Breitling watches, named after Leon Breitling, who founded his company in 1884 in Switzerland, have over the years become one of the top luxury watch brands, even though luxury was not what initially drove their creation.

Breitlings were primarily designed for aviation pilot and some of these technical functions, have in fact, turned out to be what has made Breitling watches some of the most high end models around today. Their large faces which allow pilots better visibility are popular due to the ever growing demand for large watches. Some of their technical features like the flyback function, split second, moon phase, date display, circular slide rule on the bezel and other complications have rendered them luxurious and therefore popular.

The newest Breitling watch to be released was the limited edition chronograph called the Cosmonaute. The Cosmonaute was released to celebrate the company’s 125^th anniversary. This new version, made in 1,000 pieces, is based on the original Cosmonaute which was created in 1962 to accompany astronauts making space voyages. What is special about this watch’s function is that it can indicate all 24 hours of the day in a single sweep of the dial.

There are many celebrities who have chosen to wear a Breitling watch; fans of the Breitling Navitimer include the comedian Dave Chapelle, TV host Simon Cowell, musician Miles Davis, and actors Tommy Lee Jones and John Lovitz. Rapper Ludacris prefers the Breitling Super Avenger.

John Travolta could perhaps be the biggest and best spokesmen for Breitling watches since he himself is an avid pilot. Travolta has been seen wearing many different Breitlings, but the one he seems to like the best is the Navitimer.

Other celebrities who wear Breitling men’s watches are Leonardo DiCaprio, who likes the Chronograph Avenger and Tom Cruise who opts for the Breitling Emergency Mission.