There’s something very special about this watch. Really.

It’s funny, but the two watches that I keep hearing WIS’s saying have to be tried in order to be a fully-fledged member of this sometimes ridiculous club are both quartz; the Tuna and the Aerospace. I owned the former for long enough to fall completely in love with it, and now – after a couple of years of resistance – I own the latter.

What a watch! By far the most comfortable thing I’ve ever had on my wrist, and a watch that’s just… I don’t know, fit for purpose. In my notional “reduced to three” collection, this would be firmly in it.

Well, I do. The perennial debate about the merits or otherwise of the ubiquitous NATO rumbles on, but I have to admit to being a complete convert. I don;t know why a cheap piece of fabric on a watch costing thousands should work, but to my mind it does; in so many ways, and on so many styles of watch.

This is a Navitimer 806 that dates back to the World Cup-winning year of 1966. The hands and indices have the most perfect patina, and that’s probably why the choice of brown for the strap seems such a good one. Just lovely.

I find the general love of all things Breitling a bit mystifying, if I’m honest. Whilst I don’t doubt their quality for a moment, I really haven’t seen many that I like and most are simply far too blingy for an old fart/traditionalist like me.

That said, there’s always been one exception, or if not always then for the last few months at least, and that’s the Navitimer. Within the iconic watch hierarchy I believe it holds a place very near the top, and some time ago I decided that I needed to get my hands on a vintage 806 variant that would fill my Breitling void absolutely perfectly.

This is an absolute beauty – a 2nd Generation 806 from 1966/7. Not really the best photos as I broke a light just before shooting them, but with a couple more en-route further and better pictures will follow! Naturally…