“I’ll be honest, I’ve never really been a big fan of Breitling. I find their watches too big and too clunky. And except for the Breitling Heritage Superocean, the typical Navitimer design didn’t appeal to me at all. But when I saw the new designs, I was blown away. Particularly about the Breitling Premier B25 Datora in 42mm. The size doesn’t exactly match my idea of an optimal diameter, but this beautiful dial makes me overlook that to some extent. The dial is salmon colored and complements the moon phase perfectly.”
Quick take
“Wow,” was the first word that came to mind when I caught a blink of Breitling’s new releases at Watches and Wonders 2021.
Breitling’s Premiere Heritage Collection draws on a past which is rich in history and tradition. The Premier Hermitage Collection is a tribute to Breitling’s “founding trio”, which consisted of a father, his son and the son of the son. Through these three generations, Breitling became the brand it is today.
In a nutshell, the new collection consists of the following three variants: The Premier B09 Chronograph, the Premier B15 Duograph and the Premier B25 Datora. The B09 Chronograph, comes with a case diameter of 40mm, while the B15 Duograph and the B25 Datora each come with a diameter of 42mm. In terms of price, Breitling starts at $7,500 for the entry-level B09 in stainless steel, and stops at $22,500 for the B25 Datora in 18-carat rosé gold. Breitling also lists a tourbillon, but this is only available as a boutique version, and carries a hefty price tag of $50,000.
All models are powered by a manufacture movement and have a water resistance of up to 100 meters (though the crocodile leather strap that comes with it would maybe not be able to handle the challenge, just a thought..).
To find out more details about the collection, I have fought my way through the jungle of variants, sizes, movements and complications and listed them below as compactly as possible.
The collection in detail
The new collection consists of three different versions, but they were all based on the same heritage design line. The difference lies in the case sizes, the dial colours, the metals and the different complications that these models bring with them. Let’s take a brief look at the details:
The Breitling Premier B09 Chronograph 40
The first and most affordable variant is the Breitling Premier B09 Chronograph 40. As the name suggests, the watch measures 40mm in diameter and offers a simple chronograph function. The case also measures 13mm in height, has a lug width of 20mm and measures 47.6mm from lug to lug. The watch is powered by Breitling’s in-house B09 manufacture calibre, which is hand-wound in honour of its heritage. The watch boasts an impressive power reserve of approximately 70 hours. The Breitling Premier B09 Chronograph comes in two versions: First, we have the stainless steel version with a “pistachio green” (as Breitling describes it) dial, which retails for $7,500. The second version comes in a case made of 18-carat red gold, which, according to Breitling, is complemented by a silver dial. In my opinion, however, “beige” would have been more appropriate as a color designation. For this model, you would have to fork out $16,500.
The Breitling Premier B15 Duograph 42
The second variant is the Breitling Premier B15 Duograph 42. The watch comes in at 42mm in diameter and offers great duograph function, which I think gives the design of the watch a special look. The case measures 15.8mm in height, has a lug width of 22mm and measures 50mm from lug to lug. The timepiece is powered by Breitling’s in-house B15 manufacture caliber, which like the B09 Chronograph, is hand-wound. The B15 also offers an impressive power reserve of 70 hours. The B15 Duograph comes in two versions: on the one hand, Breitling presents a stainless steel version with a beautiful deep navy blue dial. This version is available for $9,500. The other version of the Duograph comes in a case made of 18-carat red gold, which also has an elegant black dial. The Duograph in rosé gold will set you back $19,500.
The Breitling Premier B25 Datora 42
At last but not least, we will take a look at what I consider to be the most beautiful and exciting version of the Premier collection: The Breitling Premier B25 Datora, with a case diameter of 42mm. The watch offers both a chronograph function and a calendar function that allows you to read the day, date, month and moon phase. The moon phase and calendar enhance the design of the watch nicely and complement the dial very well. To me, this dial reminds me a little of the Patek Philippe 5270P. But maybe only because the stainless steel model has a salmon-colored dial. Back to the dimensions: Just like the B15 Duograph, the case measures 15.8mm in height, has a lug width of 22mm and measures 50mm from lug to lug. Like the other versions, the watch comes with a manufacture movement, but unlike the prior ones, it has a power reserve of only 48 hours. This is probably due to the additional complications. For the stainless steel version with a beautiful salmon-colored dial made of copper (cough, Patek 5270, cough), you have to reckon with $11,500. And the last version (oof, finally…) of the new collection is the Datograph in rosé gold with a silver/beige dial. This one will cost you $22,500. – and is therefore the most expensive model of the regular collection.
My opinion
I’ll be honest, I’ve never really been a big fan of Breitling. I find their watches too big and too clunky. And except for the Breitling Heritage Superocean, the typical Navitimer design didn’t appeal to me at all. But when I saw the new designs, I was blown away. Particularly about the Breitling Premier B25 Datora in 42mm. The size doesn’t exactly match my idea of an optimal diameter, but this beautiful dial makes me overlook that to some extent. The dial is salmon colored and complements the moon phase perfectly.
Overall, I think Breitling has done a good job with this collection. However, I would have preferred Breitling to limit all versions to 40mm. The 42mm diameter paired with a case height of almost 16mm and a lug size of 22mm, I find too much for a watch that Breitling describes with this beautiful sentence: “This heritage-inspired design with a stylish modern twist embodies some of Breitling’s most famous innovations, and revives Breitling’s legacy of inventing the modern chronograph. This truly is our heritage revived,”. Since the watches come with a high-quality alligator strap and the classy dials, it is more likely for them to fall under the dress watches category for me. And for a dress watch that has to fit under a suit and a dressy shirt, a case height of almost 16mm is simply too much.
Personally, I would have preferred it, if they had made one out of all these variants that combined the dimensions of the B09 with the dial and functions of the B25. The salmon dial is an absolute winner for me and looks great with the combination of stainless steel and brown leather strap. If there was one of the 40mm variants with the salmon dial, I would seriously consider buying one. According to Breitling, the watches
