1891: German Otto Lilienthal, known as the "father of aviation", flies more than 50 meters (165 ft) in his glider

1892: In response to his company's significant growth, Léon BREITLING relocates in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the centre of Swiss watch making in those days

1903: On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk (North Carolina), Orville Wright achieves the first powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine: 12 seconds over a distance of 36.5 meters

1909: On July 25, 1909, Louis Blériot, "conqueror of the Channel" successfully flies from Calais to Dover in 37 minutes, in a Blériot XI

1913: On September 21, 1913, Adolphe Pégoud, nicknamed "king of the air", loops the first ever loop in aviation history

1914: On the demise of Léon Breitling, his son Gaston takes over the firm

1915: Gaston creates the first wristwatch chronograph and subsequently provides pilots with the first wrist instruments.

1918: The spectacular progress made in aviation during World War I does much to hasten the end of the conflict. It is the end of the era of the formidable "Red Baron", Manfred von Richthofen.

1919: On June 15, John Alcock and his co-pilot Arthur Brown land their Vickers Vimy at Clifden, Ireland. Having left Newfoundland exactly 16 hours and 12 minutes earlier, they become the first to fly over the Atlantic.

1923: Breitling develops the first independent chronograph push piece. Start and return-to-zero functions had previously been controlled using the winding-crown

1927: On May 20 and 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh flies the "Spirit of St. Louis" across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in 33 hours, 30 minutes

1932: Gaston's son, Willy Breitling, takes the helm of the family firm

1934: Breitling develops the second return-to-zero push piece. This invention, making it possible to measure several successive short times with an added function using the first push piece, gives the wrist chronograph its definitive form

1935: On January 12, 1935, Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Pacific from Honolulu to Oakland. This feat takes aviation's popularity to dizzying heights

1936: Breitling becomes official supplier to the Royal Air Force. This marks the start of a long-standing record of cooperation with international aviation.