Breitling Premier B19 Datora 42 140th Anniversary

Quick specs Breitling Premier B19 Datora 42 140^th Anniversary
Price: $ 59,000 | € 55.000 | £ 48,000 | CHF 55’000
Size: 42 mm
Reference: RB19401A1B1P1 – limited to 140 pieces

This Breitling Premier B19 Datora 42 140^th Anniversary is part of a trilogy from the Swiss brand to celebrate they are 140 years old. This celebration embodies three gold models, all executed with Breitling’s new in-house perpetual calendar chronograph movement and all limited to 140 pieces.

If you buy the Breitling Super Chronomat B19 44 Perpetual Calendar 140^th Anniversary or the Breitling Navitimer B19 Chronograph 43 Perpetual Calendar 140^th Anniversary or this Datora you will get a special box. It contains the watch you bought but you can convert it into a display box for three watches. But let’s look at the Datora, one of Breitling’s less known but historically significant models.

The origin of the Breitling Datora

The Breitling Datora was launched in 1943 in order to make the chronograph function plus a triple calendar available for the public at large. Before that time chronographs were seen as advanced tool watches mostly used by people with specialized professions like pilots.

At the beginning of the 1940s the brand launches the Premier. It’s a “dress chronograph”, but they also launch the Breitling Duograph, a rattrapante chronograph, as the more advanced model. In addition to those models, the Datora offers an extra complication with a triple calendar, also known as complete calendar. Triple calendars could be found at the most luxurious watches available at the time. To which Breitling belonged as well.

Patenting the dual-pusher chronograph

Only nine years before the Datora launch Breitling patents a chronograph with two pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock. One for start/stop and one for the reset. Not their invention but they definitely popularized the technique. And apparently, right in the middle of World War II, when the whole world was burning, Breitling thought there might be a need for a gentleman’s chronograph with triple calendar.

Nowadays the Duograph and the Datora are part of the Premier collection, blurring the blood line a bit. The current Datora’s in the catalogue have the Breitling caliber B25, also a triple calendar like the original, however the new B19 Datora has a perpetual calendar. The triple calendar needs adjustment every month, the perpetual calendar can handle the 28 or 29 or 30 or 31 days of a month, and leap years as well.

Red gold case and black dial for the B19 Datora

This new Datora comes in a 42-millimeter 18k red gold case and sports a black dial with black tone-on-tone chronograph counters. The first flange of the dial has a gold colored minutes / seconds scale, the outer flange is black and shows a tachymeter scale.

At the top is the moon phase with a dark blue background and gold colored moon and stars. At the 3 o’clock position is the date by hand, with a red 31 indication. This is combined with a 30-minute totalizer. At 6 is the month and (leap) year indication, also by hand. And lastly at 3 o’clock is the day of the week and the small seconds, both indicated by hand as well.

The Breitling Premier B19 Datora 42 140^th Anniversary has a power reserve of 96 hours

The movement of this Breitling Premier B19 Datora 42 140^th Anniversary is the new in-house Breitling caliber B19. This automatic has a power reserve of 96 hours and it is COSC certified. A cool detail is the oscillating weight that is executed in 22k gold and adorned with an engraving of Breitling’s historic Montbrillant manufactory. So, the case back is sapphire.

This new Datora comes on a black alligator-leather strap with 18k red gold folding buckle. If you want to know more about how Breitling started, read our short article about the history of Breitling.