“Don’t unscrew the antenna cover. Let’s say it again, unless it’s an emergency, don’t unscrew the antenna cover.” A few months ago, when I reviewed the Breitling Emergency II watch, this was more or less the Breitling kept telling me Information. If you understand the features of Breitling’s iconic Emergency watch, it should not be difficult to understand why they are cautious. The Emergency II watch, like the original emergency before it, is a timepiece with a built-in distress beacon-this feature makes it one of the most interesting and arguably “special” modern high-end watches of our time.

There is a lot to say about the Breitling Emergency II watch and its modern history, which in some cases is actually more interesting than the watch itself. You may remember that in 2013, a few years ago, Breitling first launched the Emergency II timepiece. Soon thereafter, aBlogtoWatch experienced Breitling’s latest “Emergency Rescue Watch”. It wasn’t until a few years later that this watch was available for purchase, and even longer, Breitling Emergency II was legally sold in the United States.

Breitling actually needs to cooperate with some special lobbyists in Washington, DC, to persuade the US government to make an exception to their device communication rules so that Emergency II can be sold legally. The reason is that Emergency II is the only wearable device of its kind that is battery-powered and transmits dual-band emergency broadcast signals (they call it “PLB”, which means “personal location beacon”). I don’t remember all the details because I haven’t read the documents for a while, but I believe Breitling in their story that the process of selling Emergency II in the United States is difficult and expensive.

In the 1990s, Breitling’s original Emergency was all the rage, and it was one of the coolest luxury men’s watches around. This brand famous for military pilot watches has a high-tech timepiece that can save your life when you are trapped. Few people really need this technique, and most people wear it for coolness. Having said that, Breitling does have some stories about people who actually used the emergency beacon function were saved. Very cool, the technology is built on a common frequency used by other emergency signal equipment around the world, and agencies around the world are monitoring it.

Emergency II is different from Emergency I in many ways. In many ways, the simplicity of the original emergency is missed because it is more wear-resistant and people really don’t need to worry about batteries that much. In the latter note, the battery life of Emergency II is not short (assuming you certainly don’t use an antenna, they claim that it can be used for 2-3 years after being fully charged), but is equipped with a rechargeable battery and a docking station. The idea is to fully charge the battery before performing critical tasks, because if they need to use an emergency beacon, it will require a lot of juice. So in many ways, this is an upgrade. The new watch uses more energy to send signals because it has two sending ping signals.

Functionally, the main advantage of Emergency II is that it can now broadcast emergency signals to the traditional 121.5 MHz frequency and the more modern 406.040 MHz signal. The previous frequency was limited to approximately 100 miles from the receiving station. Although it is still useful in many situations, the 406.040 MHz frequency is the frequency that most “survivors desire to hear”.

This is because today, the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system monitors these signals, which can be “heard” anywhere in the world. They can also more accurately determine the source of the beacon, making it easier for emergency rescue teams to find the location of the signal. It is for this reason that Breitling is so sensitive to the antenna system on the watch. Suppose someone accidentally activates the beacon (this happens once the antenna is pulled out of the housing), emergency responders will receive the signal—they will be on their way to you. The bills associated with this activity are not trivial.

I seem to remember Breitling telling me that they will bear the (rescue team’s) expenses related to the actual emergency situation, assuming that the watch is used in the process, and they have the right to discuss the role of the watch in the rescue. I’m not sure if this policy still exists, but you can understand the sexy charm of wanting to share through marketing materials how your luxury timepiece can help its wearer perform a thrilling rescue.

The promise of Emergency II to the wearer is that, assuming you are in an emergency (and the battery life of your watch is long enough), you can be rescued from almost anywhere on the planet. If this happens, your watch investment of approximately $15,000 suddenly becomes meaningful. More importantly, if you know you need a watch and own one, it is easy to prepare. Having said that, the problem with Emergency II compared to the original is that it cannot be worn every day. This is because although Breitling Emergency II has amazing wear resistance, it is a rather bulky timepiece.

51 mm wide and 21.6 mm thick, it is a watch suitable for regular wear on most wrists. The case is made of high-grade titanium, and the weight is not heavy, about 144 grams (the actual weight depends on whether you wear it on a matching titanium bracelet or a rubber strap). That being said, unless you really like the size and feel, and you can take off this watch in normal casual clothes, Breitling Emergency II will be mainly reserved for “weekend warrior outfit” or used when available Serious risk-use PLB functions are considered useful.

In this sense, compared with the original version, Breitling has created a more niche product through Emergency II. You will see that people often wear primitive emergency situations because it is smaller and cheaper. With the new price of the more complex and significantly larger Emergency II higher, Breitling may have created a more useful wearable emergency positioning device, but it is not suitable for daily wear-again, for most people.

This has not stopped Breitling from providing as many stylish versions of Emergency II as possible. My favorite is to refer to V7632519|C931|260S|V20DSA.2, I was able to grab it for review, it is Emergency II with a mother-of-pearl dial. Interestingly, Breitling made two Emergency II versions with MOP dials, the other with green and these blue accents is ref. refer to. V7632530|L527|286S|V20DSA.2. Strictly speaking, the only reason to have a mother-of-pearl dial is for beauty. But isn’t this a tool list? Yes, part of the charm of luxury timepieces is that you can make such decorations on other very powerful devices. This adds charm and personality.

Emergency II has a variety of dial colors to choose from, from yellow to orange, and of course more sober black. Those who know Breitling’s modern “professional” watch series equipped with an analog/digital quartz movement will be familiar with the overall dial and rotating bezel design. Inside the watch is equipped with a Breitling 76 SuperQuartz movement. This high-precision thermally compensated quartz movement is equipped with analog hour and minute hands on the dial, and two LCD screens that can display other information. In addition to the time, the movement (all functions are controlled by the crown) has a full calendar, 1/100 second chronograph, countdown timer, second time zone, GMT and alarm clock.

Although I like the dial design, I have never liked this generation of hands too much. I miss some previous-generation Breitling watches that had higher contrast and therefore easier-to-read hands. These new hands are good, but not as bold as I like this watch. One of the interesting little details on the dial is that the hour marker at 12 o’clock is actually a small light. It emits slight pulses on a regular basis, and I think it is mainly used as an indicator of low battery power.

Its huge titanium case (natural titanium or PVD coated black) is a domed sapphire crystal with double AR coating on both sides (thanks!). The waterproof depth of Emergency II also reaches 500m. Around the dial is a rotating navigation bezel with a windrose mark. If anything, this is a useful beast of a “sports” cheap watch, and nothing else can compare to it.

If wearing comfort is particularly important to you and your wrists are small, then a rubber strap may be the best choice. The matching titanium bracelet looks great, but I only recommend it to those with thick wrists or those who plan to wear it on the outside of their jackets.

If I can act in my own way, the price of Breitling Emergency II will be more affordable and smaller. Considering the technology inside the watch, the latter may be a difficult thing to do because the watch has been as small as possible when it was developed. I cannot comment on the price, but I know that the work required to make this timepiece is not trivial and there are not many competitors. However, if you only need a PLB device, there are of course cheaper options.

Breitling Emergency II is a sexy and thorough luxury watch with a sporty style, undeniably very cool. No one can deny this. I don’t think I will see as many as the original Emergency on the wrists of ordinary people, but it has more features and more useful capabilities as a PLB. I hope that the right people can use it in the right place. watch.

Another Breitling Emergency II model I reviewed is a reference. refer to. V76325A5|BC46|234S|V20DSA.2 has a black dial and orange decorations and a black coated titanium case.