Breitling was founded in 1884 by Léon Breitling in Switzerland and is now owned by the British financial investor CVC Capital Partners. 

Since the 1930s, the manufacturer supplied cockpit clocks and wristwatches specially developed for pilots, mainly with black dials and striking luminous numerals, to the Royal Air Force and since the 1940s to the US Army Air Force. The operating patterns and possible calculations made particular sense for pilots. Among other things, Willy Breitling introduced the second pusher as a stop mechanism for the chronograph in 1934, which still sets the standard in the watch industry today.

The models Chronomat and its development Navitimer from 1952 have complex bezels for special calculations by pilots such as fuel consumption, climb and descent rates, and speeds. Also called a personal onboard instrument for pilots. With the Superocean, Breitling marketed the first diving watch in 1958.

In 1979, the naming and trademark rights of Willy Breitling were transferred to the entrepreneur Ernest Schneider, who had been producing watches under the Sicura brand since the 1960s. The manufacturer specialized in multifunctional mechanical chronographs including integrated quartz functions, for example the pilot's watch Emergency with an emergency transmitter specifically for pilots.

The first mechanical diving watch with water resistance up to 3000 meters and the self-designed chronograph movement received special public attention in 2002 B01 for the 125th anniversary celebration in 2009.