BREITLING Cosmonaute Mk6 ref.809 cal. Venus 178 / 24-Hour Dial

The Breitling Navitimer, born in 1952, is a pilot's watch whose popularity has never faded.

The Cosmonaute was developed in 1962 as a special version of the Navitimer for astronauts: a 24-hour watch.

This example is the Navitimer Cosmonaute Mk6, the final version of the bezel with a rotating slide rule.

This serrated-notch bezel variation would later be widely adopted on vintage models.

The Mk6 uses silver-white sub-dials in high contrast against a black dial.

The logo also changed in 1965 from the "unsigned" wings of the non-AOPA Navitimer to the iconic twin-jet logo.

Variations exist with "COSMONAUTE" alone on the dial, and with both "COSMONAUTE" and "NAVITIMER"; as you will know, the "COSMONAUTE"-only version circulates in very small numbers.

The dial is black mirror with no notable scratches or marks, and the cut-out light gold lettering and highly legible Arabic numerals take the eye.

The exterior shows small marks appropriate to its age, but it remains in good condition with the edges and the caseback markings firmly intact, and the bezel turns smoothly.

It carries the Cal.178, a manual-wind movement renowned as a masterpiece from Venus.

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