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Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”

Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”

$2,450.00 USD
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Case #647 — Breitling Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”

Status: Available
Condition: Very Good Pre-Owned
Scope: Box, Manual, and Partial Paperwork

🔎 Case Notes

The Blackbird is what happens when Breitling takes one of its most extroverted watches and deliberately turns the volume down.

The standard Chronomat of this era was defined by polished steel, bright reflections, and unmistakable wrist presence. The Blackbird went the other direction: brushed case, brushed crown and pushers, brushed Pilot bracelet, black dial, and black chronograph registers. The result is still recognizably Chronomat, but with a much more purposeful, almost military character.

That brushed treatment is the defining feature of this watch.

Instead of catching light from every angle, the satin-finished steel gives the case and bracelet a muted, technical appearance that suits the Blackbird name perfectly. It feels less decorative, more instrument-like, and considerably more understated than the standard A13050.1.

This example dates by serial number to 1998 and presents in very good pre-owned condition. It underwent a full Breitling service in January 2026 and remains covered by the applicable Breitling repair warranty according to the service documentation.

The watch includes its box, manual, and some original paperwork, though the original warranty card is not present. It is fitted to the brushed Breitling Pilot bracelet and currently sized for approximately a 7½-inch wrist.

🕰️ The Evidence

  • Reference: A13050.1 / B312
  • Model: Chronomat Blackbird “Série Spéciale”
  • Year: 1998, Dated by Serial Number
  • Case: Stainless Steel, Brushed Finish
  • Case Diameter: Approximately 39–40 mm
  • Dial: Black with Black Chronograph Registers
  • Crystal: Sapphire
  • Bezel: Unidirectional Rotating Stainless Steel
  • Crown: Screw-Down
  • Movement: Breitling Calibre 13
  • Movement Type: Automatic Chronograph
  • Base Architecture: Valjoux 7750
  • Power Reserve: Approximately 42 Hours
  • Functions: Hours, Minutes, Small Seconds, Chronograph, Date, Tachymeter
  • Water Resistance: Approximately 100 meters
  • Bracelet: Brushed Breitling Pilot Bracelet
  • Bracelet Fit: Approximately 7½-inch wrist
  • Condition: Very Good Pre-Owned
  • Service: Full Breitling Service — January 2026
  • Service Warranty: Remaining Breitling Repair Warranty, Subject to Service Documentation and Terms
  • Included: Box, Manual, and Partial Paperwork
  • Warranty Card: Not Present

🌟 Collector Provenance

The Blackbird occupies a particularly interesting place in Breitling’s Chronomat history.

Introduced in the mid-1990s, the original Blackbird was not a completely separate model architecture. Instead, Breitling took the existing Chronomat platform and reworked its character through finishing and dial design.

The most important change was the finish.

Where the standard Chronomat embraced highly polished steel, the Blackbird used an all-brushed treatment across the case, crown, pushers, and bracelet. Combined with black sub-dials on a black dial, it created a watch that felt deliberately subdued compared with its siblings.

That concept was closely tied to the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the legendary high-speed reconnaissance aircraft whose dark, purposeful form matched the watch’s “under-the-radar” aesthetic.

The early A13050.1 Blackbird was designated “Série Spéciale” on the dial. It was a special edition rather than a numbered limited production, which is an important distinction: uncommon and historically specific, yes; falsely “one of X pieces,” no.

🌟 Design Provenance

The brushed steel is what makes this watch.

A polished Chronomat reads immediately as a luxury sports chronograph. The Blackbird feels more functional.

The satin finish reduces reflections, gives the rider-tab bezel more definition, and makes the bracelet look almost industrial. On the wrist, the alternating shapes of the Pilot links still provide plenty of architecture, but without the mirror-polished flash normally associated with Breitling of this period.

That makes the Blackbird unusually wearable for collectors who love 1990s Breitling but prefer something less overt.

The black-on-black register layout reinforces the same idea. The dial remains busy in the way a proper chronograph should, but the monochromatic palette keeps the information visually contained.

🌟 Historical Provenance

The original Blackbird predates the later standalone Blackbird references that would eventually receive their own model numbers.

That makes examples like this part of the first chapter of the name.

Later Blackbirds became more overtly distinct, but the A13050.1 generation is arguably the purest expression of the concept: take an existing Chronomat and transform its personality almost entirely through finishing, color, and restraint.

For collectors interested in neo-vintage Breitling, that transitional status matters.

🧾 From the Case File

This is a watch whose appeal becomes much clearer in person than on a spec sheet.

At roughly 40 mm, it is compact by modern Breitling standards. The Pilot bracelet gives it presence, but the brushed finish keeps the package from feeling flashy.

Then there is the service history.

A full Breitling service completed in January 2026 is a major advantage on a late-1990s automatic chronograph. The Valjoux-based Calibre 13 is a robust and well-understood movement, but proper maintenance matters, and having recent factory work already completed substantially reduces one of the largest variables in buying a neo-vintage chronograph.

This example also retains its box, manual, and some paperwork. The original warranty card is absent, and we describe the set accordingly rather than overstating completeness.

🗝️ BST Verdict

One of the coolest sleeper watches in 1990s Breitling.

The early Blackbird takes everything recognizable about the Chronomat and gives it a stealth treatment: brushed steel, black-on-black dial, Pilot bracelet, and a noticeably more purposeful personality.

It is not a numbered limited edition, but it is genuinely less common than the standard Chronomat and historically important as the first generation of Breitling’s Blackbird line.

Add a January 2026 full Breitling service, strong condition, and the correct brushed Pilot bracelet, and Case 647 becomes exactly the sort of neo-vintage piece that feels more interesting today than it probably did when new.

👉 Every case deserves a closer look.