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Oscar Isaac's Watch Has A Bounty On Its Head

Photo credit: Very Important Lot, Getty Images
Photo credit: Very Important Lot, Getty Images

From Esquire

Violins out: we all want to feel wanted. Not 'wanted in 27 states' wanted. But wanted for the sole reason of being so ludicrously exceptional that the masses want us, our company, and, well, other things too. But imagine being wanted for half a century. You'd accrue some real value (and unrequited loves that grew somewhat obsessive). Which is exactly the circumstance in which Oscar Isaac's watch finds itself: his Seventies vintage Navitimer is off the market, and thus has a fandom more breathless than that of a freshly-buzzed Noah Centineo.

During a visit to the SiriusXM Studios in New York (where a lot of Very Famous People like to pop-in for a brew), Isaac wore a discontinued piece that's Breitling through-and-through. By which we mean classic Breitling, explorer Breitling, the kind of tough-as-nails watch that cemented the Swiss marque as the go-to for actual pilots, as well as those who never actually earned their wings.

Photo credit: Cindy Ord
Photo credit: Cindy Ord

It's not hard to see why. The original ref. 8806's dial has all the complex details a traditional cockpit lacked, like a bidirectional rotating bezel for precise timekeeping, and a chronograph. But unlike the Navitimers of today, Isaac's throwback is powered by a calibre 11 Chrono-Matic movement, which was developed in unison by a grand coalition of Breitling, Tag Heuer, Hamilton Bueren and Dubois Depraz in September, 1967.

As Breitling modernised, though, so too did the Navitimer. Not to sound like an old man yelling at clouds, but they literally don't make them like this anymore – later models are all kitted out with extra-precise movements, the fruits of five decades of fine-tuning and improvement. They, are in short, better-performing watches.

But old remains gold. This particular model can fetch up to £7,000 at auction – more if from a loving, steady-handed home – and Breitling has accumulated a slew of celebrity wearers of late: Brad Pitt and his go-to blockbuster Premier B01, for instance, and Adam Driver's muted Cannes arm cannon.

Among whom, Isaac is in good company. But despite the Star Wars billing, and Hollywood jawline, and relative ease on an Esquire photoshoot, the 40-year-old still comes second. The people, first and foremost, want his watch.

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