The four members of the joint venture that developed the Chronomatic (Caliber 11) movement — Heuer, Breitling, Hamilton-Buren, and Dubois Depraz — introduced their new automatic chronographs to the world on March 3, 1969, at simultaneous press conferences held at locations around the world.   (See our separate posting that shows the press release issued by Heuer.)

The new watches were announced on March 3, but the real introduction of the watches to the world would occur in April 1969, at the Swiss Watch Fair at Basle.  At the Basle Fair, the four members of the Heuer-Breitling group would show 100 of the new Chronomatic watches — 40 by Heuer, 40 by Breitling, 10 by Hamilton, and 10 by Dubois Depraz.

The Swiss Watch and Jewelry Journal (SWJJ) served as the official bulletin of the Basle Fair, and the issue for the Fair was comprised of approximately 140 pages.  The SWJJ was published six times per year, with the 2-1969 issue being published in March 1969.  In this issue of the SWJJ, we see the first advertisements for the Chronomatic (Caliber 11) chronographs.

Group Advertisement

This two-page spread shows two models for each of Heuer, Hamilton and Breitling.  Heuer shows the Autavia and the Monaco; Hamilton shows its Chrono-Matic model and its Fontainbleau model; and Breitling shows the it cushion-shape case (Reference 2111) and its traditional, round case (Reference 2110).

Breitling Advertisement

The Breitling advertisement in the SWJJ shows the four of the cases that Breitling would use for the new Chronomatic movement (left to right) — the barrel-shape case (Reference 2112), the cushion-shape case (Reference 2112), the traditional, round case (Reference 2110), and its hexagon-shaped case, sometimes called the “pizza case” (Navitimer, Reference 1806).  Breitling’s 18 karat gold Chronomatic watch (Reference 2116) was not shown, as it was introduced after the initial models.

Hamilton Advertisement

The Hamilton advertisement in the SWJJ shows both the cases that Hamilton would use for its new Chrono-Matic chronographs (left and right) — the traditional, round case (Reference 11002-3) and its outrageously-shaped Fontainebleau model (Reference 11001-3).  Hamilton’s third line of chronographs using the Chronomatic movements, the Pan-Europ 703 models, would be introduced later.

Heuer Advertisement

The Heuer advertisement in the SWJJ shows the all three of the cases that Heuer would use for the new Chronomatic movement — the Carrera (Reference 1153), the Monaco (Reference 1133), and the Autavia (Reference 1163).  The 18 karat gold version of the Chronomatic Carrera (Reference 1158) was not shown, as it was introduced after the initial models.