THE FULL-CALENDAR CHRONOGRAPH

The final complication Willy saw waiting for chronographs in the post-war boom market was the full calendar, with day, date and month. Breitling’s competitor at the time, Angelus, had already launched a full calendar chronograph in 1942.

So by 1944, when Venus had not yet completed its version of the complication, Willy forged ahead using Valjoux-based calibers—the twin-register (cal. 23C) for the Breitling ref. 784, and the tripleregister (cal. 72C) for the Datora ref. 785. Breitling was one of the first to use these movements.

By the late 1940s, the Venus full calendar calibers had finally arrived, starting with the cal. 191 that replaced the Valjoux 72C. The even more complex Venus cal. 187 would go on to power the subsequent Datora ref. 799, which added a moonphase surrounded by a pointer date, along with an hour counter.

The next Datora to launch—references 804 (waterproof) and 805 (nonwaterproof)—needed to be Valjouxbased once again to add the moonphase display at 6 o’clock, in combination with a pointer date, day of the week, month and hour counter.

A recent lucky find is the only known solid-gold ref. 800 a split-second chronograph with a date display and moonphase. It is based on the Venus cal. 195 that was hugely complex for its time, and still is. These watches were manufactured in such small quantities that, according to production ledgers, no reference-specific gold cases were ever made for them. Instead, this one piece was installed in a 1944 18k gold case made for the Duograph ref. 766, hence it is listed with both references.

I have yet to see an example of the ref. 800 cased in one of, what the ledgers report, was a 1951 delivery of 20 ref. 800 steel cases. The only models that have surfaced up until now have been Duograph-reference cases and two examples of the moonphase and date Chronomat ref. 801 upgraded with the rattrapante caliber 195. Interesting to note that the ref. 800, despite being a combination of date, moonphase and rattrapante, was placed in the Datora section of the 1946 catalog. These complicated wrist chronographs accomplished what Willy set out to do: distinguish Breitling through the superior technicality of its offering. A checkmate in his conquest of the chronograph market.

OPPOSITE:

Datora ref. 799, 1947, Venus cal. 187, 34.9 mm case: 18k gold, hands: Lance

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Tourneau Datora ref. 799, 1947, Venus cal. 187, 34.6 mm case: steel, hands: Javelin

Datora ref. 799, 1947, Venus cal. 187, 34.7 mm case: steel, hands: Pencil

OPPOSITE: