Breitling Expands Avenger Family with New Night Mission Watches

Breitling is bringing new Night Mission references to its stout Avenger collection this week, after giving that series a modern refresh just last year. These new watches represent a concerted effort from Breitling to create a diverse portfolio of Avenger watches within this new framework, offering something for all manner of buyers while remaining true to the collection’s core identity as an aviator’s tool. The Avenger is more than that, though. These are tough watches built to survive a myriad of extreme environments, and the latest Night Mission watches are a great example of just how versatile their design can be.

A total of 10 new references are being released into the Avenger collection today, with five of them receiving the Night Mission treatment. Night Mission watches make use of black ceramic cases and black carbon dials, offering a stark aesthetic that works exactly as well as you might imagine. Breitling is never afraid to make a statement with watches like this, and these are no exception: among the new watches is a bright blue Avenger B01 Chronograph, which joins a bright yellow variation released earlier this year. 

Among the new releases we find 42mm, 44mm, and 46mm case sizes in use, and three different sets of complications on offer within. The simplest of the new watches is the 42mm Avenger Automatic at $6,300, which is a time-and-date model that uses the COSC-certified Breitling Caliber 17 (base ETA 2824-2/Sellita SW200-1), and measures 12.2mm in thickness. The carbon dial hosts each hour in the form of an applied Arabic numeral that gets a healthy dose of lume infill. As with all the Avenger watches, the chunky bezel gets notches at the cardinal positions, making it easy to use quickly, and providing a distinctive visual cue. 

Also being offered in the 42mm sizing are a pair of Avenger B01 Chronographs, including the above-mentioned bright blue reference, priced at $9,550, which comes on a strap of the same color. There is also a khaki-themed variation of this chronograph priced at $9,750, with light brown lume, offered on a light brown strap and thus bringing an old-school army vibe to the situation.

The brown-on-black combo works surprisingly well here. It’s worth noting that each of the 42mm Night Mission Avenger watches weigh less than 100 grams without their straps, which should keep all of them firmly within the “wearable” category despite their undeniably generous proportions. 

Moving up to the single 44mm Night Mission watch being introduced, we find the Avenger Automatic GMT, priced at $6,950. Inside is the Breitling Caliber 32, which is based on the ETA 2893-2. This movement has also been COSC-certified for use by Breitling in this model. The GMT hand is adjustable without hacking the movement, which is handy, if not as preferable as an independently adjustable hour hand. 

Finally, rendered in a 46mm ceramic case, we have the Super Avenger B01 Night Mission, priced at $9,950. As the name suggests, this watch uses the manufacture B01 automatic chronograph movement (also COSC-certified). This watch measures 15.3mm in thickness, and 54.7mm from lug to lug, making it an option not for the faint of heart. Here again, however, the use of ceramic for the case keeps the weight of the head of the watch just above 100 grams, which should mitigate much of the physical heft of the watch. Hey, if you prefer large watches, they should at least be comfortable, right?

All of the new Breitling Avenger watches being introduced today offer a healthy 300-meter depth rating, with titanium hardware at the crown and pushers. These watches really do represent great all-around tool-watch utility and robustness, with plenty of personality to boot. The Avenger has a clear point of view, and as such, won’t be for everyone, which is a position I’d like to see more watches and brands taking. The new Avenger collection is available now at Breitling boutiques.