Yahoo Lifestyle Here’s Why the New Breitling Avenger Watch Plays to Canadian Sentimentality
As a Canadian watch writer, I am generally deemed uniquely qualified to review a watch with a Canadian theme. Loose criteria, perhaps, but, in this case, I am even more closely linked to the Breitling Avenger B01 44 Chronograph Royal Canadian Air Force, because my father was a career officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He and his RCAF buddies were tight, and for sentimental reasons alone, I think he would have liked to have one of these hardy Avengers.
My dad would have liked the more subtle blue RCAF roundel on the subdial at 9 o’clock and the RCAF centennial logo on the caseback. Two protruding lines through the roundel symbolize the flight path to the stars and the long-standing traditional Air Force motto, “Sic Itur Ad Astra” or “Such is the Pathway to the Stars.” According to Breitling’s release, the centennial “celebrates the RCAF as an independent military element and highlights contributions to national safety and security, international peace, and global stability.” And that’s something we could use more of these days.
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The RCAF Avenger is not an arbitrary affiliation. Breitling has long built collaborations around professional pilot and military organizations. It was a supplier of aircraft instrumentation since the 1930s through its Huit Aviation department, particularly during World War II, when Switzerland was technically supposed to be neutral. In secret, many helped the Allies, including Breitling. Willy Breitling and his friends would take several cars at night to pastures in nearby Franches-Montagnes in the Swiss Jura Mountains, where their cars would turn on their headlights to guide the Allied planes to landing. The pilots would quickly load Breitling timing instruments onto the planes, and then he and his team would retreat to the local pub, where they would make sure to be remembered for their boisterous behaviour, thus creating an alibi. My dad, who fought in the war, would have loved that story. He wasn’t necessarily a watch guy, but I do have a beautiful vintage 1950s Elgin watch he bought for my mum on one of their anniversaries, inscribed on the back: “Alice, with love, Gord.” It’s the only family watch story I’ve got. If dad were still alive, there’d be two, because I’d get him this watch.
But I also like the watch for other reasons. For me, it’s the maple leaf. There are maple trees in many countries, obviously, but we’re the only ones who have it on our flag, and although I’m not a raging patriot, the leaf has special significance for me. Not just because of the hapless Toronto hockey team. I lived with my family in Germany from the age of four until I was 8 years old, and on the Air Force base where we shopped, went to school, attended the movies, and got a checkup from the dentist, and pretty much everything else, we were constantly reminded of our country of origin by the presence of the Canadian flag with its big red maple leaf. So the symbol took on a curious significance for me. When I see it on a watch dial, it takes me back to those days, and it doesn’t seem kitschy at all.
The Avenger B01 Chronograph 44 Royal Canadian Air Force contains the COSC-certified Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01, with a 70-hour power reserve. The 44 mm case is steel. It is a limited edition of 50 pieces, priced at CDN$10,950 and will be sold exclusively in Canada at Breitling Boutiques, authorized retailers and Breitling.com.
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