A pre-owned Breitling Navitimer starts at roughly £4,300 for an older steel B01 43 chronograph in worn condition without box or papers, and climbs to £11,500–£13,750 for an 18ct red-gold example — all asking prices as of July 2026. The Navitimer is one of the few watches where the price is dictated more by case metal and movement than by age, so knowing which version you are looking at matters more than the year on the papers.
What does a pre-owned Navitimer cost in 2026?
The modern in-house model, the Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 (references AB0121 and AB0138), is the one most buyers mean. Clean examples with box and papers sit around £4,800–£6,000, with blue-dial and airline co-branded dials at the top of that band. If you want the cheapest honest way in, the three-hand Navitimer Automatic 35 or 41 (no chronograph) starts near £2,200–£2,450 for a worn example. Everything above steel — two-tone, red gold, platinum — is a separate market, and blending them into one “from” figure is how people end up disappointed.
How do the segments break down?
Price is set by four things: movement (in-house B01 chronograph versus the simpler automatic), case metal, case size, and dial. The table below keeps each segment separate, with real UK dealer asking prices as of July 2026.
| Segment | Reference | Pre-owned asking (GBP) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| B01 Chronograph 43, steel | AB0121 / AB0138 | £4,800–£6,000 | Core modern model; floor ~£4,300 worn/no papers; blue & airline dials at the top |
| Automatic 35 / 41, steel (time-only) | A17395 / A17326 | £2,450–£3,550 | No chronograph; the cheapest entry; floor ~£2,200 |
| Vintage 806 chronograph | 806 | £3,600–£5,500 | Floor ~£3,000 for a 1970s–81 service-dial piece; early-60s AOPA examples £6,000–£8,000+ |
| Cosmonaute (24-hour) | A12023 / AB0210 | £3,150–£4,300 | “Mercury 7” limited edition ~£3,700; red-gold R22322 ~£8,255 |
| 18ct red gold B01 43 / 46 | RB0138 / RB0137 | £11,500–£13,750 | Gold runs 2–2.5× steel; near retail; platinum PB1920 ~£18,500 |
Where did the Navitimer come from?
Breitling launched the Navitimer in 1952, and in 1954 it became the official watch of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association — early dials carry the AOPA winged logo. Its signature is the circular slide-rule bezel, which lets a pilot work out airspeed, fuel burn and unit conversions on the wrist. The 24-hour Cosmonaute went to space on Scott Carpenter’s wrist aboard Aurora 7 in 1962, making the Navitimer the first Swiss wristwatch worn in orbit. That aviation lineage is a large part of why the model has stayed in continuous production and why demand has held.
Which versions command a premium?
Two directions carry a premium. The first is precious metal: an 18ct red-gold B01 43 (RB0138) sits at £11,500–£13,750, and a rare platinum B19 (PB1920) around £18,500. The second is early vintage: an honest early-1960s 806 with the winged AOPA logo and a correct dial can reach £6,000–£8,000 or more, well above a later service-dial example. Airline co-branded steel dials (Swissair and similar) also sit at the top of the steel band.
Has the Navitimer held its value?
Steel Navitimers have been among the more stable Breitling chronographs on the pre-owned market: the in-house B01 movement gave the modern model real substance, and the small supply of correct early 806s keeps the vintage end firm. Gold examples trade closer to retail, so the discount from new is smaller. None of this is a promise about the future — values can fall as well as rise, and this is not investment advice — but as a watch to buy and wear, a clean box-and-papers Navitimer has historically been an easy one to move on.
What should you check before buying?
Confirm the reference matches the case and dial, that the slide-rule bezel turns cleanly, and that a chronograph example runs and resets properly. Box and papers add value and make resale easier, especially in the entry tiers. Remember that the figures above are wider open-market floors — Chrono6538 sells authenticated, checked and guaranteed pieces at a premium to the bare private-market number, which is what you are paying for when a watch has been independently verified.
If you are shopping for one now, you can see Navitimer listings and the wider Breitling collection at Chrono6538 →
Prices are third-party UK dealer asking prices (Watchfinder & Co, Chrono24 UK and others), gathered as guide values. Last updated July 2026.