It’s safe to say that the release of the B01 was a huge achievement for Breitling. The first in-house caliber took Breitling from being a watch assembler (whilst having a long and respected history) to being a brand that gets to play in the big league with the other big Swiss watch companies.
Developing an in-house movement is not an easy feat. This can be seen from the time it took from the first drawing to the finished product launched. The Caliber B01 was sent by Breitling to COSC for testing in 2006, and after adjustments and perfections, the movement went into mass-production.
The caliber has a thickness of 7.2mm and a diameter of 30mm. Like all Breitling’s movements, the Breitling caliber B01 is COSC certified. As mentioned, the B01 was the first entirely in-house made caliber, but since, Breitling has introduced a number of new in-house calibers such as the B04 and B05 movement. These are based on the tried and true movement construction that the B01 has. The Caliber B01 is a self-winding mechanical chronograph movement.
The idea from the very start for the new in-house caliber was to make it a mass-produced movement that would be used for a lot of Breitling’s chronograph watches.
In order to make the manufacturing of the movement possible, Breitling built the Chronometrie 2 facility in La Chaux-de- Fonds whose purpose is to solely focus on the making of their in-house calibers. Both the B01 and the future in-house calibers that the brand would come to release in the following years. The new facility opened in
It’s safe to say that the new Breitling caliber B01 was a success. In 2011, Breitling produced 40,000 B01 calibers.
Breitling in-house caliber B01 details and specifications
The Breitling caliber B01 is a column-wheel chronograph that uses a vertical coupling system. The latter eliminates hand jumping when the chronograph function is activated and reduces the risk of differences in its displays. Furthermore, the Caliber B01 uses a special index regulating system inside the movement which allows for an easy rate adjustment.
It has a patented auto-centering system for the reset hammers of its chronograph function. This system means that each individual caliber does not need to be individually adjusted. This, of course, helps streamline the manufacturing process and enable a mass-producing of the caliber.
It incorporates 47 jewels and offers a 70-hour power reserve, powered by one single barrel. It has a modular design which makes the movement easier to service. This also enables an instantaneous date-changing function. The B01 beats at a frequency of 4 Hz and the chronograph function is operated with a precision of 1/4th of a second. In traditional Breitling chronograph fashion, the B01 has a three-register layout and the registers are placed at 3, 6, and 9.
The register at 3 displays 30-minutes, the register at 6 displays 12 hours, and the register at 9 displays 60 seconds. The movement is equipped with a bimetallic automatic rotor. For improved resistance to shocks, it has a Kif shock absorber. As you would expect for a chronograph movement, it uses a column wheel. Lastly, it has a vertical clutch system which brings the benefit that it can start the timing function without effort at any time without affecting the pointer.
Breitling Caliber B01 finish
You can say that the Breitling caliber B01 is an industrialized movement. It is mass-produced and has far from the finish of watches from brands such as Patek Philippe or
But again, that’s not the point of this movement. The caliber does not have a “Haute horology” finish but rather an industry-like finish on all parts. Much of this has to do with the fact that the movement is mass-produced, but also to keep the production costs down.
The finishing on the B01 caliber includes a Côtes de Genève pattern, diamond-polished bevels, snailing, and circular graining.
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