






Breitling Chronomat Ref. 769 - Non-Luminous Gloss Black 'Gilt' Dial Unpolished
Breitling has a long and rich history in chronographs — with an emphasis on aviation chronographs. No doubt, their most well-known model family is the Navitimer, with its characteristic 'slide-rule' rotating bezel and inner ring, but the Navitimer was actually preceded by Chronomat. From ten feet, these look a lot like the Navitimer, utilizing the same materials, dial colors, and a manually-wound chronograph movement, but are actually quite a bit more digestible when it comes to legibility and size.
The example that we have here is a very early Ref. 769 dating to circa 1950. Coming in at a beautifully-sized and versatile 36mm in diameter it remains in unpolished condition, with defined lugs and deep knurls on the rotating bezel. It shows normal signs of wear from age with no major damage and just a few tooling marks on the caseback from opening over the decades. The square pushers at the two and four o'clock positions show light wear, revealing their brass color beneath. This piece, like so many great chronographs from this era, is powered by the proven Venus Cal. 175 manually-wound movement.
Last but not least is the stunning and beautifully-preserved dial inside. Being a non-luminous variant, this piece shows none of the usual heavy wear from degradation of the luminous material that most of these would see. The center section retains it's deep glossy black 'gilt' surface and shows only faint surface 'matting.' The outer white and silver rings are also in fantastic condition, showing only light surface wear from age with non of the usual moisture damage or heavy discoloration. It is stunning to behold given it's 75-year old age. Additionally, being an early example, the dial bears the cross logo that was eventually moved onto the caseback on subsequent examples. It, along with the rest of the text and printing, remains crisp and clear.
Vintage Chronomats in condition like this are truly elusive. Collectors tend to hold onto fantastic examples like this one, making for a great opportunity to snag this one.
Condition Report & Details
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Every Oliver & Clarke timepiece comes with a one-year mechanical warranty starting from the date of delivery. We ensure all watches are in wonderful working condition and are ready for daily wear. Many have been fully serviced by our team of watchmakers.
Please note:
- Due to the vintage or antique nature of many of our watches, they may not keep time as accurately as when new, nor as precisely as quartz or electronic devices.
- We do not guarantee water resistance and do not warranty against moisture or water damage. Deliberate exposure to water or steam is not recommended.
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- Internal or external damage caused by accidents, mishandling, abuse, modifications, or services performed by anyone other than our authorized personnel.
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Our Guarantee:
- Each timepiece is thoroughly evaluated, authenticated, and approved by our expert team before it is offered for sale.
- We guarantee the period-correctness of all components unless otherwise stated.
- The authenticity of each watch is guaranteed in perpetuity.
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