The latest release from Massena LAB, William Massena?s brand that specializes in thoughtful collaborations that shine a light on interesting heritage designs, is truly one for the history buffs. Here we have a pair of Type XX chronographs, but with a name on the dial that you might not expect unless you?re already versed in a very specific niche of military watch history. The Mathey-Tissot x Massena LAB Type XX Tribute Chronograph and the Mathey-Tissot x Massena LAB Type XX Flyback Chronograph put a spotlight on a watchmaker whose name most of us know, but likely don?t actually know too much about, and through the lens of an iconic watch that is still most closely associated with another brand altogether. 

The Type XX, of course, is an iconic Breguet chronograph with military roots. Similar to the famed Dirty Dozen watches, Breguet was contracted to produce a chronograph with very specific specifications for the French Ministry of Defense in the 1950s and 60s. The requirements were mostly fairly straightforward: a black dial, large luminous Arabic numerals, and a twelve hour bezel that can be rotated in either direction. The MOD also requested that the chronographs include a flyback function, allowing pilots to instantly restart a chronograph without stopping and resetting. 
Breguet still produces the Type XX, and it has become a bit of a luxury object in its most recent versions while retaining the general aesthetic of a midcentury military chronograph. ...