With school acceptance letters set to reach inside the coming weeks, now can be a very good time to take a hands-on have a look at the Breitling Endurance Professional Stanford College Version and focus on what I personally discovered most stunning in regards to the watch. When Breitling first launched the Endurance Professional College Version collection in 2023, I initially thought that these school-themed fashions had been primarily meant for school sports activities super-fans. Nonetheless, whereas attending the launch occasion for the mannequin, I found that patrons of the Stanford College Version buy this look ahead to a much more various assortment of causes than I initially had imagined.
Particularly designed as a multi-purpose sports activities look ahead to athletes, the Breitling Endurance Professional is a light-weight chronograph with a high-accuracy quartz motion, and it exists because the least costly providing inside the Swiss model’s trendy catalog. Together with creating special-edition variations of the Endurance Professional which can be produced in collaboration with the Ironman Triathlon collection, Breitling has additionally expanded the gathering to incorporate fashions devoted to well-known U.S. universities, with Stanford College becoming a member of the lineup final yr in October 2024. Except for being completed in Stanford’s colours and that includes the varsity’s brand on the dial, the Breitling Endurance Professional Stanford College Version follows the identical blueprint because the original quartet of University Edition models, which themselves are primarily simply school-themed variations of the standard full-size Endurance Pro that first appeared in 2020.
Crafted from Breitlight, which is a carbon-composite materials that’s 3.3 instances lighter than titanium, the Breitling Endurance Professional Stanford College Version has a complete weight of simply 35.5 grams (or 64 grams in the event you embody its thick rubber strap), and since it’s based mostly upon the muse of the full-size Endurance Professional, it measures 44mm in diameter by 12.5mm thick, with 22mm lugs and an general lug-to-lug profile of 52.49mm. Similar to the remainder of the Endurance Professional assortment (together with the mid-size 38mm models), the highest of the Stanford College Version’s case is furnished by a flat anti-reflective crystal surrounded by a bi-directional bezel with a compass scale, and the right-hand aspect of the watch contains a signed crown set between a pair of chronograph pushers. Moreover, water resistance is available in on the identical 100 meters that’s supplied by the remainder of the Endurance Professional assortment, and each the rotating bezel ring and screw-on caseback are crafted from Breitlight as a way to assist maintain weight to a minimal.
In contrast to the remainder of its College Version siblings, the crown’s rubberized grip and the accent ring on the beginning/cease pusher each seem in pink on the Breitling Endurance Professional Stanford College Version to additional lean into the varsity’s colours, and the middle of the caseback is adorned with Stanford’s crest. Moreover, since Stanford’s colours are pink, black, and white, the rubber strap fitted to the mannequin is black, and this in the end supplies it with a better diploma of aesthetic versatility than the assorted different College Version watches that every one characteristic straps of their respective faculty colours. Except for its shade, the black rubber strap fitted to the Stanford College Version is equivalent to what may be discovered on its siblings, and it contains a 22mm to 20mm taper with the “Breitling” title boldly embossed on both aspect and a signed tang-style buckle comprised of Breitlight to match the case.
Except for that includes Stanford’s brand inside the working seconds register at 6 o’clock, the dial fitted to the Breitling Endurance Professional Stanford College Version in any other case follows an equivalent design to what exists among the many remainder of the gathering; nonetheless, the varsity’s colours lend themselves notably nicely to this specific design. On all the College Version fashions, the dial is black, whereas the big Arabic numeral hour markers are completed with white Tremendous-LumiNova for optimum visibility. For the Stanford College Version, the remainder of its varied particulars seem in pink, and this creates a extremely cohesive aesthetic that naturally mirrors Stanford’s faculty colours. Past its colorway and Stanford-related branding, the remainder of the dial stays the identical as different Endurance Professional fashions, with a trio of registers, a date window at 4:30, and a pulsations scale printed on an angled chapter ring surrounding the perimeter of the show.
Internally, the Breitling Endurance Professional Stanford College Version is powered by the identical Caliber 82 thermo-compensated SuperQuartz chronograph motion as its siblings, which is able to measuring instances as much as half-hour in size, with a devoted register for monitoring 1/tenth seconds. Providing a battery life of roughly three to 4 years, the Breitling Cal. 82 is predicated upon ETA structure; nonetheless, identical to all the model’s trendy actions, the Caliber 82 is a COSC-certified chronometer, and its thermo-compensated design permits it to supply an accuracy ranking of -/+10 seconds per yr. Though quartz actions are basically fairly correct, excessive temperatures can impression accuracy, and identical to different thermo-compensated actions, Breitling’s SuperQuartz calibers characteristic built-in thermal sensors that enable them to autonomously compensate for temperature fluctuations that will in any other case impression timekeeping.
Because the Endurance Professional Stanford College Version is basically only a school-branded model of a mannequin that has existed inside Breitling’s catalog for practically half a decade, the watch itself has turn into considerably of a identified amount. Nonetheless, whereas attending the launch occasion for the mannequin at Breitling’s Palo Alto boutique (which is positioned proper close to Stanford’s campus), I discovered myself barely shocked by the number of completely different causes that compelled patrons to buy considered one of these Stanford-branded timepieces. Simply as you’d count on, each single one who both bought one on the occasion or was contemplating including one to their collections was amongst Stanford’s alumni, however the causes that attracted them to the mannequin differed enormously from one particular person to the following, and a good variety of the potential patrons surprisingly weren’t school sports activities super-fans.
Stanford alumni who avidly comply with their alma mater’s sports activities groups are naturally going to be patrons of the Breitling Endurance Professional Stanford College Version, and it is a perfect high-end accent that may be paired with workforce jerseys and hats whereas tailgating video games. Nonetheless, a major proportion of the opposite people who had been contemplating buying the watch didn’t have a very sturdy affinity for Stanford’s sports activities groups, however fairly they had been merely watch collectors and followers of Breitling who loved that considered one of their favourite manufacturers had made a timepiece devoted to their former faculty. Moreover, when you think about that the Endurance Professional is Breitling’s least costly mannequin, it turns into simple to see how a watch-collecting Stanford alum can justify the acquisition, particularly in the event that they already produce other costlier timepieces of their collections.
Past the people who had been contemplating shopping for the Breitling Endurance Professional Stanford College Version for themselves had been quite a few different individuals who had been excited about buying the watch as a present for somebody particular of their lives. Realistically talking, any Breitling is a fairly extravagant reward; nonetheless, the Endurance Professional is the model’s least costly providing, and it represents a categorically completely different buy than one thing like a strong gold Navitimer. One gentleman I spoke with on the occasion was excited about shopping for the mannequin for his long-time colleague who was simply moving into watches however was already an enormous Stanford sports activities fan (they had been each Stanford alumni). Moreover, two different people had been contemplating buying the Endurance Professional Stanford College Version as items for his or her respective sons, however every individual had a really completely different story.
The primary individual I spoke to needed to purchase the Endurance Professional Stanford College Version as a commencement reward for his or her oldest son, who was presently a scholar at Stanford and can be graduating later this yr. In the meantime, the opposite one who needed to purchase the watch for his or her son was contemplating it as a possible acceptance current for his or her high-school senior who had utilized early-decision to Stanford and was awaiting a response. The second individual (naturally a Stanford graduate and Breitling collector), informed me that he was more than pleased to purchase the watch earlier than acceptance letters had been scheduled to be despatched, because the watch would turn into a pleasant comfort current for himself, ought to his son not be accepted to his alma mater. He then laughed and informed me that if his son obtained accepted, he would in all probability find yourself shopping for a second one for himself to have a good time, and regardless of laughing whereas he stated it, I’m fairly certain that he was fully severe.
As to why Stanford grew to become the following faculty to affix Breitling’s Endurance Professional College Version lineup, the reply truly lies with former skilled swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Summer time Sanders. Together with being a sports activities commentator and good friend of the model, Sanders additionally attended Stanford College, the place she received eight NCAA Nationwide Championship titles earlier than happening to win 4 medals within the 1992 Olympic Video games, together with two gold, one silver, and a bronze. Given Summer time Sanders’ ties to each Stanford and Breitling, the Endurance Professional Stanford College Version makes lots of sense as the following faculty to affix the collection. Plus, the truth that Stanford is usually thought-about to be probably the most prestigious studying establishment on the West Coast definitely looks like a pure match for a watch model that’s universally considered one of many trade’s blue chip producers.
Whereas the enchantment of this watch is strictly restricted to people with some relation to Stanford College, the explanations that compel folks to buy this mannequin are way more various than what I had imagined, and I might think about that very same assertion applies to all of Breitling’s College Version fashions. Moreover, watch collectors usually develop an affinity for the manufacturers that make an impression early of their lives, and creating watches that commemorate the schools the place folks make the transition into maturity is a superb technique to faucet into this a part of a person’s life expertise. With an official retail worth of $3,700 USD, the Breitling Endurance Professional Stanford College Version (ref. X823109C1B1S1) prices the very same as its school-branded siblings, with the collection representing a premium of some hundred {dollars} above their standard-production counterparts. For extra data, please go to the Breitling website.
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