Breitling Just Dropped Two New Navitimer Watches at a Star-Studded Party in N.Y.C.
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Breitling ambassadors Charlize Theron and Misty Copeland lent their star power to the launch of two new versions of the brand’s flagship Navitimer collection Wednesday night at the Classic Car Club in New York City. Fellow Breitling ambassadors Giannis Antetokounmpo, star forward for the Milwaukee Bucks, and champion snowboarder Chloe Kim were also on hand to celebrate the launch.
The new Navitimers represent a trio of firsts for the collection, including two new sizes—32mm and 36mm—and mother-of-pearl dials. The launch event was co-hosted by Theron, an Academy-award-winning actor, and Copeland, a principal dancer for the American Ballet theatre. A troupe of 16 ABT Studio Company dancers, accompanied by jazz drummer Eric Harland, entertained guests.
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The Navitimer launch party also marked the debut of Breitling’s new marketing campaign for the collection (called “Navitimer—For the Journey”), which stars Charlize Theron. In it, she shares the personal journey that took her from remote South Africa to the international A-list. The campaign is part of a series of intimate stories told by Breitling’s brand ambassadors in their own words. Upcoming segments will include Antetokounmpo, Copeland, and aviation pioneer Bertrand Piccard.
“My journey has always been about being up for any challenge,” says Theron. “I traveled from South Africa to Los Angeles when I was quite young, and both that physical journey and the journey of being open-minded and ready for new experiences has served me well personally and professionally.”
In an interview with a small group of journalists, Theron commented that her collaboration with Breitling has made her think more about how she perceives time. “I think it’s pretty hard to work in collaboration with a company that manufactures how we see time and not think about time, right?” she said. “I have developed a nice awareness that time is the most precious thing that we have. No one’s ever been on their deathbed saying like, ‘God, I wish I had less time.'”
So how is she making the most of her time? Theron spoke about her charity, Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), which works with young people in Southern Africa to help educate them on sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence. “The lives of women and girls in the majority of the world are not necessarily valued,” she said. “We’d like to think we’ve come a long way in this area, but unfortunately, when it comes to gender-based violence, we are really moving backwards. During Covid, there was a femicide happening in South Africa that nobody talked about. I don’t want to be demoralized by it—I have two young girls, so I wake up every morning still believing that we can make this better and that we can fix this. The correlation to that work and being lucky enough to work with Breitling is their understanding of our work, which really means a lot to me. It’s nice that we can kind of live in this world of luxury and then also kind of remember that there’s this other thing outside of the bubble. And to be in a position to raise awareness of that.”
Helping her keep track of her busy schedule, she wore the Breitling Navitimer 36 mm on a bracelet. The large size has the iconic slide rule that has distinguished the brand since 1953. The smaller version forgoes the slide rule for a sleeker look. The mother-of-pearl dials in the small version are available in either pink or blue.
The 36 mm version has a beaded bezel and slide rule and comes in three chic metallic dial colors (mint green, silver, and anthracite) or a white mother-of-pearl dial with diamond markers. There are full-gold and two-tone versions with bracelets or straps. All contain the COSC-certified Breitling Caliber 17, providing three-hand time and automatic winding.
For a more minimalist look, the 32 mm Navitimers feature the beaded bezel but not the slide rule. Dials are mother-of-pearl in pink or light blue, along with classic white. The movements are Breitling Caliber 77, a supremely precise SuperQuartz movement that, as with all of Breitling’s quartz calibers, is COSC-certified. It also features 50-meter water resistance, impressive for a watch this size.
Breitling used the launch to highlight its responsible sourcing policy. Both 32 mm and 36 mm versions of the Navitimer feature “better diamonds” which are lab-grown and traceable to accredited producers. “Better gold”, which is traceable to artisanal and small-scale mines that meet the Swiss Better Gold Association’s criteria for social and environmental impact, is used on the gold and two-tone models.
Prices for the 32 mm version range from $4,300 in steel to $22,000 in red gold. Prices for the 36 mm version range from $5,000 in steel to $33,000 in red gold.
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