Breitling “817” Military Chronograph

Description

The Breitling 817 was introduced in 1975, as a tool watch expressly designed for military use and commissioned by the Italian Army.  It is alleged that only 500 examples were commissioned by the Italian Army for use by pilots, and they were never sold commercially.  Each piece was constructed in accordance with the Italian Military’s “Cronometro da Polso” or “CP-1” regulations. Interestingly, in 2016, the Italian Ministry of Defense auctioned off a lot of 40 of these watches, all in great condition, seemingly never used/used sparingly in service.  One of said 40 watches is on offer here today!

The watch itself is in excellent vintage condition.  The case is unpolished, with minimal wear.  The dial is mint, with not a flaw in sight.  The watch also retains its original tritium lume on both dial and hands, with the hands aging to a golden orange color, as was the case on practically all 817s.

The watch comes on its original steel flex bracelet, and is accompanied by a copy of the issue-list from the Ministry of Defense, which includes the issue number of the present example.