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The Breitling Frecce Tricolori was one of the first mechanical chronographs to re-enter the market during the height of the quartz era. It was a bold move at a time when battery powered watches were considered the wave of the future, but the Frecce Tricolori, launched in 1983, proved an instant success.

Part of the attraction was its purpose: it was created for Italy’s daredevil Frecce Tricolori aerobatics team. The idea was to have a robust watch that could stand up to the demands of a jet cockpit, but was also smart enough to be worn with ceremonial dress. The Frecce Tricolori struck that balance with its sleek, all-steel design.

A curved, recessed crystal, combined with four raised rider tabs at the 15-minute marks, protected the watch face from cracking against the metal framework of the cockpit—something Breitling’s then-owner Ernest Schneider had observed in his own piloting experience. The 15 and 45 riders could be swapped to enable the reading of remaining or elapsed time, a signature feature that persists, along with the metal rouleaux bracelet and “onion” crown.

The Frecce watch’s popularity prompted Schneider to release the model widely a year later under the name, Chronomat. It was a move that signaled an end to the quartz crisis, and a return of the mechanical chronograph.