For many aviators, a watch made by Breitling is an indispensable piece of kit.

The brand made its name early on for the production of chronograph pocket watches, introduced the first wrist chronograph in 1915, and changed the face of horology forever by adding a second pusher to a wrist chronograph in 1934. That move was an absolute game-changer, and before long, air forces such as the RAF were commissioning Breitling chronographs for their pilots.

While the Navitimer — with its slide rule and its indelible association with astronaut Scott Carpenter — is perhaps the best-known of Breitling’s aviator’s chronographs, the easier to read Reference 765 and its successor, the Reference 1765, are in our opinion the most wearable. Simply put, it’s a smokeshow, in the way that only military or military-inspired chronographs can be.

This piece is a Reference 1765 and features a 40mm stainless steel case with an acrylic crystal, a signed crown and a painted steel bidirectional bezel that largely remains intact. The matte black ‘reverse panda’ dial includes luminous tritium markers, silvered radial subsidiary registers and a matching stylized handset. 

At its core is the Venus Calibre 178 hand-winding movement — the same found the Co-Pilot Reference 765 and early Breitling Navitimers that are highly coveted. It comes fitted to our Analog:Shift Jones brown leather strap with a steel pin and buckle and it makes for a near-perfect pairing, if we do say so ourselves!

Though not a bestseller, the Unitime gets points in our book for being just plain cool, the perfect watch for the enthusiast who wants to channel their inner chopper pilot whenever they put it on.