In 1884 Léon Breitling started making timepieces and measuring instruments at a workshop in Saint-Imier, in the Swiss canton of Bern. Within a decade the company had moved to La Chaux-de-Fonds, and by 1900 it had sold more than 100,000 chronographs. That is a brand built on stopwatches before it was ever built on style.

I like that about Breitling watches. The family kept finding new things for a chronograph to do: Gaston Breitling made a wrist chronograph with its own pusher in 1915, and his son Willy added the second pusher in 1934. In 1952 came the Navitimer, a pilot's chronograph with a slide rule you can still read on the bezel today. These are tool watches that happen to look good, and the pre-owned route lets you choose the small, wearable versions.

The first eight are all Navitimer, and most are sized for smaller wrists. The Navitimer Automatic 35 comes in a mint green dial on an olive croc-embossed strap, in copper, and in blue sunray. The 36 in mother of pearl is 18k red gold with twelve diamond markers, which is the one I would keep for dinners. The Navitimer 32 in mother of pearl is the smallest, and the 38 in black is the straight, serious option.

My tip for October: pick the strap first. The green and burgundy leather look right with knits and a camel coat. Then check the papers, the bezel edge and the date on the listing.

The Chronomat has a good backstory for a sport watch. Worldtempus dates the first one to the 1940s, with a patented rotating slide rule for scientists, and the idea was reworked for pilots as the Navitimer. Today it is the sportier cousin, known for the Rouleaux bracelet and the rider-tab bezel.

The small ones are the ones I would look at first. The Chronomat 32 in pink with diamond markers and the Chronomat 32 in mother of pearl with steel and rose gold are both slim enough to sit under a cuff. The 36 in ice blue is a cool, quiet choice, and the 36 two-tone mother of pearl reads as jewelry that tells the time.

If you like a bigger face, the Chronomat GMT 40 comes in green and in ice blue, with a GMT hand for anyone who travels. The 41 in luminous black from 2012 and the B01 42 in black are the steel-on-steel options, and I would wear either with an oversized blazer and straight jeans.

At the counter, the thing to test is the bezel: the rider tabs should grip and turn with a clean click. Look at the bracelet links for stretch too. What I would skip: the diamond dials if you plan to wear a watch in the gym, since a steel black dial takes the knocks better.

Breitling turned to dive watches in the 1950s, and Worldtempus says the Superocean has carried that diving heritage since 1957. It is the Breitling that looks at home with a swimsuit, a white tee or a trench.

For smaller wrists, the Superocean Automatic 36 in orange is the most fun in the set, and the Superocean 36 with a white luminous dial is the cleaner twin. The 42 in white, the 42 in blue and the 42 in black are bold, and I would only reach for them if you like a watch with some presence, worn loose like a bracelet.

The Heritage models take a retro line. The Heritage B31 40 in black has a bracelet and index markers, the Heritage B20 42 mixes steel and rose gold on a blue dial, and the Heritage '57 in blue is the one that leans most into the old diver look. I find the '57 the easiest to pair with a knit and wide trousers.

When you are checking one, turn the bezel. It should not wobble, and the lume should be even. Ask whether the case has been polished, because the soft edge changes how the watch sits on the wrist. What I would skip: the biggest 42 mm cases if you have a narrow wrist, since the lugs will overhang.

Not every Breitling is a pilot or a diver, and since Georges Kern, ex-IWC, became CEO in 2017 the brand has leaned into design and marketing while keeping its aviation heritage. The Premier is the dressy side of the house: Worldtempus describes it as a tribute to post-war elegance, and you can see that in the champagne and ivory dials.

The Lady Premier 32 in mother of pearl is the smallest and the most polished. The Premier Automatic 40 in slate is a quiet, grown-up choice, and the Premier B09 in champagne is a manual-wind chronograph that I would wear with a silk shirt. The two B01 chronographs, in cream and in blue, are 42 mm on leather, and both carry Breitling's own B01 movement, which the brand developed in 2009.

Then there is the Top Time, which is the fun one. The Top Time B31 in green is 38 mm and, to my eye, looks best against a camel or navy knit. The Ford Thunderbird version in white has tri-compax registers, and the Deus in black has contrast registers that make it easy to read.

For fit, put the chronograph on and see whether the lugs sit inside the edge of your wrist. Check that the pushers move smoothly and the dial is clean around the registers. What I would skip: a dress chronograph with a worn leather strap, because replacing the strap is simple but a tired one makes the whole watch look older.

Vintage is where I would slow down. Ernest Schneider bought the Breitling name from the founding family in 1979, and most of these watches date from before that, the 1950s to the early 1970s. Every piece here is pre-owned, so condition is part of the story and worth reading closely.

The 1950s Ref. 633 with 17 jewels is a 34 mm hand-wound steel dress watch, small and tidy, and the Ref. 789 Premier is 32 mm in 18k rose gold with a vintage dial. The 1969 Top Time with the reverse panda dial and orange seconds hand is the one with the most character. The 1960s Chronomat Ref. 808 has the slide-rule bezel, a silver dial and a black strap, and it is unisex.

For something larger, the Ref. 1806 pilot chronograph from 1970 is about 48 mm, which is a statement. The tonneau chronograph from the 1970s, the Bullhead Ref. 7101 from around 1971 with the crown at twelve, and the Transocean day-date at 35 mm on a steel bracelet each have their own odd, charming shape.

What to check: the dial and hands, the crown and pushers, the case edges and whether the strap fits. Ask about service history and whether the dial is original. What I would skip: any watch where the seller cannot say what has been replaced.

If it were my wrist, I would decide the use first. For daily wear, a Navitimer Automatic 35 on leather. For the beach and holiday travel, a Superocean 36. For a dinner, a Chronomat 32 with a mother-of-pearl face.

Then I would read the listing the way I would read a label: the reference, the year, the papers and the condition. That keeps a pre-owned buy simple, and the dates in these listings make it easy to compare.

Léon Breitling was selling stopwatches in 1884, and I think of that every time I use a bezel. A watch with a job still feels better than one with only a logo. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Longines Watches and Michael Kors Outlet.