Manila, Philippines ? In its constant quest to provide the luxury watch market with better ?precision instruments,? Swiss watchmaker Breitling recently unveiled a new, exclusive movement dubbed as Caliber B01.

The product of five years of research, CB01 is slowly being incorporated in watches coming out of Breitling?s headquarters and main factory in Basel.

Apart from reaffirming the brand?s image, the development strengthens Breitling?s appeal among pilots and sportsmen, said Mike Neo, Breitling?s general manager for Asia-Pacific.

?Breitling has been around for 125 years,? said the Singapore-based Neo in a recent press conference in Manila. ?It was the first to come up with a push piece in 1915. Through the years, it has gained a reputation as a chronograph specialist and privileged partner in the aviation world.?

Instruments

Pilots consider Breitling watches not only as mere timepieces, but also as instruments. It?s the only watch to date that can emit a universally recognized distress signal a survivor can activate during airplane crashes and shipwrecks.

The CB01?s 346 parts are all Swiss-made. Whereas other mechanical chronographs have power reserves of up to 40-45 hours, Breitling watches equipped with the CB01 movement can run on reserve energy for more than 70 hours.

Its ?intelligent platform,? said Neo, is designed in such a way that it can easily accommodate more features in the future. Its unique modular layers, which are envisioned as the platform for developing other calibers, will allow Breitling?s designers to do this with relative ease.

Neo brushed aside concerns that the new platform could make it easier for copycats to produce fake pieces of Breitling. For one, the brand isn?t dependent on suppliers since it produces every single component that makes up its chronometer-certified watches.

?It may look and seem easy, but what?s inside these layers is very difficult to copy,? he said. ?You?d need to do a great deal of research to match its precision. And everything is patented.?

No risk

The CB01 also enables its user to correct dates whatever the time of day without running the risk of damaging the movement. Normally, it?s not advisable for users of mechanical watches to adjust the date between nine and three o?clock.

?The movement is made as such,? said Neo. ?It?s like when you?re driving a car. You just can?t put it on reverse right there and then.?

In the Philippines, a Manila-based company named Lucerne distributes Breitling watches. Models with the CB01 movement will be available in August at Greenbelt 5, Makati. Prices start at P400,000.

?Luxury watches aren?t immune from recession,? said Neo. ?But I?m confident the Caliber B01 will readily appeal to our core market as it provides us with enough publicity to fuel more demand.?

Although the process involved in the CB01?s creation is complicated, said Neo, the main purpose behind it was to simplify its user?s life. It?s a classic example of a simple solution to a complex problem.