A definite sign that you’re in too deep is when you start to see in watches. That is: when you’re walking around or watching a big event, you’re just as likely to look at someone’s wrists as you are into their eyes.
Such was the case when I tuned into the Super Bowl pre-game show yesterday. Sure, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, flat Matthew McConaughey. etc. But, what was that glint of light I kept catching on the wrists of the pre-game announcers, James Brown, Boomer Esiason, Bill Cowher, Phil Sims, Nate Burleson? Were they all wearing watches? Were they all wearing the same watches? I hit the internet, soon discovering that, yes, yes they were.
Breitling outfitted the CBS pre-game and half-time crew with the new Breitling Chronomat B01 42. The Chronomat was released in 10 versions last year, an updated take on Breitling’s 1984 classic model. Back then, the Chronomat was introduced to be a big, bold answer to the shrinking, extra-thin watches brought on by quartz timepieces (“Breitbling” for the haters). These new models are a slightly more subdued take on the now-classic Breitling form. But still, they’re unmistakeably Breitling. The pre-game crew posed for a photo before the game:
The updated Chronomat features a slightly smaller 42mm case, Breitling’s trademark bezel with raised tabs at every 15-minute marker, and an in-house Breitling Caliber 01 COSC-certified chronometer. Among the ten variations are blue and green dials, and various two-tone case choices (most of the CBS announcers seemed to choose blue or black dials). What Breitling calls their “Rouleaux” bracelet is what made me catch the watch on TV — defined by its tight rows of slim, rounded links. The Chronomat B01 42 starts at $8,100 in stainless steel.
Breitling Chronomat B01 42
Breitling dropped a bunch of great watches in 2020. With launches like this Chronomat B01 and the simple time-only Chronomat, it’s got people thinking about the brand for the first time who might not otherwise have considered themselves “Breitling people.” The models are a bit more restrained, while still staying true to the brand’s history as a maker of big, bad tool watches enjoyed by pilots and Guy Fieri. This Chronomat B01 42 is at the front of that revitalization — outfitting it on five announcers for the biggest television event of the year feels like an appropriate victory lap for Breitling’s great 2020.
For more on the Chronomat B01 42, head to Breitling.com.