We asked the Breitling boss to admit what his favourite is, and he told us
Zach BlassHow would you go about choosing your favourite child? Well, that’s pretty much what Andrew made Breitling’s CEO do immediately after meeting him. Georges Kern took over the Breitling brand in 2017 and has since helped remind the watch world why it is one of the most legendary and respected names in watchmaking. After a time when Breitling, like many other brands in the ’90s and early 2000s, were moving towards bigger and louder designs, the throughline to Breitling’s heritage and roots became more and more vague. As with any good mechanical watch, eventually, an overhaul is needed. So, yes, Andrew got Mr. Kern to pick his favourites, but along the way the duo explore how Kern turned the tides, returning to the roots of the brand in a manner where we have a modern Breitling better informed by the brand’s past.
Kern ushers in a new era through stronger roots with the past
Any institution must have a strong leader with a clear sense of direction, but a leader also needs a strong cabinet of experts to offer guidance. Kern, who admittedly was not super familiar with the story and heritage of the brand before joining, made sure he did his homework – looking into the landscape of Breitling not only from internal sources, but external ones as well. Often the best people to probe about a brand are the collectors themselves, who have long been along for the journey. Naturally, Breitling mega-collector and expert Fred Mandelbaum came onto Kern’s radar.
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Kern recalled: “When I joined Breitling, I did some research in the digital watch world, and I found Fred, @watchfred, and I contacted him. I called him because he was obviously posting all these things, all these chronographs, and I found out that he is the biggest collector of Breitling chronographs in the world. Interestingly enough, nobody ever talked to him over the last 20 or 25 years. I went with a couple of colleagues to visit Fred in Vienna, walked into his office, and suddenly there were probably 50, or 60 watches displayed. At that moment I realised I knew nothing about Breitling. And this was after I signed the deal with CVC. But in seconds, I knew we were going to be very successful because Breitling has one of the deepest and best back catalogues in the watch industry. And I discovered many, many products which we then relaunched very successfully.”
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Of course, internally speaking, Kern had a wide array of strong personnel on the team alongside him. This includes watch designer Sylvain Berneron, who alongside his duties as Chief Product Officer at Breitling also recently launched his eponymous independent brand with partner Marie-Alix. Berneron, along with many others, has aided in Kern’s effort to create a better bridge between the past and present Breitling.
While an effort years in the making, a clear pivotal moment for Breitling was their relaunch of the Premier collection in 2021. In a bold and strategic move, Breitling would reveal this relaunched collection in the weeks before Watches & Wonders that year. Sure, this meant having a moment where the spotlight was solely on Breitling ahead of a week where watch fans are the most tuned in, but it also risked being a fleeting moment where as soon as the tens of presenting fair brands revealed their novelties the Breitling conversation would end. It didn’t. The collection proved to be such a fan-favourite, existing Breitling enthusiasts had never been more excited about modern Breitling and detractors, myself included, made a complete 180 in perspective – understanding the vision and promise of a modern Breitling that leveraged their strong roots. This excitement continued all the way through to Geneva Watch Days 2021, where I finally got my hands on the new collection. It may have initially seemed a welcome turn of events out of the blue, but it was exactly what Kern was aiming for.
“It was incredible because we faced two communities. Firstly, the Breitling fans of the last 20 years – so big, loud, bulky pilot’s watches. And then the Breitling fans of the 1930s to the 1980s I would say – and both communities weren’t talking to each other,” Kern explained. “Our job was to display a 360-degree view of Breitling. So, the modern Breitling with the Avenger, etc., but also re-launching products like the Premier or the Top Time, or bringing in a more interesting piece like the SuperOcean which was based on the ‘Slow Motion’ divers of the 1950s. So yeah, we’ve tried to bridge both communities and both those types of products and it works.”
Two eras, two CEOs, one shared vision
Ultimately the world does not work the way it does in The Matrix. As much as we might wish it were possible, we cannot simply plug in and have a whole heritage and history uploaded into our brains. Educating the consumer, in any industry, is a huge undertaking. Reeducating is an even taller task. Therefore, Kern aptly elected that the best path forward would be to funnel all creations through three clear segments: air, land, and sea. He arrived at this conclusion after his visit with Mandelbaum, and would later discover that his plans for segmentation were not entirely original. Kern elaborated: “The fun thing is when we saw the product, we said okay – air, land, and sea. And a couple of months later we discovered an ad from Willy Breitling that showcased the collections as air, land, and sea. We realised he had exactly the same segmentation which we decided to implement once we saw Fred’s collection – and it matched.”
This would prove to be a fruitful means of showcasing Breitling and their collections, as Kern would note to Andrew the research they had performed in regard to their clients and market. Kern would state that, at the time, they found that 10% of their target group understood the “new Breitling”, as he called it. The Breitling name has been a mainstay, but the awareness of what modern Breitling was about, and what was currently in production, was overshadowed by their heritage and historical references. The 90%, however, lives in the past when it comes to Breitling – a fondness for what the brand was and an unfamiliarity with what Breitling is now. Once they became familiar with the latest collections, and how they drew upon the past that they love, 80% of that group would express that they wanted to buy one.
With three clear segments to explore, Breitling has a clear sense of direction concerning novelties and new and returning prospective clients have clear paths to explore within the catalogue. It may seem like an obvious move on paper, but the execution of decluttering, reshaping, and honing collections takes a keen eye and a lot of work.
Five of Kern’s favourite modern Breitlings, including his #1
During the video, as Kern quickly made his selections, he briefly touched on what draws him to each of the five models before he and Andrew later go into more detail. Below you can find all the specifications of each watch, along with a Kern comment, if you will.
Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 ref. AB0138241K1P1
“The Navitimer is our super icon. I love the salmon dial with the contrasting black counters and black outer stripe.”
| Brand | Breitling |
| Model | Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 |
| Reference No. | AB0138241K1P1 |
| Case Dimensions | 43mm (D) x 13.6mm (T) x 49mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres |
| Dial | Salmon with black counters |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal front and exhibition caseback |
| Strap | Black alligator leather strap with steel folding clasp |
| Movement | Breitling 01, automatic, column wheel chronograph |
| Power Reserve | 70 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, chronograph |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | US$9,300 |
Breitling Premier B09 Chronograph 40 ref. AB0930371G1P1
“The Premier is one of the most historical products of the brand, and I particularly like this beautiful new silver dial. I have never seen a silver dial like it.”
| Brand | Breitling |
| Model | Premier B09 Chronograph |
| Reference No. | AB0930371G1P1 |
| Case Dimensions | 40mm (D) x 13mm (T) x 47.6mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 100 metres |
| Dial | Silver |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal front and exhibition caseback |
| Strap | Alligator leather strap with steel folding clasp |
| Movement | Breitling 09, hand-wound, column wheel chronograph |
| Power Reserve | 70 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | US$8,750 |
Breitling SuperOcean Heritage B20 Automatic 42 ref. AB2010121L1S1
“The SuperOcean heritage here has a very beautiful green dial, one of the most successful ranges in our collection.”
| Brand | Breitling |
| Model | SuperOcean Heritage B20 Automatic |
| Reference No. | AB2010121L1S1 |
| Case Dimensions | 42mm (D) x 14.3mm (T) x 51.5mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 200 metres (screw-down crown) |
| Dial | Green sunburst dial |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal |
| Strap | Rubber strap with steel folding clasp |
| Movement | Breitling B20, Tudor MT5612 base, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 70 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | US$5,200 |
Breitling Chronomat B01 42 ref. AB0134101C1A1
“I wear this all the time. The Chronomat chronograph, with its blue dial and amazing bullet bracelet, is very versatile and comfortable. You can wear it with anything.”
| Brand | Breitling |
| Model | Chronomat B01 42 |
| Reference No. | AB0134101C1A1 |
| Case Dimensions | 42mm (D) x 15.1mm (T) x 50.5mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 200 metres (screw-down crown) |
| Dial | Blue dial with black counters |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal front and exhibition caseback |
| Strap | Stainless steel bullet bracelet with folding clasp |
| Movement | Breitling B01, automatic, column wheel chronograph |
| Power Reserve | 70 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, chronograph |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | US$8,750 |
Breitling SuperOcean Automatic 44 ref. A17376211L2S1
“This Slow Time inspired SuperOcean, with its turquoise dial and black rubber strap, is the watch I wore all summer.”
| Brand | Breitling |
| Model | SuperOcean Automatic 44 |
| Reference No. | A17376211L2S1 |
| Case Dimensions | 44mm (D) x 12.6mm (T) x 50.5mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 300 metres (screw-down crown) |
| Dial | Turquoise |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal front and exhibition caseback |
| Strap | Black rubber strap with steel folding clasp |
| Movement | Breitling 17, ETA 2824 base, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 38 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | US$5,050 |
Which of the five did he reluctantly pick as his personal number one? Well, I have to be a bit cheeky and direct you to the video above. You will have to watch to find out.