Why the Breitling Endurance Pro Watches Of Switzerland Group Special Edition should be on your New Year Wishlist
By Bill Prince | 4 minute read
Pack away those dumbbells and cancel the personal trainer – the ultimate inspiration for your fresh start in 2022 is here!
As we start a new year, it’s likely that for many of us a large part of our disposable income over the next few months will go towards lifestyle hacks, wellness fixes and sundry training products designed (if not destined) to improve our health. However, wiser heads might wish to save a chunk of those outgoings for a health benefit that will outlive all that hard-earned hope: a watch perfect for making good on our heartfelt wish to stay close to the leaders of the pack.
For the last few years, those leaders – at Breitling, at least – have been its Squads: brand ambassadors chosen for their achievements in a particular field, exemplified by the family of watches they have been chosen to represent. In the case of its new quartz-powered ‘athleisure’ line Endurance Pro, launched in 2020, it comprises triathlon champions Jan Frodeno, Chris McCormack and Daniela Ryf, between them an Olympic gold medallist and multiple winners of the gruelling Ironman challenge (for which Breitling now serves as a partner). And daunting as their achievements are, there’s no reason to discount the effect wearing their chosen timepiece might have on your own motivation to go out there and kick up some dust.
Why? Because the Endurance Pro embraces every aspect of the modern sports watch: invincible timekeeping (thanks to Breitling’s own COSC-certified SuperQuartz movement, guaranteeing ultra-accurate precision with a;life of up to four years) with a superlight construction that deploys the brand’s own proprietary carbon composite, Breitlight.
Much can - and should – be made for the advantages of a lightweight carbon composite in any watch that’s destined to remain on your wrist for hours – possibly days – at a time. But the benefits of Breitlight are particularly impressive. Introduced by the brand in 2016, this 100 per cent Swiss-made material is ideally suited to a go-anywhere watch. Three times lighter than titanium (formerly the alloy most often chosen for an air-weight watch) and thus considerably lighter than steel (historically the metal of choice for ardent adventurers), it’s also helpfully hypoallergenic and antimagnetic - making it the perfect companion for the erstwhile wearer and the delicate components inside. And although not currently suitable for colouration, its austere, gun-metal grey appearance lends the various accents available in the collection their own validity – echoing as they do the various options available in the 1970s Sprint collection, from which the range draws its inspiration.
For the avowed outdoors athlete, however, this limited edition created for Watches of Switzerland wins out for its far from uniform ‘military-spec’ appearance – here offered for the first time with a dark green dial (as opposed to the black dials available elsewhere in the collection), matched with a moulded crown and rubber diver’s strap fitted with a Breitlight pin buckle, all authenticated by a dedicated numbered caseback.
No doubt about it, this is a watch destined to be worn. Chiefly because it admirably inhabits the space vacated by the venerable Colt – the quartz-driven model discontinued in 2018 – as an affordable Breitling perfectly prepared to play second fiddle to pricier, more delicate timepieces in your collection. However, by dint of its materials – and dense yet never overworked styling – it far exceeds the requirements of a humble quartz model.
Granted, in purely ‘performance’ terms it doesn’t match the complex calculations provided by a dedicated smart’ watch. Nevertheless, enshrined in the timeless ‘tripax’ layout of its subdials, is a chronograph to measure elapsed time, while a pulsometer secreted on the inner bezel is on hand to measure one’s heart rate (and thus effort and/or recovery). Factor in date and compass functions (courtesy of its unidirectional bezel), and it’s clear the Endurance Pro is destined to spend little or none of your ‘downtime’ languishing in your top drawer. Instead, think of it as your ‘lifestyle partner’ – the robust yet hyper-accurate timepiece you take on that next swim (it’s water resistant to 100 metres) run or bike ride.
And if you do feel like taking on Breitling’s Triathlon Squad members at their own game, then be aware: roaming at their level wasn’t built in a day.
Explore our Breitling Endurance Pro Exclusive here at Mappin & Webb.
Author credit: Bill Prince has served as the deputy editor or British GQ since 1997, overseeing its travel, food, drink, and watch coverage. As a regular attendee of watch fairs, in 2019 he was invited to become an Academy Member of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie Genevé.
