Breitling marks 60 years of the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission

To mark the 60th anniversary of its voyage aboard the Aurora 7 spacecraft, Breitling staged the very first public presentation of the original Cosmonaut since 1962, thus revealing its fabulous history.

In the 1960s, Breitling’s Navitimer was the undisputed pilot’s watch. But the world’s attention was rapidly advancing beyond air travel and into space exploration, and that meant a different kind of Space Race was quietly underway. This time, between watchmakers vying to be the first on astronauts’ wrists.

The brand’s expertise in aviation watches shot the brand to the head of the pack. On 24 May 1962, Breitling officially claimed the title “first Swiss wristwatch in space” after astronaut Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times while wearing the Navitimer Cosmonaute during his Mercury-Atlas 7 mission. The watch had been Carpenter’s personal request, a variation on the iconic aviator’s watch he’d encountered in his flight days, but with a 24-hour dial to tell day from night in space.

Today, on the 60th anniversary of that mission, Breitling has not only unveiled Carpenter’s original Navitimer Cosmonaute, but also launched a modern tribute to it. This special release is limited to 362 pieces that recognise both the spacecraft’s circumnavigations of the Earth and the year the mission made history, marking a crucial step in manned spaceflight.

On 24 May 1962, five hours after launch, the Aurora 7 space capsule with Carpenter aboard splashed down safely in the Atlantic. The recovery operation lasted three hours, with the long exposure to seawater resulting in irreparable damage to Carpenter’s Cosmonaute. Breitling immediately replaced Carpenter’s watch, but that battered and corroded piece of space history remained in the Breitling family archives, unrestored and widely unknown. That is, until today.

Now, exactly 60 years after its historic flight, that great space watch was exhibited for the first time to select collectors, journalists, and watch enthusiasts at a space-themed event in Zurich. It was an afternoon of lively interaction, co-hosted by Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling, and former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.

June 16, 2022