1969 Breitling Cosmonuate “Morgan Drivers” Chrono-Matic ref. 1809 cal. 11

In 1958, NASA astronaut Lt Cmdr Scott Carpenter contacted Breitling to suggest that they make a 24 hour version of their already popular (regular 12 hour) Navitimer chronograph. In 1961 Breitling did just that and registered the name “Cosmonaute” with the Swiss Office of Intellectual Property later in the same year. Breitling also supplied Lt Cmdr Carpenter with his own Cosmonaute in 1962 for use in NASA’s Mercury program and he wore the watch during the Mercury 7 mission in May of that year, orbiting the earth 3 times during a 5 hour space flight.

A true 24-hour watch, the 1809’s hands circle the dial once every 24-hours as opposed to the common once-every-12-hours standard. So when the watch is showing what we normally think of as 6 o’clock it is really indicating Noon.

The reference 1809 is the third generation Cosmonaute introduced in 1969 and powered by a modified calibre 11 automatic movement, the first version of the automatic chronograph movement jointly developed in the late 1960s by Heuer, Breitling, Buren and Dubois-Depraz and consisting of grafting a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module onto an ultra-thin micro-rotor Buren movement.

Given the 24-hour dial and unique aviation application, this watch was produced in much lower quantities than the 1806, making this a rare watch from the period.

This particular dial has a beautiful “Morgan Drivers Plus 8” logo incorporated.  This was a special issue logo for the Morgan Drivers Europe Club assembled in 1977.  The Morgan Plus 8 is a sports car built by British car maker Morgan from 1968 to 2004.  Exact quantities produced are not known, but it is believed fewer than 20 were made and rarely available for sale in the open market.

Condition

The example offered here dates from 1969 and is in MINT and original condition. The matte black dial surface is free of any marks; the white sub-dials are super white.   The case is unmarked and the case back is unpolished and in beautiful condition with all engravings deep and clear.  All the original tritium is fully intact; the creamy color is same on dial and hands.  The bezel is in excellent condition with no signs of wear.  

All functions are in perfect and running order. Service history is unknown.

The watch comes with a premium, black leather strap.