The Swiss luxury watchmaker goes courtside with an NBA-inspired collaboration: the Chronomat Giannis Antetokoumpo.
Images courtesy of Breitling
NBA fans unite. Watchmaking just added another sport to its roster, and it’s worthy of a slam dunk. Turning its head from typical aviation efforts, Breitling looks toward the giant force that is Giannis Antetokounmpo in an all-new collaborative feat. Meet the Chronomat Giannis Antetokoumpo, or the CGA as we’re going to lovingly label our wrist from here on out. It deserves no explanation that sport and watchmaking shake hands on a daily basis, driven by the pillars of precision and performance, but the Milwaukee Bucks star brings an edge to modern day collaborations in the watch industry.
Proving he’s the playmaker both on court and otherwise, Giannis serves as the face behind two new variations: a 40 mm steel Chronomat GMT and a 42mm Chronomat B01 Chronograph. Let’s unpack: from his initials emblazoned on a green dial – for the Bucks, duh – and a basketball emblem constructed into the chronograph counter (the miniature subdials), the GMT model comes to 1750 lucky wrists. But in Antetokounmpo’s victorious spirit, earning a championship win, perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to get a CGA courtside near you.
Further details include the ‘Geek Freak’s’ signature on the caseback, and the option to dress up your watch with an 18k red gold bracelet, or a more relaxed rubber Rouleaux strap. But of course, every sporting icon deserves to be paired with equal greatness, which is why the Swiss watchmakers have created a watch in tribute to his athletic prowess: the Chronomat B01. A unique piece, the model boasts golden Arabic numerals (something you don’t see all too often for the brand), matched with contrasting chronograph counters against, you guessed it, a green dial.
Images courtesy of Breitling
“Giannis has an incredible personal style and sense of self that we knew we had to capture in a timepiece,” says Breitling CEO, Georges Kern. “And so, our longstanding ambassador became a collaborator who not only brought his aesthetic to the project, but also his indomitable spirit.” It’s only fitting that Breitling takes on the partnership with the Chronomat, a model that surpasses the function of timekeeping, but for the trailblazing wrists amongst us.
More than just another sporting collaboration, though, the union sees the watch industry championing new voices and diversifying its ambassadors that typify excellence. Sure, he’s on a mission to be a champion, but there’s more to his purpose than that. From Antetokounmpo’s reputation both on and off the court, he’s unified the next generation of sporting stars through his mission to provide young children with resources that he didn’t have growing up. Much is the same for Breitling. Of course, the Swiss watchmakers want to make watches, but watches that mean something and question the world around us. So should you be quick to dismiss this as another collaboration in the ether of brand-talent partnerships, you’d be wrong. It shows a watch brand taking its cultural impact seriously, and propositioning its reputation to higher heights. All 6’11 and beyond.
Images courtesy of Breitling
