Breitling collector and historian, Fred Mandelbaum, talks about design integrity and the TLC that his watches get
Breitling collector and historian, Fred Mandelbaum, talks about design integrity and the TLC that his watches get
The Breitling Navitimer, an icon since 1952, has just gone through an update. But the new watch is familiar – retaining its rounded slide rule, batten index, and notched bezel. There are also three chronometers on the watch face. What changed then? Fred Mandelbaum, who runs the popular Instagram account @watchfred, where he shows off his personal collection, elaborates. “What the design team did here is, again, go back in history – look at the essence and source of each component of the original watch and then reinterpret it.” Austria-based collectors of old chronographs are now working closely with the Breitling team on this new model.
Navtimers manufactured between 1963 and 1973
nothing is the same
“Not a single component on this watch is what it used to be,” he adds, “what we did was look at the elegance of the case profile, the lugs, the chamfering, the polishing that was close to the original and we Took the most modern production efficiencies available and applied them to the new watch.” The final design then makes the watch more readable. A new dome is made from sapphire, where it was previously made from acrylic. The caliber has been refined , as Mandelbaum puts it, the watch has been given “the deepest attention to detail”.
The new release, which comes in either stainless steel or 18k red gold, is available in three sizes (41, 43 and 46mm) and features the AOPA wings back at the 12 o’clock position. Breitling construction continues to power the Caliber 01 movement and features a slim silhouette with alternating polished and brushed finishing to the metal.
Navtimer Rattrapante
soul saving duty
Mandelbaum has been named ‘The Guardian of the Heritage’ by Breitling CEO George Kerns. That’s because Mandelbaum took on the role of “discussing the design features and soul of certain models with the design team”. I am working a lot on historical facts, documenting the past and building a stable foundation to work for the company and be confident of my legacy.
He is able to make a meaningful contribution because of his personal vision and the depth of his collection. When asked how many watches he had, he did not answer, but he said, “I decided to try and document every performance and model of chronograph that Breitling produced after the year 1940. ” As a result, he says, “it is not the quantity that is relevant but how complete it is in covering the legacy of a brand,” which in his case is Breitling. In addition, he collects chronographs from brands such as Excelsior Park, Anycar, Universal Geneva and pilot’s watches issued to the Armed Forces. The watches are kept in a secure safe in a bank, and Mandelbaum says, “As I wear many of my watches, or all my watches actually, I make sure they are running and maintained. Is. I know the service history of [every] clock.” He says he usually changes his watch about 2-3 times a week.
A Breitling Navitimer ad from 1964
Are new collectors any different?
The pandemic put an end to in-person watch collector meetings, which Mandelbaum hopes will return. “A lot was lost, no doubt about it,” he says when speaking about meeting fellow collectors and buyers. Although he allows that a new breed of collector is explaining, “watches are often seen as an investment item, which is something I really don’t respect very much.” However, he acknowledged that there is more openness among collectors to the “new kids on the block,” while pointing out that the independents have really changed and are creating interesting niche products.
a memory tease
Then what is the watch that Mandelbaum has been waiting to add to his collection. With a gleam in his eye, visible behind his rimless glasses, he says, “there’s a watch that’s seen in a catalog from 1946, but we’ve never seen it in metal, so we don’t know why.” whether it was ever built. Double Chronograph”, is what he’s looking for.