The Love for a Burly Breitling

Kent Brasseale has had a life-long, evolving interest in watches. What started off as a fascination of a simple, yet elegant, all-black Swatch turned into a passion for chunky, utility watches when he was first introduced to Casio's G-shock line of watches that he still wears today. The culmination of his interests came in the form of a Breitling E73360 Avenger M1 Chronograph Titanium Watch that was produced from 2002-2008. This 44 mm beast of a watch features a highly-accurate quartz movement, sapphire crystal, titanium case and band, unidirectionally rotating bezel to keep track of air time when diving, and is the only chronograph (stopwatch) that is water-resistant and operational at a depth of 1000 m. This incredible feat has been achieved by the principle of the magnetic pushpiece, a Breitling proprietary patented device enabling use of the chronograph through the metal of the case. These features can be misleading in the way they illustrate a hunk of metal with a few cool features, but Breitling did an amazing job turning it into an impressively elegant and versatile watch that can be worn on many different occasions, just the way Kent likes his watches.

Now it's time to reveal the part of this watch that this blog is all about; the complication of this watch that makes Kent say he would not sell it unless he is in dire need. This watch's story began in 2006 when Kent tragically lost his daughter in a drowning accident that he will never forget. In early 2007, his parents decided to gift him a watch that could commemorate her life. He was given a choice: a stainless steel Rolex day-date or a Breitling Avenger M1. While his choice has been spoiled already, it was easy for him to cross off the Rolex as it did not provide the chunky utility vibe that he had grown so fond of. This gift seemed almost poetically beautiful in the way the Breitling represents the strength that Kent had to have during these tough times. Prior to the interview, the Breitling barely saw the light of day, but Kent said he is looking forward to wearing it more after reminiscing on the past that it reminds him of. When worn, the Breitling makes him feel sad when he thinks about why he got it, loved when he thinks about his parents gifting it to him, and special since it is such a nice watch with a beautiful story. The one way he said the watch could be improved is if it were self-winding, but for him and many others alike, it is oftentimes not the mechanics of the watch that make it so beautiful, it is the story behind it that carries its value, and in Kent's words, "If it were a story about chopsticks, it would still be such an important story."