Swiss watchmaker Breitling has unveiled a commemorative timepiece celebrating the centennial of American spaceflight pioneer Scott Carpenter’s birth. The 50-piece limited-edition Navitimer B02 Chronograph 41 Cosmonaute Scott Carpenter Centenary honors the astronaut who piloted the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission on May 24, 1962, becoming the second American to orbit the Earth.
Carpenter’s mission was notable for another reason: on his wrist was a custom-built Breitling Navitimer, the first Swiss wristwatch to travel into space. Prior to his groundbreaking journey, Carpenter had requested specific modifications from Breitling, including a wider bezel for gloved operation, a stretch-metal bracelet to fit over his spacesuit, and crucially, a 24-hour dial to aid in timekeeping during the frequent sunrises and sunsets of orbital flight.
Willy Breitling, the grandson of the company’s founder, embraced the challenge, and the resulting Navitimer Cosmonaute was delivered to Carpenter just days before launch. Six decades later, Breitling is paying tribute to this historic mission and the man behind it with a platinum edition of the iconic watch. The new timepiece features a deep blue dial reminiscent of Earth as seen from space, complemented by a crisp white slide rule evoking cloud cover. A matching blue alligator-leather strap with a white-gold folding buckle completes the design.
“Breitling has been part of some of the most important moments in watchmaking, but sending the first Swiss wristwatch into space is one of our proudest achievements,” said Breitling CEO Georges Kern. “Willy Breitling didn’t hesitate when Scott Carpenter asked for a watch built for space; he made it happen. That spirit – being innovative, taking risks, pushing limits – is how we still operate today.”
The limited-edition watch is powered by the Breitling Manufacture Caliber B02, a manual chronograph movement with a 24-hour display. The hand-wound mechanism is a nod to the original and offers a 70-hour power reserve. The movement, certified by the COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres), is visible through a sapphire crystal caseback adorned with engravings commemorating Carpenter, his capsule “Aurora 7,” his three orbits, and the “Mercury 7” astronaut group. Further engravings denote the watch as the “First Swiss wristwatch in space” and “One of 50,” along with “Scott Carpenter Centenary 1925-2025.”
The dial features the winged logo of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) at 12 o’clock, highlighting the Navitimer’s long-standing association with the pilots’ club. The watch also includes three subdials and a date window at 6 o’clock. The newly updated space watch—which retails for an appropriately out-of-this-world $42,000—is presented in a special wooden box that includes a replica of Carpenter’s Mercury 7 name badge. The original Cosmonaute, damaged by saltwater after Carpenter’s splashdown, remained in Breitling’s archives until its public debut in 2022. Gregory Breitling, Willy Breitling’s son, recently shared the story behind its creation at a special event marking the centenary and the final week of Breitling’s 140th-anniversary pop-up museum in Zurich.