We love a good chronograph here at Analog/Shift, and there's no denying that certain brands do them exceptionally well. 

Breitling, the storied manufacture from St. Imier, can be said to have created the genre of aviators’ chronographs—even the modern wristwatch chronograph as we know it. The brand introduced its first wrist chronograph in 1915. Their first design was a holdover from its days in the pocket, with start, stop, and reset functions being operated from the crown.

This was a primitive model that posed some difficulty—for example, there was no way to stop the chronograph and then resume timing from the same position. The wearer would have to start again from the beginning. But that would change completely in the 1930s, when Breitling changed the face of horology forever by adding a second pusher in 1934.

Now, the chronograph could be reset via the second pusher at 4 o’clock, which Breitling dubbed a “second return to zero push piece.” The move was an absolute game-changer, bringing the complication a functionality that it had never had before. Soon brands as wide-ranging as Universal Genève and Omega rushed to implement the new design. It brought Breitling notoriety from all quarters of the globe. Shortly thereafter, the manufacture attracted the attention of the world’s burgeoning air forces, becoming official suppliers to the air forces of the United Kingdom and Canada in 1936.

While perhaps best known for these aviation-inspired watches, Breitling also produced scores of other chronograph models that merit consideration.

This particular watch is a Reference 788 from the Premier line. Meant for the sporting gentleman, the Premier lacks the bells and whistles of the Navitimer, Breitling’s best-known chronograph, equipped with a slide rule. However, what the Premier lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in style.

With clean lines and an elegant silver-toned dial with richly patinated luminescent indices and hands, it’s not hard to imagine this watch on the wrist of a nattily-dressed man about town, cruising in his vintage car.