Breitling Relaunches The Chronomat Collection, With A Clean New Design And Upgraded Bracelet
Breitling’s signature collection gets a contemporary refresh.
Breitling for good reason, is well known as one of the world’s most important maker of aviation watches, and one of its best known collections is the Chronomat. The Chronomat is highly recognizable – the bezel carries the collection’s signature “rider” tabs, marking 15 minute intervals, as well as the distinctive, domed and striated crown, sometimes called an “onion” or a “bullet” crown.
The 1984 Chronomat “Frecce Tricolori:” The Rebirth Of Breitling And The Birth Of A Legend
The Chronomat as we know it today was released in 1984, and since then, it has become famous as the watch which brought Breitling out from under the shadow of the Quartz Crisis. Ernest Schneider had acquired Breitling in 1979, when an aging Willy Breitling was forced to cease production, and he relaunched the company in 1982 but success was far from guaranteed. A mechanical chronograph of any kind was a long shot in terms of finding an audience, much less restoring Breitling to its glory days, but the Chronomat turned out to be a success beyond any of Schneider’s expectations.
The success of the Chronomat was partly thanks to its distinctive, bold design, and partly thanks to the fact that it was a professional instrument; it had been designed in collaboration with the Italian Air Force’s aerobatics squadron, the Frecce Tricolori, or “Tricolor Arrows.” Established as an aerobatics flight school in the 1930s, the Frecce Tricolori evolved in the early jet age into an independent aerobatics demonstration team, akin to the US Air Force Thunderbirds and the US Navy Blue Angels.
The team operated some of the first generation of true jet fighters, including the De Havilland Vampire, and the US-made F-86 Sabre. By the time the partnership with Breitling came about, the Frecce Tricolori were flying the home-grown Fiat G.91. The Fiat jet appears in a highly stylized form on the dial of this early Chronomat, with the letters P.A.N. above it, which stand for Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale – National Aerobatic Patrol. The watch was issued on the “rouleaux” bracelet, sometimes also known as a “bullet” bracelet (“rouleaux” is French for “rollers”) which was manufactured in-house by Breitling.
It might come as a surprise to hear that the Chronomat name had been used before 1984; it originally designated a two-pusher chronograph, released in 1942, which had a circular slide-rule bezel; the first watch ever to have one. The 1984 Chronomat may not have had a slide rule bezel, but its countdown timer was familiar to many watch enthusiasts from diver’s watches, and gave the watch a versatility as well as a certain kind of broad shouldered virility that made it a hit, first in Italy, and then worldwide. It’s been a staple of Breitling’s collections ever since, so as you can imagine, an update to this collection is as big as news gets at Breitling.
The last time the collection had a full refresh, was six years ago, in 2020. In that year, Breitling re-introduced the rouleaux bracelet, and gave the Chronomat prominent crown guards as well as a revised bezel with minute hash marks on the bezel between the 45 and 15 minute rider tabs. This year, the new collection has a number of updates which might seem small individually but which add up to a very new take on a very distinguished classic.
The New For 2026 Breitling Chronomat Collection
For 2026, Breitling is launching the Chronomat B01 42, a 42mm chronograph, along with two time and date models – the Chronomat B31 Automatic 40, and the Chronomat Automatic 36, in 40mm and 36mm.
The B01 Chronomat 42
The B01 Chronomat 42 will be available in steel, with a green, blue, or white dial and all three have black subdials. A fourth model will be available with a red gold crown and red gold and steel bezel, and a fifth will be offered in full gold, with the option to add a full gold rouleaux bracelet. Finally, Breitling’s also offering a model in stainless steel with a platinum bezel – this one’s going to be available with a full platinum bracelet as well.
The B01 Chronomat 42 models are all water resistant to 200 meters and the bezels are unidirectional, which means that they are also ISO-standard diver’s watches as well; all are certified as chronometers by the COSC. The crown guards are noticeably reduced in the new version compared to the 2020 models, and they are also quite a bit slimmer, at 42mm x 13.7mm versus 42mm x 15.1mm for the previous models.
The bracelets have been given a major upgrade as well – they are now fitted with a micro-adjustable clasp, with 4mm of adjustment possible (+2mm/-2mm). You’ll also notice, that for the first time in a Chronomat, the bracelet is integrated; although there’s a hidden lug system which allows the watches to be worn with a strap as well.
Finally, there are updates to the bezel; these might be the biggest changes depending on how you feel about rider tabs. They’re still there, but they are no longer held in place by screws, which held the rider tabs onto the bezel in previous models; this feature allowed owners to change the position of the tabs and make the bezel a countdown rather than count-up bezel.
This was a great connection to the history of the Chronomat but in practice, it was not widely used by actual owners and in the 2026 models, the rider tabs are now fully integrated into the unidirectional bezel. They do still project from the bezel, providing a surer grip, and also providing some protection for the crystal against impact, which was part of their original purpose in 1984. So what we’ve got is:
- Integrated bracelet (with rouleaux style bracelet optional, as well)
- Integrated rider tabs (no more screws)
- Thinner case
- Less prominent crown guards
- Same time-tested, vertical clutch column wheel controlled in-house caliber B01 as the previous models
This is still very recognizably a Chronomat – all the more so thanks to the rouleaux bracelet – but it’s also a stronger-than-ever candidate for a go-anywhere-do-anything (GADA) watch, not forgetting that it is by the international standard for dive watches, a full-on diver’s watch as well.
The Chronomat B31 Automatic 40, and Chronomat Automatic 36 Models
These are both time-and-date models, with the 40mm model using the B31 caliber Breitling originally introduced in the 2025 B31 Top Time.
These models differ in size and of course, they’re not chronographs however they incorporate all the updates to the design seen in the B01 Chronomat 42.
The Chronomat B31 Automatic 40 will be available in steel, with a white, blue, or green dial; it will also be available with a platinum bezel, either on a strap or on a solid platinum bracelet.
All watches are 40mm x 10.9mm, with 200 meter water resistance, and bezels are unidirectional.
Finally, there are the Chronomat Automatic 36 models, which are the least technical and most generally versatile versions.
These are available at launch in steel with a blue dial or grey mother of pearl dial, with a lab-grown diamond set bezel; all steel with a lab grown diamond set bezel; steel and red gold with a mother-of-pearl dial, and in another gem set version, with a red gold bezel and lab-grown diamond set bezel.
The movement here is the Breitling B10, which is based on the Sellita SW-300-1; water resistance is 100 meters and the bezels are fixed. The rider tabs though reduced, are still visible and those plus the rouleaux style bracelets, keep these models connected to the Chronomat collection as a whole. And the bracelets on the 36 models, as well as the 40 models, have the new micro-fit adjustment system as well.
If I had to sum up the overall direction of the new Chronomat Collection 2026 in one word, it would be “versatility,” but with caveats. It’s rare for a brand to update an existing iconic collection nowadays in a way that broadens its appeal, but which still feels authentic to enthusiasts, and I think Breitling has largely succeeded with this round. The rouleaux bracelet is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in connecting models across the collection, and to the history of the Chronomat but in a good way; it’s a strong visual statement and Breitling continues to improve and update it technically as well, which is never a bad thing.
Plus, if you want the Chronomat as it sometimes has most prominently existed – as a sheer heavyweight head turning statement piece – there is plenty of gold and platinum in the new collection as well. I will never not feel an atavistic desire for gold on gold; in red gold I bet that rouleaux bracelet is a monster.
The Chronomat B01 42: cases, 42mm x 13.7 mm, 45.8mm lug to lug, 200M water resistance; movement, Breitling B01 in-house column wheel vertical clutch automatic, 70 hour power reserve. Prices from $9550 in steel on a strap to $49,000 in gold with gold bracelet.
The Chronomat B31 Automatic 40: cases, 40mm x 10.9 mm, 43.7mm lug to lug, 200M water resistant; movement, Breitling B31 automatic, 78 hour power reserve with date. Prices from $7200 in steel on a steel bracelet, to $9,800 in steel with platinum bezel.
The Chronomat Automatic 36: cases, 36mm x 9.68mm, 39.5mm lug to lug, water resistance 100M; movement, Breitling B10 automaitc, 42 hour power reserve.
All watches are chronometer certified by the COSC.
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