Breitling officially releases its second generation Emergency watch in Singapore
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Breitling officially releases its second generation Emergency watch in Singapore
First seen at Baselworld 2013, Breitling has finally official released the Emergency II watch here in Singapore.
The Emergency II is the world's first wristwatch with a dual-frequency locator beacon, which can be used to call for help in times of distress.
Specifically, the Emergency II broadcasts two separate signals on two different frequency bands - 406MHz and 121.5MHz.
The higher 406MHz frequency is used to alert the international Cospa-Sarsat satellite system, which is an international search and rescue alert detection system. The lower 121.5MHz frequency, on the other hand, is used by the deployed search and rescue teams to precisely pinpoint the location of the wearer.
To ensure utmost reliability, the Emergency II is powered by two batteries - one for timekeeping and the other dedicated to transmitting the distress signals. The battery can be used to transmit signals for up to 18 hours.
And if you are skeptical about all of this, Breitling tells us that its Emergency watches have already saved over 20 lives to date.
There is no getting around the fact that the Emergency II is a large watch at 51mm, but it is impressive when you remember that it transmits signals on two frequency bands and that it also has two batteries. On top of that, there are antennas built into the watch which should be withdrawn when attempting to broadcast distress signals, and one of the antennas when fully extended measures 50cm long on one end and 18cm on the other. Bearing all of this in mind, its actually a minor miracle that Breitling was able to cram all of this into a 51mm case.
While the case is large, the watch is quite comfortable to wear and is relatively light, thanks to the use of grade 5 titanium. The crystal is sapphire and the watch is water resistant to 50 meters.
Timekeeping is handled by a thermocompensated SuperQuartz movement that is COSC certified to be accurate to within 0.07 seconds a day or roughly 2.17 seconds a month. Other functions include calendar, chronograph, timer and second timezone.
The Emergency II is also available with a black, yellow or orange dial, and can be matched with a rubber strap or a titanium bracelet. Prices will begin at around S$20,000 and will increase depending on your choice of watch band.
