Military watches, with their stark, function-first dials, sturdy cases, and reliable movements, are meant to be tough. But there are certain examples of military watches that are also undeniably beautiful. The Breitling Reference 817 is one of the latter.

Manufactured in circa 1975 for the helicopter pilots of the Italian army, the Ref. 817 is an elusive tool watch, with a total production run thought to number between 500 and 1,000 examples. Highly legible, purpose-built, special, and indeed beautiful, it’s become a military watch classic, beloved by collectors the world over.

This particular example is housed in a 39.5mm stainless steel screw-back case with pump pushers, an oversized crown, and a bidirectional rotating black aluminum timing bezel. It features a matte black Tritium dial with ‘Bund’-style Arabic indices, a matching ‘sword’ handset, an outer minute track with 5-minute scale, and a dual-register chronograph layout. 

Powered by the Valjoux Calibre 236 hand-cranking movement, this piece comes fitted to a  correct, Japanese-made, elasticized stainless steel bracelet.

Fantastic.

Despite the auctioning of 40 more examples of this watch by the Italian government in 2016, the 817 remains extremely rare. One in this condition won’t last long, so if it catches your eye — you know what to do!