Type XX Aubertin | An exceptionally rare stainless steel flyback chronograph wristwatch with red tachymeter scale

Acquired before the first deliveries to the Armée de l'Air, this very early example of the pioneering Type XX chronograph features a matt black dial with an exceptionally rare red tachymetric scale. To accommodate the scale, the dial was specially designed with slightly reduced luminescent Arabic numerals, repositioned inwards from the outer edge to create space for the red tachymetric track between the minute/chronograph seconds scale and the hour numerals. The Breguet Archives confirm that the watch was originally supplied with this special dial configuration and further record that it was returned to the Maison for servicing in 1956 and 1958.

In addition to the rare red tachymetric scale, the outer chronograph seconds track is calibrated to fifths of a second and marked with small Arabic numerals at each 5-second division. On later iterations of the Type XX, this outer scale was almost invariably simplified, omitting the fifth-of-a-second calibrations and replacing them with single second graduations. Also notable is the oversized minute register. The 3, 6, and 9-minute divisions within this totaliser are each marked by a bold luminescent baton. This configuration reflected the practical needs of aerial navigation, allowing pilots to apply the “three-minute rule” for rapid time-distance calculations, aided by the Type XX’s flyback function for instant reset and restart.

Henri Abertin (1926–2005)

Henri Aubertin belonged to a generation forged by war and inspired by renewal. Born in Saintes, Charente-Maritime, his youth was marked by the turmoil of the Second World War, during which he joined the Corps francs Pommiès, one of the most active Resistance units in southwestern France. Still in his teens, he took part in the liberation campaigns within the 1st French Army of General de Lattre de Tassigny, fighting through the Vosges, Alsace, and into Germany. At the close of the conflict in Europe, Aubertin volunteered for service in Indochina with the 23e Régiment d’Infanterie Coloniale, distinguishing himself through acts of bravery that earned him multiple military decorations, including the Croix de Guerre (1939–1945 and TOE), the Médaille coloniale, and the Médaille militaire. These early honors reflected a life guided by courage, duty, and a restless spirit of adventure.

Upon his return to France, Aubertin turned his gaze skyward and embraced the nascent world of civil aviation. Joining Air France in 1949 as a radio-navigator, he soon became a pilot and went on to command the most emblematic aircraft of the postwar era—from the Lockheed Constellation and Sud Aviation Caravelle to the Boeing 707 and 747. Over three decades, he accumulated nearly 17,000 flight hours and contributed to opening pioneering routes across Asia and the Atlantic, participating directly in the golden age of French commercial aviation. Decorated with the Médaille de l’Aéronautique in 1999 and made Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in 1995, Henri Aubertin embodied the ideal of the aviator as both technician and explorer. In retirement, his passions for speed and adventure endured—through skiing, delta-wing gliding, and sailing—until his passing in 2005. His life stands as a testament to valor, mastery, and the boundless pursuit of the horizon.