“The Caliber 01 is one of the finest in-house chronograph movements in Swiss watchmaking at this price tier. COSC certification, 70-hour power reserve, column-wheel mechanism — engineering commitments that place the Chronomat in direct competition with movements costing considerably more. Combined with solid 18K rose gold hardware and forty years of design heritage, the UB0134101C1U1 makes an argument that is genuinely difficult to counter.”
— The Quiet Standard Editorial Team
The Chronomat was introduced in 1984 as a deliberate counter-statement to the era — at a time when the watch industry had largely abandoned mechanical movements in favour of quartz, Breitling launched a robustly proportioned mechanical chronograph powered by an in-house movement. The market responded, and the Chronomat became one of the defining watches of the decade.
The current B01 42 carries that legacy forward. The 42mm case in stainless steel wears solid 18K rose gold at the bezel, pushers, and crown — genuine precious metal, not plating. Caliber 01 is COSC-certified and runs for 70 hours on a full wind. The two-tone Rouleaux bracelet, with its signature cylindrical links, has been part of the Chronomat for four decades and remains one of the most distinctive bracelet designs in watchmaking.