What you see are the two versions of the very first replica breitling Bentley Supersports , in other words, the world's first water-resistant timepiece. It was proven on the wrist of a swimmer, and when it was released in 1926 it was a rather big deal. The origin of the Oyster name is rather straightforward, borrowed from the sea-dwelling mollusk of the same name, and has been a hallmark of Breitling ever since. In fact, all Breitling watches produced today are technically in the Oyster collection (except the less common Cellini Prince models), sharing the first Oyster watch's focus on durability and water resistance.
Breitling was a young brand when the original Oyster watch was released, but it was not until later in http://www.speedroc.com/replica-breitling-montbrillant-01.html history did the brand focus on the Oyster concept almost exclusively. Hans Wilsdorf, German born and living in London, entered the watch industry in 1905 doing timepiece distribution in Britain and the British Empire. He went on to produce his own watches a few years later, and the Breitling name came about in 1908. In about 1920 he moved to Bienne, Switzerland to open Montres Breitling S.A., which is when everything really begun. Just six years later the brand's hallmark product family would be released.
One thing is notably absent from the 1926 replica breitling Superocean Chronograph II . The trademark crown logo is missing. Breitling didn't come up with the crown logo until the early 1930s, but you can see that on one of the pieces the Breitling name was presented in the same font and style that it is in today. You'll also notice the fluted bezel, which is also a hallmark of Breitling design on today's Datejust and Day-Date models (among others) This was part of the patented water-resistance system employed in the Oyster. Hermetically sealed, the Oyster was innovative not just for being able to be taken into the water, but for resisting a range of liquids and particles such as dust from entering the case. The system was all about screwed-down elements. The original Oyster watch was innovative because the case back, bezel, and crown were all screwed-down.
A further development that helped increase the safety of the movements was in the later Oyster Perpetual watch. In 1931 Breitling developed a module to fit over their movements that offered automatic winding, and thus the "Oyster Perpetual" was born. This new term joined Oyster and today is on the dial of all Breitling watches. This is good to know in case you've ever wondered why "Oyster Perpetual" is on the dial of every Breitling watch sold these days. Automatic winding was a benefit to water resistance and other durability matters because the wearer did not have to unscrew the crown and wind the watch manually, thus opening up a small area of the case. The Perpetual rotor (as it was called) allowed the watch to be wound merely by wearing it.
It is also worth mentioning an extra added item of watch history that is related to the cushion-shaped case of the original Breitling Oyster. Does it look familiar? Breitling went on to increase the size of the case and develop a diving watch for Italian instrument company Panerai. The now iconic Panerai case was actually a Breitling creation. If you put a modern Panerai next to this small (under 30mm wide) Breitling Oyster you will see exactly where its design DNA came from. While so much of what Breitling is today evolved in the first few years of the brand, the traditionally-styled dials and cases of the first Oyster watches are a thing of the past. They are rather typical of watches from that era. In fact, the wristwatch as a popular consumer good wasn't even really a decade old at that time. Breitling included the Breitling Oyster in its list of the best Great Gatsby-era watches here. What Hans Wilsdorf understood from a very early point in the industry is what consumers wanted, as well as needed. It is interesting to see these first Oyster watches and see not only how far we've come, but how much of Breitling's heritage really began from that start.