Meet The First Swiss Watch In Space - The Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute

By James Mulvale

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When it comes to watches worn in space, everyone knows about the Omega Speedmaster and its illustrious history as the first watch worn on the Moon. Many of you might also be aware of the Bulova Lunar Pilot, and the story of how that unexpectedly ended up being worn on the moon. But I bet that few of you know that the first Swiss wristwatch worn in space was the Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute. 

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Its story began in 1958 when NASA began Project Mercury - its mission to launch a successful manned spaceflight. Seven astronauts were selected for the program, and they would become collectively known by the somewhat unimaginative name of the “Mercury Seven”. One of these men was Scott Carpenter, who had previously been a US Navy test pilot. Each astronaut was assigned a special responsibility for the development of the Mercury spacecraft, and Carpenter’s was the onboard navigational equipment.

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At this early stage of NASA’s space programs, the organisation had not yet chosen a watch to issue to its astronauts. Instead, each individual had to procure their own. As a former Navy pilot, Carpenter was well-acquainted with the Breitling Navitimer and approached Breitling to produce a modified version to his specifications. 

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The main modification Carpenter requested for the Cosmonaute was that it have a 24-hour layout, instead of the 12-hour dial seen on the Navitimer (and every other convention watch). The reasoning behind this was simple. In space, astronauts would orbit the Earth every 90 minutes, which made using daylight to discern whether it was AM or PM impossible. Breitling, therefore, modified the Venus 178 calibre in the Navitimer so that the hour hand only made one circuit around the dial every 24 hours, instead of every 12. Naturally, they also changed the dial markers to a 24-hour layout as well. This allowed the wearer to know the exact time of day no matter their situation. Other changes to the standard Navitimer included widening the bezel by 2mm to make it easier to grip with gloves, and improving legibility by removing the hours/minutes scale on the dial. Besides that, the Cosmonaute was very similar to the standard Navitimer, with a 40mm steel case, and a white syringe handset. In fact, at a quick glance, it would be hard to distinguish between the two models. 

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On 24 May 1962, Carpenter would launch into space aboard the Aurora 7 in a flight that would last for 4 hours and 56 minutes. During that time Carpenter orbited the Earth three times and conducted several experiments assigned to him. He also became the first astronaut to eat solid food in space. 

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However, the flight wouldn’t be plain sailing for Carpenter, and upon his re-entry into the atmosphere, several mechanical failures, as well as his own human error, meant he overshot the target landing point by 400km. Fortunately, Carpenter was unharmed and was safely recovered along with the spacecraft. 

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On his wrist throughout the entirety of this experience was a Breitling Cosmonaute. Unfortunately, this watch was damaged beyond repair by seawater whilst Carpenter awaited recovery, though it was later sent back to Breitling, where it still resides in their archives. 

The Variations Of The First Breitling Cosmonaute Reference 

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This first reference of the Cosmonaute dubbed the Ref. 809 Mark 1, would be produced by Breitling for less than a year before being replaced by the Mark 2. These were produced only in 1963 with the standard Navitimer bezels seen on the Ref. 806, and are even rarer than the Mark 1 Ref. 809 Cosmonaute. 

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 These were then followed by Mark 3 and Mark 4 Cosmonaute, produced in 1963 and 1964 respectively. These adopted a new dial design that was introduced in late 1963 for the Navitimer Ref. 806. It featured contrasting silvery-white subdials, a slim tapered baton handset, and an arrow tip to the chronograph sweep hand. Likewise, the subdial hands were changed from batons to sword hands. As with the Mark 1 and Mark 2, the difference between the Mark 3 and Mark 4 is that the Mark 3 has a wider bezel. 

Breitling Cosmonaute MK4. Credit Breitling 

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The last iteration of the Navitimer Cosmonaute Ref. 809 is the Mark 6 (I couldn’t find why there was no Mark 5). The Breitling Archive says the Mk6 was first produced in 64 and many examples have been seen as late as 1971. This reference featured an updated slide rule bezel and was also available with a gold-plated case. After the Mark 6, Breitling moved on to two completely new references of Cosmonaute, but these, along with the later references will be something we cover another time. 

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The story of the Cosmonaute’s creation is a fascinating one, not least because it wasn’t the result of a lucrative government contract or widespread market opportunity. Instead, it was the result of one man’s request to a brand he respected, to create a watch to fulfil a very specific niche. And there’s something about that that makes this watch infinitely cooler than similar, more mainstream watches from the same period.

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After all, the Cosmonaute wasn’t a civilian watch that was merely adopted by NASA but rather created specifically for one of its members. Then there are the incredibly short production runs of these early references. Most of them were only produced for a year or two, and even the Mark 6 was only made for three years, which as any collector will know, makes these Cosmonautes all the more desirable. 

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Before I finish, I’d also like to draw your attention to the archive section of the Breitling website. I wasn’t aware of it before researching this article, and it’s an incredibly useful and interesting tool where you can view the details of each Navitmer model Breitling has produced.  

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And, if having read this article you’ve now got a hankering to acquire a Ref. 809 Cosmonaute for yourself, then you’re in luck! Waecce is pleased to offer a gorgeous Breitling Cosmonaute Ref. 809 Mark 6 for sale, which you can read all about here.