Breitling’s Iconic ’80s Steel Sports Watch Gets Revamped with 32 New Dial Colors

You don’t have to be an NFL fan to enjoy these watches.

Breitling

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By Brad Lanphear

Published August 27, 2025

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Updated August 27, 2025

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The NFL isn’t associated with watches in the way that professional golf, Grand Slam tennis and Formula 1 are, but Breitling is working hard to change that perception.

The Swiss brand, known for elite tool watches, is following up its 2024 NFL collection with a subtle but impactful change that should resonate with a much larger audience, regardless of football alliances.

Stainless steel Breitling wristwatch with a blue dial, white hour markers, and a red GMT hand. The watch features a date window at 6 o'clock and a rotating bezel with minute markers. It has a polished metal bracelet and is positioned on a reflective surface with a blurred background including an NFL football. — The Chronomat GMT 40 NFL Team Edition does not use team logos on the dial.

Breitling remains the NFL’s official timepiece partner for the 2025/2026 season, marking the collaboration with a collection of 32 Chronomat GMT 40 steel sports watches representing each team in the league.

The release improves upon the Chronomat B01 42 chronograph released last season, which featured each team’s logo on the small-seconds dial. That small detail isolated the luxury-tier watch to die-hard NFL team fans.

Six Breitling Chronomat GMT watches with stainless steel bracelets are displayed on a reflective black surface. Each watch features a different vibrant dial color: orange, purple, red, turquoise, blue, and green. All watches have silver hour markers and hands, a date window at 6 o'clock, and a rotating bezel. The GMT hand is highlighted in contrasting colors on each dial. — Each Chronomat GMT 40 dial uses the featured team’s primary color, while the GMT hand is the team’s secondary color.

This time around, Breitling made the brilliant decision to scrub team logos from the dials. This opens the collection to a much larger market of non-football fans and entices NFL team fans who prefer not to flaunt it on their wrist.

I’m a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan, but I don’t want the team’s logo on the dial of my watch, especially one as prestigious and expensive as a Breitling Chronomat.

Each Chronomat GMT 40 has the NFL team logo etched into the caseback.

Breitling

However, I am open to spending $6,600 on a luxury watch with an Eagle’s Midnight Green dial, and the team logo tastefully etched into the caseback. I’m certain that enough football fans share my sentiment to make this watch a hit.

A classic ’80s steel sports watch

Breitling introduced the Chronomat in 1984 to celebrate the brand’s 100th anniversary. It was based on a special edition chronograph that the brand’s CEO designed a year earlier for Italian jet pilots, called the “Frecce Tricolori.”

Breitling wristwatch with a black dial, silver hour markers, and three subdials. It features a date window at the 3 o'clock position and a rotating bezel with minute markings. The watch has a stainless steel case and a matching metal link bracelet. — An original 1984 Chronomat reference 81950 V7750.

The original Chronomat was an automatic chronograph with a steel bezel featuring interchangeable “Rider Tabs,” which allowed the 15 and 45 to be swapped to make it a count-down or count-up bezel.

The other definitive feature introduced in 1984 is the “Rouleaux” bracelet with interconnected tubular steel links.

The Chronomat is a significant piece of Breitling’s history because it marked the brand’s reinvestment in mechanical chronographs at a time when quartz movements dominated watchmaking.

Stainless steel Breitling wristwatch with a turquoise dial, silver hour markers, and hands. The watch features a date window at 6 o'clock, an orange-tipped GMT hand, and a rotating bezel with engraved numerals. The bracelet is a polished and brushed metal link design. The watch is placed on a textured gray surface with a blurred background. — Just like last year’s NFL editions, the Miami Dolphins version once again wins the style race.

Unfortunately, the “Rider Tabs” are now fixed to the Chronomat’s unidirectional steel bezel. However, Breitling revived the “Rouleaux” steel bracelet with a butterfly clasp in 2020.

The modern GMT variant has a 24-hour track on the chapter ring, which uniformly matches each team’s primary color on the dial for the NFL edition.

The Chronomat GMT 40 has a 24-hour track on the chapter ring.

Breitling

While Breitling simplified the bezel, it improved the dial by adding a beveled edge to the hour and minute hands, along with a lumed arrow point and a script “B” counterbalance to the seconds hand.

Non-fans welcome

With 32 options, the Chronomat GMT 40 NFL Teams Edition has something for everyone. As stated above, you don’t have to like football to be drawn to this collection.

Stainless steel Breitling Chronomat GMT watch with a bright blue dial, silver hour markers, and hands. The watch features a date window at 6 o'clock, a 24-hour GMT hand with an arrow tip, and a polished bezel with engraved numerals. The bracelet is a matching stainless steel link design. — Teams like the Carolina Panthers, pictured above, offer vibrant dial colors.

Teams like the Steelers, Falcons, Saints and Raiders offer black dials with yellow, red, gold and silver GMT hands, respectively, that stick to the watch’s historically industrial theme. The Dolphins, Panthers, Chiefs and Bengals offer vibrant dials that are refreshing departures from Chronomats of the past.

There is some overlap, with only ardent fans able to differentiate the Bills, Giants and Patriots references, for example. And I have to admit that I don’t love the Eagles dial (they should have gone with Kelly Green).

Stainless steel Breitling Chronomat GMT watch with a green dial, silver hour markers, and hands. The watch features a date window at 6 o'clock, a yellow GMT hand with an arrow tip, and a rotating bezel with black markings. The bracelet is a polished and brushed stainless steel link design. — The Green Bay Packers offer one of the best options.

Two of my favorite options, based objectively on color, are the Packers, reminiscent of British Racing Green, and the Bears, with a deep navy and orange combination.

The Chronomat GMT 40 offers one of the most interesting and overlooked designs in Breitling’s esteemed catalog in a staggering assortment of color options.

It is the most tasteful team-affiliated watch I’ve seen, and you don’t even have to care about the NFL to enjoy owning one.

Availability and price

The Breitling Chronomat GMT 40 NFL Teams Edition is available now from Breitling for $6,600.

Breitling also released a 44mm, quartz-powered Endurance Pro chronograph with a black dial and black rubber strap. The watch sports each NFL team’s logo on the dial and the primary color on the chapter ring.

Stainless steel Breitling Chronomat GMT watch with a black dial, silver hour markers, and hands. It features a date window at 6 o'clock, an orange GMT hand, and a rotating bezel with engraved minute markers. The watch has a stainless steel bracelet with polished and brushed links.

Breilting Chronomat 40 GMT NFL Team Edition

Specs

Case Size	40mm
Movement	Breitling claiber 32 automatic
Water Resistance	200m

$6,600 at Breitling

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.