Watch Collector’s Notebook — Vintage Breitling 1809 “Jumbo” Cosmonaute

“Jumbo” is a relative term in the vintage watch world. For example, you can have “Jumbo” IWC dress watches at 36mm and “Jumbo” Omega Constellations and JLC Memovoxes at 37mm. But in the (big) case of the first generation Chronomatic tool watches that Breitling produced in the late 1960s and early 70s, that adjective is well-earned, no air quotes required.

Take one of the more attractive Breitling Chronomatic designs, the reference 1809 Cosmonaute. At 47mm x 47mm the 1809 and its standard Navitimer brother, the 1806, were the original inspirations for Breitling’s modern-era oversize watches. 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. Designed with military time in mind, it takes some getting used to and this way of telling time is certainly not for everyone, as one has to relearn how to read a watch essentially. This limited appeal accounts for the somewhat small production of Cosmonautes over the years, as you can generally find about 10 Navitimers for every one vintage Cosmo. And when you come to own one, trust me, early on you will have to give several extra glances at your wrist trying to figure out the correct time.

But that’s actually OK because the dial and hands combo on the 1809 Cosmo is such a pleasure to look at telling time can seem of secondary importance. With its complicated slide rule “computer” calibrations beautifully printed in gilt on the glossy black dial, heavy luminous numerals and bars and the handsome fluorescent orange luminous-filled faceted “paddle” hands, this layout is arguably one of the most appealing Breitling ever came up with. Add to it the red date at “6”, bright silver chrono subdials with their eccentric counter hands and the rotating anodized black serrated slide rule bezel and this Cosmo is a peak chronograph concept from a time when watch companies were still design innovators and not just plunderers of their own illustrious pasts. That being said the newer verisons of the Chronomatic, which I believe have now been discontinued, are still very handsome because they generally adhere to the original designs.

Powering this big beauty is the Chronomatic caliber 14 (for Breitling, the cal. 14 indicates a 24-hour or GMT complication), one of multiple variations of the pioneering automatic chronograph 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 microrotor Buren movement. You can read more about this innovation in this outstanding historical article by the great Heuer collector and enthusiast, Jeff Stein. But suffice to say, it is a very effective solution the the automatic chronograph that keeps the movement reasonable thin even if, in a radical design departure, it requires that the winding crown be opposite of the pushers to the left side of the case. That becomes part of a Chronomatics eccentric charms along with having no constant seconds hand of any kind.

Screwdown back with reference, serial & patent numbers – typically smoothed out from wear and hard to read.

There’s no doubt that this is one vintage watch that easily fits in with today’s big watch trend — it’s a grandaddy of this revivified fashion trend towards oversize timepieces. When you wear it on your wrist you’ll be making a statement and you’ll almost certainly get admiring comments. I really enjoyed owning mine and it’s one of the very few watches that I’ve sold that I really want back. There just aren’t many 1809s around — there are a ton of 1806s — and the one I owned even had its rare original signed bracelet, a hard-to-find bonus.

So even if I could never quite get comfortable with the 24-hour dial, it was always a pleasure doing a double take anyway. I’ll be on the hunt for another one someday soon. And unlike what is now happening with skyrocketing vintage Heuer prices, these vintage Breitling Chronomatics have held pretty steady. You see a lot of sellers asking big money but with a little patience you can still snag one for under $3k, maybe slightly more if you’re lucky enough to find one with its signed bracelet. Anyway you slice it, that’s a lot of watch for the money.