The new Breitling takes wing with the Navitimer 8

In a year of big changes within the watch world's boardrooms, Georges Kern's move from group head of watchmaking for Richemont to take up the reins at Breitling undoubtedly caused the biggest splash.

Nine months down the line, Breitling is on the road with new people, new watches, a new logo and a big new idea. I caught up with Kern in Zurich, the first stop on a global tour, to discover his plans for one of the few major brands to remain outside the big groups.

In Zurich, the question of why event host Richard E. Grant was wearing an angel's wing wasn't entirely addressed - but for Breitling, at least, the wings that have adorned its "B' logo are gone. It's a sign of the simplifying approach Kern is taking.

Breitling hasn't been in trouble but one might observe that it's been lacking in dynamism in recent years. Almost inevitably there were rumours of a sale by its owners, the Schneider family, following the death of Ernest Schneider in 2015.

These duly crystallised last year when a majority stake was sold to CVC Capital Partners and Georges Kern was installed as CEO (and shareholder). And it's fair to say that Kern has hit Breitling like a tornado, changing personnel around and bringing in trusted friends from around the industry into key roles.

While the rumbles echoed far beyond Breitling's base in Grenchen, very little of substance emerged until earlier this year when Kern himself took to Instagram to tease the world with his pick of vintage Breitlings and then, to general amazement, to actually reveal the brand's new watch range, the Navitimer 8.

Pleasingly, Kern was equally open at the brand relaunch in Zurich, not only explaining where the Navitimer 8 idea came from, but giving chapter and verse on the situation he found at Breitling and the strategy he's developed for the future.

Breitling, according to Kern, had the potential to perform far better. It suffered from tunnel vision, he believed, focusing too tightly on aviation to the exclusion of what it has historically offered. "Breitling should be a 'generalistic' brand, more urban, less formal - it should be the most relevant heritage brand," he stressed.

That Breitling was also too aggressively macho didn't need to be spelled out. And as Kern himself noted, the variety of minor variations on offer has simply been confusing and untenable.

Remedying this has meant reducing the catalogue from an over-wieldy 600 references to nearer 100, with a strategy that clearly delineates between collection, type of movement and style. There will be a return for the Premier name (found on the dials of 1940s chronographs) later in the year, while collections such as the Navitimer 1, as it's now called, will acquire more female-friendly designs.

With everything derived, at least in part, from the brand's heritage, the new introductions are meant to be complementary to the collections that survive the cull. "Generalistic" has its limits, so it's goodbye to sub-£2,000 Colt quartz chronographs and all but a few watches above the £20,000 mark. Not before time, Breitling for Bentley is getting a rethink. And there'll be a new retro feel to the brand too, which will mean bidding farewell to the pop-art inspired boutiques in favour of something loft-style.

But the real difference will be in the watches. One of Kern's key hires has been Guy Bove as creative director, who was recently at Chopard, but previously at IWC with Kern. His meticulous approach to detail, appreciation of the vintage pieces and obsession with typefaces is all over both the new branding and the Navitimer 8 collection.

The "8" comes from the "Huit Aviation" atelier established in 1938 to focus on cockpit instruments and watches, the name deriving from the eight-day power reserve that was standard for cockpit clocks.

Somewhat provocatively, the Navitimer's hallmark slide-rule bezel is absent; but this, according to Kern, fills in the most glaring gap in Breitling's catalogue: "How can you have an aviation brand that doesn't have a simple pilot's watch?"

Derived from one of Breitling's earliest aviation pieces, the Reference 768, the starting point for the Navitimer 8 is the notched rotating bezel with its inset arrow and the railway track that runs around the dial's edge - details that define the retro feel Kern is after.

Less obvious are the cleverly shortened lugs that allow the watch to sit that fraction closer and mitigate the still fairly generous 41mm and 43mm sizes. Look closer, and Bove's typeface obsession comes into focus, with two specially designed number fonts for the minutes and hours, which, again, are retro without being academically vintage.

The whole collection is noticeably simple in conception, and almost painfully straightforward in design terms, particularly when the Navitimer 8 is put against some of Breitling's most outré designs. There are 20 variations of dial, movement or strap/bracelet - including chronograph, automatic and world time versions - but no exotic materials or unnecessary details.

And there is plenty more to come from Breitling and Kern. While much of this will be about redressing the balance, Kern has promised not to throw the baby out with the bath water. There will still be high-end quartz movements and there's even a future for the hi-spec connected pilot's watch, the Exospace B55.

Breitling Boutique, 130 New Bond Street, London W1; 020 7499 8596; breitling.com