Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Breitling · Chronomat
Breitling Chronomat 39 mm Blue 18k
Reference 71551OR.31
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Breitling
- Collection
- Chronomat
- Model
- Breitling Chronomat 39 mm Blue 18k
- Reference number
- 71551OR.31
- Year / era
- 1973 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Minute repeater
- Movement
- Spring Drive
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Strap / bracelet
- White rubber velcro strap
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 39 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Fixed brushed titanium
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- White rubber velcro strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 73C — Spring Drive
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 10 days
- Number of jewels
- 25 jewels
- Complications
- Minute repeater
- Functions
- Chronograph, tachymeter, date
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1973 – 1986
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Breitling Chronomat 39 mm Blue 18k sits within Breitling's Chronomat line, introduced in 1973. It carries the house codes established since 1884 — 18k white gold case, blue "grande tapisserie" dial and spring drive — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
The House
Breitling
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1884
- Founder
- Léon Breitling
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Premium
- Major collections
- Navitimer, Chronomat, Superocean, Avenger, Premier, Top Time
- Signature technologies
- Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Composite and ceramic case materials · Hand-applied guilloché dials
- Famous movements
- Spring Drive · Automatic, Swiss lever escapement · High-beat automatic · Automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Breitling Navitimer 40 mm Ice Sapphire (2000) · Breitling Navitimer 44 mm Skeletonised Platinum (2003) · Breitling Navitimer 43 mm Black Platinum (1962) · Breitling Navitimer 43 mm Slate Platinum (1996)
Brand history
Breitling has spent more than 142 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Navitimer, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Léon Breitling established Breitling in 1884, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Breitling calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1884
Léon Breitling founds Breitling in Switzerland.
1899
Breitling earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Breitling to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Breitling enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Breitling continues to produce Navitimer, Chronomat, Superocean and other icons in limited numbers.