New: The Breitling Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat Editions

April 13, 2012

Every so often, in football (or soccer), we see a talent unlike any other - a player with a style of his own. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andrea Pirlo, and Ronaldinho spring to mind. Similarly, Erling Haaland doesn t fit any stylistic molds. He has now teamed up with Breitling for the Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat editions, available as a chronograph in 18K red gold and a GMT in a combination of steel and platinum.The steel and platinum GMT comes in a limited series of 500 pieces, while the gold chronograph sees only 250 pieces produced. A third version of only five pieces is exclusive to Haaland and a handful of his relatives. Since that one isnt publicly available, I will not cover it here. Lets have a closer look at the other two.Erling HaalandSince much of the Fratello reader base is from the US, where football means something other than it does here in Europe, let me kick things off (pun intended) with a quick Erling Haaland 101. Erling Braut Haaland (ne H?land) is a Norwegian footballer turning 25 on July 21st. He plays as a center forward, presenting a major physical threat at 194cm/64. In case you are used to NBA and NFL players, this is quite tall for a footballer.Haaland plays for the Norwegian national team and Manchester City. His style, as alluded to in the opening paragraph, is unique. Haaland is way faster than his imposing physique should allow. He might have only five or six touches of the ball in an entire match, but dont be surprised when three of those are goal-scoring efforts. He has a keen eye for positioning and tricks defenders with body feints and dummy runs. And if that doesnt work, he runs straight through defenders.Manchester City s Norwegian center forward, Erling Haaland, is a Breitling ambassadorErling Haaland scored 36 goals and eight assists in 35 matches in his debut season for Manchester City. Over his 11 professional seasons, he scored 178 goals in 235 matches. If you arent familiar with football statistics, anything over one goal per two matches is considered elite for strikers. In short, it makes a ton of sense for Breitling to have Haaland as a key ambassador.The Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat Automatic GMT 40On to the watches. Haaland was closely involved in curating the Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat collection. The first model is a version of the existing Chronomat Automatic GMT 40. The Haaland version comes in steel with a platinum bezel. It measures 40mm across by 47.4mm long and 11.8mm thick. Inside ticks the Breitling caliber 32, ticking at 28,800vph and promising a 42-hour power reserve. The movement is based on the trusty ETA 2893-2.Breitling symbolizes Haalands meteoric rise to the top with silver meteorite dials. The applied Breitling logo and the GMT hand are fashioned out of red gold, offering a neat touch of color on an otherwise monochromatic watch. The keen observer will notice the counterweight on the seconds hand. The normal B makes way for Erling Haaland s initials. Otherwise, nothing on the front side will tell you that these are Erling Haaland versions.Flip the watch over, however, and the Haaland theme exposes itself. The steel case back features an etching of the footballer in his iconic meditation goal-celebration pose. The perimeter reads Erling Haaland 9 and One of 500. You can choose the iconic Rouleaux bracelet or a rubber alternative.The Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat B01 42If the steel model in 40mm feels a bit pedestrian to you, Breitling and Haaland have you covered. The second option, limited to 250 pieces, comes in full 18K red gold and measures 42mm across, 50.5mm long, and 15.1mm thick. Under the hood, it has the familiar in-house B01 chronograph caliber with a 4Hz frequency and 70-hour power reserve. Fittingly, though, this Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat gets a similar aesthetic treatment as the GMT.That means you get a silver meteorite dial with black sub-dials. It contrasts nicely with the red gold case. Again, the counterbalance of the seconds hand (this time, for the chronograph) sees EH take the place of the regular Breitling B logo. The sapphire-equipped case back does not allow for the meditation-pose etching, but the Erling Haaland 9 and One of 250 scripts are present.With this watch, you can choose between the 18K red gold Rouleaux bracelet or, again, a rubber version. The rubber strap features the same pattern as the bracelet for thematic consistency.Initial impressionsSo, what do we think of the Breitling Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat models? Well, I have to say I quite like the resulting watches, even if I am not much of a Chronomat fan. I would not have figured my tastes would align with the beast from Norway, but it seems like they do. I like the look of the silver meteorite with the black details and sub-dials. It works equally well in the steel case as in the red gold one. Kudos, Haaland!That said, I am not the target audience for these watches. I never buy themed watches or signature models. You would have to be a pretty hardcore fan to get an Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat. Then again, I am sure EH has 750 of those with enough money to spend on a signature watch.The execution of these Breitling Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat models is as we have come to expect from modern Breitling. The watches feel solid, precisely engineered, and neatly finished. The full-gold model has the advantage of quickly growing your bicep to Haaland proportions.What do you think of the new Breitling Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat watches? Let us know in the comments section below!Watch specifications Brand Breitling Model Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat GMT Automatic 40 / Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat B01 42Reference P323982A1F1S1 (GMT, rubber strap) / P323982A1F1A1 (GMT, Rouleaux bracelet) / RB01347A1F1S1 (B01, rubber strap) / RB01347A1F1R1 (B01, Rouleaux bracelet)Dial Silver meteorite with applied steel luminous indexes, date window, and black rehaut / Silver meteorite with applied 18K red gold luminous indexes, three black sub-dials, date window, and black rehautCase Material Stainless steel with platinum bezel / 18K red goldCase Dimensions 40mm (diameter) 47.4mm (lug-to-lug) 11.7mm (thickness) / 42mm 50.5mm 15.1mmCrystal Sapphire with glareproof coating on both sidesCase Back Stainless steel with Erling Haaland etching, screw-in / 18K red gold with sapphire crystal, screw-in Movement Breitling 32 (ETA 2893-2 base): automatic with manual winding and hacking, 28,800vph (4Hz) frequency, 42-hour power reserve, 21 jewels / Breitling B01: in-house automatic chronograph with manual winding and hacking, 28,800vph (4Hz) frequency, 70-hour power reserve, 47 jewelsWater Resistance 200 metersStrap Black rubber (20/18mm) with stainless steel folding clasp or stainless steel Rouleaux bracelet with butterfly clasp / Black rubber (22/20mm) with 18K red gold folding clasp or 18K red gold Rouleaux bracelet with butterfly claspFunctions Main time (hours, minutes, seconds), caller GMT (independently adjustable 24-hour hand with 24-hour scale), date, and 60-minute unidirectional timing bezel / Time (hours, minutes, small seconds), chronograph (12-hour and 30-minute registers, central seconds), date, 60-minute unidirectional timing bezel, tachymeter, 100-unit scalePrice $9,450 (GMT, strap) / $9,850 (GMT, bracelet) / $26,000 (B01, strap) / $45,500 (B01, bracelet)