For most of us, the wristwatch is now just an accessory because we can already see what time it is on our smartphones. However, wristwatches still have a functional function in many fields, especially in the military. A watch called Breitling Emergency, on the other hand, has passed the functionality, literally saving lives.
The Breitling Emergency wristwatch has an internal emergency signal. When you are stuck in an unexpected place, you can activate this feature so that the search and rescue teams can find you. More than 26,000 people have been rescued this way, thanks to the Breitling Emergency, the brand says.
The Breitling Emergency wristwatch has a very simple working principle:
The Breitling Emergency wristwatch, which was first produced in 1995, has a built-in personal positioning pointer called the PLB. This pointer, which is normally quite a large machine, has been sized to fit inside a wristwatch using special micro-techniques. Breitling Emergency is the first and only watch with this system.
The person in an emergency activates this two-antenna system by turning a special button of the watch and installing its antennas. A signal lasts 0.44 seconds every 50 seconds at a frequency of 406 MHz. The other signal lasts 0.75 seconds every 2.25 seconds at 121.5 MHz frequency.
When the watch signals are detected by the Cospas-Sarsat system, your position is determined immediately:
The Cospas-Sarsat system is a system consisting of low altitude satellites called LEOSAR and fixed orbital satellites called GEOSAR. While Breitling Emergency’s 406 MHz frequency reaches distant satellites, its 121.5 MHz frequency reaches all aircraft, ships and similar search and rescue vehicles in the vicinity.
The system that sends this signal inside the watch has a special rechargeable battery that is not used during the normal function of the watch. This system, which can transmit even in -20 degrees cold, continues to send signals on land, sea and air for 48 hours.
If you say wait, let’s try, there is a huge fine:
It’s no joke, the Breitling Emergency is literally shouting to everyone around that you’re in an emergency, and any search and rescue team that sees it will quickly rush to your location. A person who used this feature for trial purposes before was fined $100,000 by the Federal Aviation Administration.
This system, which is already in the watch, is disposable. Because in order to activate the antenna system, it is necessary to make a special installation by breaking the physical structure of the watch. It is said that if you survive thanks to the Breitling Emergency, the company gives you a new watch, but there is no official statement as such.
We don’t know if tens of thousands of people actually survived, but there are some instances where the watch was used:
If we look at the Breitling Emergency website, it is said that more than 26 thousand lives have been saved thanks to this system. It’s hard to be sure if this number is real, but there are indeed some cases where the Breitling Emergency wristwatch was used.
In March 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones wanted to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon and set a record. After the team following them fell into the Pacific Ocean, the panicked duo descended into the wilderness of the Sahara Desert. They were easily found and rescued 7 hours after activating the Breitling Emergency watch on their wrists.
In 2003, British pilot Quentin Smith and his deputy, Steve Brooks, had to land near Antarctica due to technical problems while trying to cross the Drake Pass in a helicopter. Using the Breitling Emergency watch, the duo were found and rescued within 9 hours.
We talked about the features of the Breitling Emergency, the world’s first and only wristwatch with a built-in emergency signal system, and the lives it saved. What do you think, should we all take one and wear one?
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