The Breitling Emergency

Bail out with Breitling Emergency!

Breitling Emergency transmitter watches helped to save the lives of Two British pilots, Squadron Leader Steve Brooks and Flight Lieutenant Hugh Quentin-Smith, who crashed their helicopter in Antarctica and were rescued after activating their Breitling Emergency transmitter watches. These pilots were in their lifeboat when a Chilean Otter aircraft tracked their distress signals from their watches. This Reuters news reports have given a celebrity status with a gallantry tag to this impressive watch that flaunts famous brand ambassadors such as Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard. With Breitling Emergency watches nothing is impossible!

Breitling Emergency is one of the latest additions from Breitling that traces its origin to St. Imier, in the Jura Mountains of Switzerland, when Leon Breitling in 1884 opened a workshop for making watches and chronographs for scientific and industrial purposes.

The Breitling Emergency 534 watch contains a micro-transmitter, which is programmed to transmit on the international aviation distress frequency of 121.5 MHz. It is a life saving option that can be triggered in the event of a forced landing or kidnapping. This built in transmitter flashes a signal that has a range of about 100 miles that could be picked by the rescuers. The transmitter is activated by unscrewing a protective cap and pulling the antenna out fully, which will be active for 48 hours. The transmitter works on a separate set of batteries and is not dependent on the watch batteries.

The Breitling Emergency has a radio transmitter for military purposes as well, where the transmitter will have 243 MHz frequency. Under normal conditions the signal can be picked up at a range of up to 90 nautical miles or by the rescue aircraft flying at 20,000 feet (6,000 m). Nonetheless the signal transmitted is too feeble to be picked up by a satellite. After the rescue, the beacon signal can be terminated and it has to be used judiciously as the beacon needs to be rearmed at the factory after one use.

This model has a Quartz chronograph with distress transmitter, titanium case, coral dial, and titanium Professional bracelet. It has an impressive round grey case of 15.7 mm thickness and 43 mm diameter, and its heavy body measuring 84.6 grams, calls for a really strong wrist. Its analog face is supplemented by a digital strip that can keep time in another time zone or act as a countdown timer or an alarm. It has glare-proof sapphire crystal protecting the face and is water resistant up to 100 Ft. It has stopwatch, chronograph, date and calendar. There are 11 different models to suit your varied styles and budget and the prices range from $3,100 to $55,000.

Customers without a valid pilot's licence can also use Emergency watch provided they sign an agreement, stating that they would bear the full costs of a rescue intervention should they trigger a false distress beacon. False trigger may also invite a penalty of $100,000 imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration, in addition to the full search-and-rescue costs.

Usha Hari

Hi-Tech Editorial Division