Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute “Scott Carpenter” A12022

Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute “Scott Carpenter” Ref.A12022, Automatic, Stainless steel case and bracelet, Ø41mm. 24-hour dial, circular slide rule with rotating bezel, chronograph, sapphire crystal, 30 m water resistance. Limited edition of 1000 pieces 1996. Box and papers.

In 1962, astronaut Scott Carpenter asked Breitling for a Navitimer with a 24-hour dial, useful in orbit to distinguish day from night. On May 24, during the Mercury-Atlas 7 “Aurora 7” mission, that prototype—later called the Cosmonaute—completed three orbits, becoming the first Swiss wrist chronograph in space. After splashdown, the watch flooded with salt water and ended up in Breitling’s archives, reappearing publicly only in 2022. In the 1990s the Maison celebrated the feat with the limited “Scott Carpenter” edition (ref. A12022): about 1,000 pieces, 41 mm steel case, 24-hour dial, slide-rule bezel and commemorative caseback. A perfect synthesis of space history and Navitimer DNA.