Branson's Breitling Watch set to Raise Tens of Thousands for ORBIS

Only three days after appearing on an exclusive eBay auction, Sir Richard Branson’s Breitling ‘Emergency’ Watch has already attracted bids in excess of £20,000 with another 23 days to go.

Sir Richard Branson lent his Breitling watch, which has accompanied him on many of his own adventures, to his friend and fellow adventurer Steve Fossett for his solo, non-stop, circumnavigation of the world. Steve Fossett successfully gained the record in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer on Thursday 3 March after successfully landing in Salina, Kansas after his 67 hour journey.

The watch is not only equipped with an in-built Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) meaning that it can send a rescue signal using Global Positioning System satellites but it also has a rich record-breaking history as Richard explains, "In the years that I have owned this wonderful watch it has witnessed many, many adventures including a dunking in the Pacific Ocean on Christmas day 1998, after we had made it ¾ of the way around to world in our last Virgin Challenger balloon attempt where it helped save my life. It has raced across the English Channel setting a new World Record in the Virgin Atlantic Aquada car and last but not least witnessed the winning of the X prize by SpaceShipOne and the launch of Virgin Galactic. 

“Steve Fossett has now taken it one step further and it is now the first watch and only watch to go around the world in a plane on a non-stop, solo flight. Hopefully the new owner of this watch will have as many wonderful adventures as I’ve had and if they ever find themselves in a sticky situation it may well save their life too! ”

All money raised will be donated to ORBIS, which is the official charity for the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer record attempt. ORBIS is a worldwide blindness prevention charity which works in developing countries, as its official charity for the world record attempt later this year.

Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Atlantic and ambassador for ORBIS, said, “To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the ORBIS DC-10 Flying Eye Hospital the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer team has been raising money for ORBIS. So far it is estimated that in excess of £100,000 has been raised. This auction can increase this amount significantly.”

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