size that gives it its authentic tool-watch feel,” says Breitling CEO Georges Kern. “The Classic AVI trades some functions to achieve the pared-down format our customers have been asking for. The Classic and Super models will now live side by side, providing more choice.”
MIGHTY AND MONOCHROME: THE SUPER AVI MOSQUITO NIGHT FIGHTER
In an era when aluminum and steel shortages were common, the engineers behind the de Havilland Mosquito made use of a still plentiful material: wood. The “Wooden Wonder” caused shockwaves when it outperformed its metal contemporaries to become one of the fastest planes built between 1940 and 1950.
There were many executions of the Mosquito, including a light bomber, a transport, and a photographic reconnaissance plane. But the Super AVI Mosquito Night Fighter gets its inspo from the Night Fighter 2, an all-black two-seater aircraft meant to slip stealthily through the night sky. This watch pays tribute to the plane’s dark livery with a black ceramic case, black military leather strap, and black dial with anthracite subdials. The overall monochrome appearance contrasts strikingly with the titanium pushers, crown, and buckle.
As with all Super AVI, the distinctive design includes large, highly legible Arabic numerals and a sturdy case measuring 46 mm. Its knurled bezel and fluted crown provide optimal grip, even while wearing gloves. Pilots and other travelers will appreciate its ability to track a second time zone using the 24-hour scale on the inner bezel and the grey-tipped GMT hand.
The movement is visible through the open titanium caseback, etched with the Night Fighter’s outline.
A LIVING LEGEND: THE REF. 765 AVI 1964 RE-EDITION
First released in 1953, the original Ref. 765 AVI, dubbed the Co-Pilot, was a workhorse timepiece designed to serve pilots in the often unforgiving conditions of a single-seat cockpit. Its size, legibility, and ease of use made it a trusted flight instrument.
By the 1960s, the AVI’s simplified style and oversized proportions made it a watch to wear well beyond aviation circles. One particular 765 AVI from 1964, with a black bezel and reverse-panda dial, was a favorite of celebrities and sports stars, including the French skier Jean-Claude Killy, who famously wore it when he won gold in all three alpine skiing events at the 1968 Winter Games. Today, that watch is the subject of an extremely limited re-edition.
Each of the 164 pieces faithfully reproduces this execution’s design. It includes a true-to-the-time hesalite crystal, as well as the baton indexes and lumed pencil hands used on the original. The re-edition also features modern improvements, like the durable amorphous diamond-like carbon (ADLC) coating that gives the bezel its black finish.
To preserve the vintage character, the watch is powered by the CaliberB09, a current Breitling manufacture movement that is, appropriately, manual wind. The re-edition’s limitation references the watch’s original 1964 release with the caseback engraving “One of 164”.
As Georges Kern says: “Everything about this re-edition is so Breitling because you can see our aviation tool-watch roots coming through, yet it’s precisely that simplicity that gives it its universal appeal. That’s also why the AVI, in all its forms, has stood the test of time to become one of our most emblematic collections.”
Founded in 1884, Breitling is a leading Swiss watchmaker. The innovative company invented the modern chronograph and pioneered the navigational tool watch. Today, it’s still breaking new ground as a casual, inclusive, and sustainable luxury brand with more than 200 industrial-loft-inspired retail locations around the world. Breitling’s collections center around air, land, and sea pursuits, all captured in the brand’s unmistakable modern-retro style. The exceptional quality of every watch movement is confirmed by its status as a COSC-certified chronometer, and the brand remains one of only a handful of independent watchmakers to produce its own manufacture calibers. Combining classic watchmaking with the latest innovations, Breitling is a company with history and one ahead of its time.
MOVEMENT Caliber: Breitling Manufacture Caliber B04 Diameter: 30 millimeters Depth: 8.33 millimeters Winder: self-winding mechanical, unilateral with ball bearing Power reserve: approx. 70hours Balance frequency: 28,800 a/h or 4 hertz Chronograph: column-wheel, vertical clutch, 1/4th second, 30-minute and 12-hour totalizers Display: hour, minute, second, date window, second time zone Certification: COSC-certified CASE Material: black ceramic Diameter: 46millimeters Thickness:15.9 millimeters Height (upper lug tip 51.5 millimetersto lower lug tip): Water resistance: up to 10 bar (100 meters) Glass: cambered sapphire, glareproofed on both sides Caseback: screwed titanium, sapphire crystal Crown: screwed in, two gaskets, titanium Bezel: Satin-brushed black ceramic, bidirectional ratcheted, with white pointer and white numerals Product Weight (Approx.) 140.0 g. DIAL/HANDS Black with anthracite contrasting chronograph counters Blue-emitting Super-LumiNova® luminescent numerals, indexes, and hands STRAP (LUG/BUCKLE SIZE) Black military calfskin leather strap with titanium folding clasp (24/20 mm)
In 2023, MB&F brings back a beautiful new edition of its LMX timepiece, featuring a stunning purple dial plate encased in a complementary white gold case. The LMX Paris Edition will be exclusively available at the Parisian MB&F LAB on Rue Saint-Honoré and limited to 15 pieces.
“If I were to give a name to the LMX Paris Edition, I would undoubtedly call it the ‘LMX Deep Purple’ in reference to the famous 1968 rock group – this piece is definitely rock ’n’ roll!”, says Laurent Picciotto, founder of Chronopassion and owner of the MB&F LAB in Paris.
MEET THE “X”
In the MB&F universe, X has a special significance, based on the Roman numeral for 10. It signals a 10th anniversary, like the HM3 FrogX (2020) marking a decade of the totemic HM3, or HMX (2015), which headlined the 10th year of MB&F.
But X is more than an ancient alternative to the Arabic numeral 10. In algebra, X is the unsolved variable; in cartography, X is the desired destination. X represents the indescribable, the unexplainable and the uncategorisable; it symbolises everything we do not know – yet.
PRESENTING LMX, CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF LEGACY MACHINES
Back in October 2011, MB&F had just launched Legacy Machine N°1, the first creation of a new collection, alongside the existing Horological Machines; one creative lab, two interpretations of time-telling. LMX returns to the earliest encounter with the Legacy Machine collection, utilising the same expression comprising a central flying balance wheel and two dials, although everything else is different.
TWO INDEPENDENT TIME ZONES ON TILTED DIALS
Those familiar with MB&F’s very first Legacy Machine will instinctively know how LMX operates. Two dials of stretched white lacquer, each with its own display of hours and minutes. The dial on the right is set by the crown at the 2 o’clock position, which bears an engraving of the MB&F battle-axe and also winds the movement.
The crown at 10 o’clock, engraved with a globe to acknowledge the potential use of a second time zone, sets the time of the left dial. Unlike the first Legacy Machines however, both dials are tilted at an angle – a more complex feature present on the most recent Legacy Machines, requiring the transfer of energy from horizontal to vertical planes thanks to conical gears.
APPARENT MECHANICS UNDER A SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL DOME
While the first few Legacy Machines took a selective approach to what was showcased between dial plate and sapphire crystal dome, later models such as LM Perpetual, LM FlyingT and LM Thunderdome were more open and demonstrative about their mechanical prowess.
LMX follows this latter approach, revealing functional elements such as the battle-axe-shaped escapement bridge and gear-train components. Three large wheels are particularly visible: placed next to each winding crown, two are set in motion when setting the time on the corresponding time display, while the gear at 6 o’clock is the common seconds’ wheel.
Of particular note is the new bespoke balance wheel, a 13.4mm behemoth with inertia blocks that marks a departure from the more traditional screwed balances and offers greater accuracy to the watchmaker in regulating the heart of LMX.
Other refinements include the polished arms of the straight bridges exposed on the dial plate, manually finished to impart a curved, or bercé, profile on their upper surfaces.
HEMISPHERICAL 7-DAY POWER RESERVE INDICATOR
In another nod to the world-first vertical power reserve indicator of Legacy Machine No1, LMX builds on this slice of MB&F history, with a completely novel three-dimensional display that showcases the engine’s impressive seven days (168 hours) of power reserve.
In this evolved display, there is the option to select between two modes of counting down the power reserve. Two markers are positioned on opposite sides of a hemisphere; one framed by an arched scale numbered 1 to 7, another with a scale showing the days of the week.
This complex and completely novel interplay of components is given an additional level of intricacy, by the rotation of the entire power-reserve display itself. This allows wearers to choose their preferred mode of power-reserve indication: by continuing to wind the battle-axe crown even after the power reserve is fully replenished, wearers can adjust the orientation of the indication in order to make the day-of-the-week or numeric scale more visible when LMX is on the wrist.
SYMMETRICAL MOVEMENT CONSTRUCTION
Like a perfectly balanced X, the engine of LMX is deeply symmetrical – not only dial-side but also as observed through the sapphire case back, revealing the three barrels placed evenly around the centre, accentuated by the sunray pattern of the Côtes de Genève finishing. A treat for those who can read the language of watch movements, who can discern expert intent and refined purpose behind the placement of each component.
The X in LMX is more than just a symbol for symmetry, or another way to indicate the numeral 10. LMX is the crossroads where the first and second decades of the Legacy Machine Collection meet.
Four limited editions form the LMX collection: - 18 pieces in 18K red gold with black NAC treatment on plates and bridges; - 33 pieces in grade 5 titanium with green CVD treatment on plates and bridges; - 33 “Steel & Brass” pieces in 316L stainless steel with a frosted face. - And in 2023, a new limited variation of 15 pieces; the LMX Paris Edition, in white gold with a beautiful sunray purple dial. LMX
10 YEARS OF LEGACY MACHINES
In October 2011, people thought they knew what MB&F stood for. Four Horological Machines had been launched, each one more audacious than the last. MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser decided it was time to do something different – again. How does one go about disrupting a habit of iconoclasm? By turning to history, but not a history that we recognised. The MB&F Horological Machines came from an imagined future, so it was only natural that the Legacy Machines drew from an imagined past. Expressed differently: what would MB&F have created a century ago, during the golden age of watchmaking?
ROUND CASES, LACQUERED DIALS…AND “FLYING” BALANCE
As always with MB&F, the Legacy Machine No1 movement was the result of collaboration – in this case with two exceptional Friends, two horology stars as talented as they are different: Jean-François Mojon, known for his innovative engineering, and Kari Voutilainen, a living legend of classic watchmaking.
LM1 featured a round case – a first for MB&F – along with white lacquered dials, blued hands, and a hallucinatory “flying” balance wheel, plucked from its expected rear-mounted location and suspended like a sky-hovering extra-terrestrial visitor, oscillating under a domed crystal. While Horological Machines 1 through 4 were exuberant flights of imagination, Legacy Machine N°1 was a triumph of reimagination. By harnessing the design conventions of traditional watchmaking to form this singularly defiant configuration of a watch movement, LM1 turned out to be MB&F’s most subversive creation since the company’s inception in 2005.
The mesmeric spectacle of the suspended balance became a conceptual and mechanical leitmotiv that defined the Legacy Machine collection — illustrating how a watch could simultaneously be a part of and apart from traditional watchmaking.
AN AWARD-WINNING, GROUND-BREAKING COLLECTION
Subsequent Legacy Machines followed this blueprint of brilliant unorthodoxy: with LMX and the LMSequential EVO launched in 2022, an impressive series of no less than NINE world-premiere calibres. Conceived with another exceptionally talented Friend, Stephen McDonnell, LM Perpetual (2015) brought about a fundamental reengineering of the revered perpetual calendar complication, while the LMSequential EVO features a ground-breaking dual chronograph system. LM FlyingT (2019) embodied a novel vision of feminine watchmaking — fierce yet elegant, stark yet complex. LM Thunderdome (2019), developed with multi-axis tourbillon expert Eric Coudray, set a new world record with the dizzying speed of its TriAx mechanism. In parallel to these prestigious collaborations, MB&F began conceiving its own movements during this decade; the LMX engine is the sixth fully conceived by MB&F’s in-house engineering team, a considerable achievement for a brand born in the new millennium.
Many did not realise in 2011 how risky this was, but MB&F took a chance on its fledgling brand identity by introducing a Machine that leaned closer to the aesthetic milieu of almost every other watch company out there. Comparing an MB&F to other timepieces was now possible… But great risk often comes with great reward. The Legacy Machine collection has received widespread acclaim over the years, chief among them six awards from the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève – including the “Aiguille d’Or” in 2022 – the industry’s ultimate accolade.
Have Legacy Machines changed the MB&F Horological lab of 2011? Profoundly. When LM1 surprised the watchmaking world in 2011, industry experts predicted that MB&F would radically shift its entire production (and sales) to the more consensual aesthetics offered by Legacy Machines. That did not happen: the unconventional Horological Machines continue to represent an essential part of MB&F’s production… but 11 years later, watch collectors have naturally also embraced the more classic-minded Legacy Machines – which have gained their own very significant place. MB&F continues to evolve in both directions, seemingly quite different, but always with a fierce sense of independence and creativity.
2011 – 2023 LEGACY MACHINEMILESTONES
2011 After four unconventional Horological Machines, MB&F surprises the watchmaking world by launching Legacy Machine No1, inaugurating a new collection of more classic timepieces.
2012 LM1 wins not just one but two awards at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève: the Public Prize (voted for by watch enthusiasts) and Best Men’s Watch Prize (voted for by the professional jury).
2013 Legacy Machine No2: two years after the first Legacy Machine, LM2 demonstrates that MB&F is committed to developing the Legacy Machine collection, with a complex timepiece revisiting the works of famous watchmakers on double regulator systems.
2014 The Legacy Machine collection welcomes its first “Performance Art” piece: a collaboration with Chinese artist Xia Hang, who reinterprets the vertical power reserve indicator of LM1.
With Legacy Machine 101, MB&F focuses on the essentials of a mechanical wristwatch; the LM101 movement is also the first entirely conceived by MB&F’s in-house engineering team.
2015 MB&F teams up with Stephen McDonnell to reinvent the traditional perpetual calendar mechanism. The result is the ground-breaking Legacy Machine Perpetual, offering reliability and user-friendliness.
2016 The Legacy Machines welcome a second Performance Art piece: the LM1 Silberstein, created with the famous French designer Alain Silberstein.
At the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, the Best Calendar Watch Prize goes to the LM Perpetual.
2017 Again with Stephen McDonnell, MB&F presents the LM Split Escapement (LM SE), showcasing the beauty of the flying balance wheel and the split escapement initially conceived for the LM Perpetual.
2019 In March, MB&F chooses the Legacy Machine collection to launch its first timepiece dedicated to women, the LM FlyingT.
In November, the Legacy Machine collection wins a fourth Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève award: the LM FlyingT wins the Best Ladies’ Complication Prize.
In December, MB&F and famed watchmaker Eric Coudray break a world record with the LM Thunderdome, the world’s fastest triple-axis regulator.
2020 MB&F and fellow independent brand H. Moser & Cie innovate with a unique two-way collaboration, resulting in the LM101 MB&F x H. Moser and the Endeavour Cylindrical Tourbillon H. Moser x MB&F.
MB&F and Eddy Jaquet, one of the watchmaking industry’s most talented master engravers, present a series of 8 unique pieces of the LM Split Escapement, inspired by the novels of Jules Verne.
MB&F chooses the Legacy Machine collection to present another important evolution: its first timepiece sporting the “EVO” suffix, designed for more active, everyday use. The LM Perpetual EVO “is not just a watch for sports, it is a watch for life”.
2021 Launch of LMX, celebrating 10 years of Legacy Machines. Echoing the traits of LM1 but in an entirely new execution, LMX features two time zones and a three-dimensional power reserve, while the tilted dials and sleek case design take from the LM FlyingT and LM Thunderdome.
2022 Launch of the LM Sequential EVO, the brand’s first ever chronograph, conceived with Stephen McDonnell. The piece incorporates two column-wheel chronographs and a groundbreaking “Twinverter” binary switch, allowing multiple timing modes including split-second and lap timer modes – a combination never seen before in chronograph. The piece won the industry’s ultimate prize the very same year, the Aiguille d’Or at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève.
LMX is available in four limited editions: - 18 pieces in polished 18K 5N+ red gold with black NAC treatment on plates and bridges; - 33 pieces in polished grade 5 titanium with green CVD treatment on plates and bridges; - 33 “Steel & Brass” pieces in 316L stainless steel with frosted face; - 15 pieces in polished 18K white gold with a purple sunray dial.
Engine Three-dimensional horological movement developed exclusively by MB&F Manual winding with three mainspring barrels Power reserve: 7 days (168 hours) Balance wheel: new bespoke 13.4mm balance wheel with inertia blocks, floating above the movement Time display on two inclined dials in stretched lacquer Balance spring: traditional Breguet curve terminating in mobile stud holder Balance frequency: 18,000bph/2.5Hz Number of components: 367 Number of jewels: 41 Chatons: gold chatons with diamond countersinks Fine finishing: superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19th century style; internal bevel angles highlighting hand craft; polished bevels; Geneva waves; hand-made engravings; polished arms of the straight bridges exposed on the dial plate, manually finished to a curved “bercé” profile on their upper surfaces; frosted face for the “Steel & Brass” edition. Functions Hours and minutes: completely independent dual time zones displayed on two dials. Unique hemispherical power reserve with choice of weekday or 7-day indication; rotates to adjust the preferred power reserve indication. Left crown at 10 o'clock for setting time of left dial; right crown at 2 o'clock for setting time of right dial and winding. Case Four editions: 18K 5N+ red gold case limited to 18 pieces, grade 5 titanium case limited to 33 pieces, 316L stainless steel case limited to 33 pieces or 18K white gold case limited to 15 pieces. Dimensions: 44 x 21.4 mm Number of components: 27 Sapphire crystals High domed sapphire crystal on top and sapphire crystal on back with anti-reflective coating on both sides. Strap & Buckle Black hand-stitched alligator strap with 5N+ gold folding buckle for red gold version, grey hand-stitched alligator strap with titanium folding buckle for titanium edition, brown hand-stitched alligator strap with stainless steel folding buckle for steel version and grey hand-stitched alligator strap with purple lining and white gold folding buckle for the white gold edition.
« FRIENDS » RESPONSIBLE FORLMX
Concept: Maximilian Büsser / MB&F Product design: Eric Giroud / Through the Looking Glass Technical and production management: Serge Kriknoff / MB&F R&D: Thomas Lorenzato, Joey Miserez, Julien Peter, Pierre-Alexandre Gamet and Robin Cotrel / MB&F Methods and laboratory: Maël Mendel and Anthony Mugnier / MB&F
Wheels, pinions and axis: Jean-François Mojon / Chronode, Paul-André Tendon / Bandi, Daniel Gumy / Decobar Swiss, Gimmel Rouages, Atokalpa and Le Temps Retrouvé Plates and bridges: Benjamin Signoud / Amecap, Rodrigue Baume / Horlofab, 2B8 and MB&F Balance wheel: Marc Bolis / Atokalpa Springs and jumpers: Alain Pellet / Elefil Swiss Mainspring and barrel: Stéphane Schwab / Schwab Feller Rubies: Pierhor / Crelier Hand-engraving of movement: Glypto Hand-finishing of movement components: Jacques-Adrien Rochat and Denis Garcia / C.-L. Rochat, DSMI Dial plate decoration : DM Surfaces Case decoration : Bripoli, FIFAJ Horlogerie,Termin’hor PVD- treatment: Pierre-Albert Steinmann / Positive Coating Gold ingots CoC (Chain of Custody): Jean Philippe Chételat / Cendres et Métaux Lux Movement assemblage : Didier Dumas, Georges Veisy, Anne Guiter, Emmanuel Maitre , Henri Porteboeuf and Mathieu Lecoultre / MB&F In-house machining: Alain Lemarchand, Jean-Baptiste Prétot and Romain Camplo / MB&F After-sales service: Antony Moreno / MB&F Quality control: Cyril Fallet and Jennifer Longuepez / MB&F Dials: Hassan Chaïba and Virginie Duval / La Montre Hermès SA Hands: Waeber HMS Crowns : Boninchi Anti-reflection treatment for sapphire crystals: Anthony Schwab / Econorm Buckle: G&F Châtelain Strap: Multicuirs Presentation box: Olivier Berthon / Soixanteetonze Logistics and production: David Lamy, Ashley Moussier, Fanny Boutier, Mélanie Ataide, Thibaut Joannard, Maryline Leveque, Emilie Burnier and Thi-Kim Phy Pham / MB&F
Marketing & Communication: Charris Yadigaroglou, Vanessa André, Arnaud Légeret, Paul Gay and Talya Lakin / MB&F Graphic design: Sidonie Bays / MB&F M.A.D.Gallery: Hervé Estienne and Margaux Dionisio Cera / MB&F Sales: Thibault Verdonckt, Virginie Marchon, Cédric Roussel, Jean-Marc Bories and Augustin Chivot / MB&F Texts: Suzanne Wong / Worldtempus Product photography: Laurent-Xavier Moulin, David Carteron and Stéphane de Bourgies Film: Marc-André Deschoux / MAD LUX, Manouil Karapetsis et Dominik Lang / Brosky Media Portrait photography: Régis Golay / Federal Website: Stéphane Balet / Idéative