Closer Look: Breitling B01 Chronomat NFL Watches

Last week, Breitling launched a significant partnership with the NFL, unveiling a new collection of Chronomat watches featuring designs for all 32 teams. This multi-year deal, a first in the Swiss luxury watch market to team on a nationwide level with the NFL, allows Breitling to create exclusive, licensed watches for each team in the league, tapping into a broad and enthusiastic fanbase.

The Breitling Chronomat NFL collection showcases 42mm stainless steel watches, each designed with team-specific Pantone colors and logos displayed on the subsidiary dial at 9:00. Additionally, the case back features the NFL logo. Limited to just 104 pieces per team, the collection celebrates the NFL’s 104th anniversary. Half of these watches will be available with rubber Rouleaux straps priced at $8,800, while the other half comes on steel bracelets for $9,200.

Powered by Breitling’s in-house B01 mechanical movement, the watches offer a blend of performance and craftsmanship. The self-winding chronograph movement is COSC-certified, has a 70-hour power reserve, and is backed by a five-year warranty. Each watch is also water resistant to 200 meters and features signature elements such as a triple-register dial, Super-LumiNova-coated hands, and a date display at 6:00.

Breitling USA President Thierry Prissert highlighted the broad appeal of the NFL, saying, “It’s got a great following, with many women loving the sport, as well. When you go to the stadium, you’ve got the whole family going most of the time, different ages, too, and we think that diversity in the audience is very interesting.” This aligns with Breitling’s strategy of reaching new customers and expanding its presence in the American market.

One of the biggest challenges Breitling faced in creating this collection was adapting its production processes to meet the NFL’s strict standards for logo and color accuracy. The company worked closely with the NFL to ensure that each team’s branding was perfectly replicated, with Prissert noting that the NFL was “very protective” of ensuring the teams were represented accurately.

While 17 team watches will be available immediately, the rest of the collection is expected to be available for sale in late October due to production constraints. Despite the limited release, Prissert emphasized that this is just the beginning of Breitling’s NFL journey: “We know that 104 of each will not address the fan base… but we think that it’s a great start.”

This NFL partnership, with its unique combination of sports, luxury, and American culture, could set the stage for future collaborations and potentially more accessible models down the line.