The name Navitimer comes from the words Navigation & Timer, thanks to the fact the watch was at first developed as a navigation aid for pilots.
The Breitling Navitimer was introduced in 1952 and offered pilots a very innovative chronograph featuring a rotating dial that may be utilized for every navigational calculation a flight plan needs.
The earliest Breitling Navtimer watches didn’t have reference numbers recorded on them, it wasn’t till 1955 the watch was recognisable as the Breitling Navtimer 806.
Collectors of these watches tend to view the Breitling Navtimer 806 reference as being the true Navtimer watch, and successive models are not held in such high esteem.
The movement they utilized in 1954, and the first half of 1955, was the famous Valjoux 72.
By 1960 the Breitling Navitimer had modified considerably with remodelled hands, subdials being changed from black to white and the Breitling name being embossed on the dial.
Subsequently the sliderulebezel ( slide rule utilised for flight calculations ) was remodelled twice.