Horological Meandering

WatchFred
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just a quick wrist shot of a Breitling grail .....

another hunt has come to an end.

had been searching for this elusive piece for a very, very long time. model history is full of unconfirmed rumors, the ref. 765 was the first waterproof chronograph launched by "Breitling 8" Military Aviation Division in the very late 1930s - in 1953 Breitling produced a miniscule number of ref. 765 marked "AVI";  with a 12h bezel and a heavily modified Venus 178 movement and a "digital" 15 minute totalizer - claimed to be prototypes for the French Army tender that Breguet finally won; later versions have "regular" minute counter hands.

this piece was purchased by a young amateur pilot from a wealthy Ohio family in the mid/late 1950s - who quickly lost interest in flying and the watch ended up in a drawer for the next 50 years, unworn, was able to buy it in a trade from his son and grandson in law who both prefer more "modern" watches, thankfully.

no sunlight in Vienna, so just a wrist shot, will post additional pics of the movement and the virginal case when the light is a bit better; case is from the first batch produced in 1953, WOG-marking on the bridge and chrono second hand indicate it was assembled in 1955 or 1956.

assume Eitan & Nicolas might enjoy this one, hope others too ?

HappyFred