Watch manufacturer Breitling recently launched the Emergency in the US, a watch that can literally save lives. It’s the first wrist-worn beacon in the world and comes with a dual frequency transmitter called a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). Baroque Lifestyle found out all about it
The launch of this unique timepiece was held at the iconic Sea, Air & Space Museum Complex in New York City. The watch recently gained FCC approval for sale in the US. It features a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) that operates at 121.5 MHz and 406 Mhz, thus meeting the exacting Cospas-Sarsat standards. Its innovative dual frequency transmitter has been designed to send a distress beacon to rescuers on land, as well as ships at sea and airborne aircraft through the 121.5 MHz frequency. Satellite transmissions are sent to land, sea and air using the 406 MHz frequency.
The innovative micro-transmitter has been specifically designed and developed for the Breitling Emergency watch’s compact application. As a result, its transmitter is recognized for its miniaturization design as well as its extreme reliability.
Although the Breitling Emergency watch is a complex little piece of machinery, it is extremely easy to use. There is an ingenious dual antenna located in the lower part of the watch. This deploys when the cap attached to the main antenna on the right-hand side of the watch is unscrewed. Once the user extends the main antenna to the right length, a second cap on the opposite side is released. And when this happens, the transmitter is automatically activated.
Of course, such a technologically advanced wristwatch as the Emergency has very specific power demands. Breitling’s designers have come up with a revolutionary rechargeable battery that is 1,000 times more powerful than those usually employed in a watch. To create this specific watch battery, Breitling worked hand in hand with one of the cutting-edge institutes in the field.
Breitling’s Emergency is not only a magnificently designed personal survival instrument. It’s also an electronic chronograph that features all the functions that adventurers and professionals require in a timepiece. There is 12/24-hour analog and digital display as well as 1/100th second chronograph, an alarm, timer, second time zone, multilingual calendar and an indicator that tells when the battery is ending its lifetime.
The watch is equipped with a thermo-compensated SuperQuartz™ movement that is 10 times more accurate than standard quartz. It’s also chronometer certified by the COSC, the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute, which is the highest benchmark in the industry in terms of precision and reliability. The Emergency’s two distinct elements – the watch and the transmitter parts – have been designed as two separate elements, totally independent of each other when it comes to operation and energy source, which is a security measure.