Breitling top time

Live Life At Full Speed With Breitling’s Top Time Classic Car Collection

The post-war optimism of the 60’s made for an exciting period, with an explosion of ground-breaking music, movies and fashion. The youth of that decade craved more freedom and wanted to live life at a faster pace and Swiss watchmaker Breitling set itself the task of creating watches that captured the zeitgeist. And what better way to do that than to take inspiration from the decade’s best American sports cars?

The result is an outstanding ‘Top Time Classic Car’ collection – a best-selling line-up when it launched in 2021 – and now it’s back. This time around there’s more muscle under the hood and a stunning new addition inspired by Ford’s iconic Thunderbird.

RELATED: Breitling’s New Premier B01 Chronographs Put You in the Pilot’s Seat.

Breitling top time

Breitling Top Time B01 Chevrolet Corvette | Image: Breitling

Breitling Top Time B01 Chevrolet Corvette

With its celebration of the unconventional, the three previous models in the collection were a colourful and less serious bunch than some of the brand’s other watches. Featuring automotive themes and authentic 60’s emblems, the watches were a hit with watch fans despite only being available for a year. Fast forward to 2023 and Breitling has dropped an updated collection, with the fourth watch in the collection causing something of a stir.

Diameter: 41mm
Height: 13.8mm
Case: Stainless Steel
Movement: Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01
Strap: Calfskin Leather Strap Stainless Steel Mesh Bracelet
Crystal: Cambered Sapphire
Water Resistance: 100M
Price: from $8,000 USD

Shop at Breitling

Breitling top time

Breitling Top Time B01 Shelby Cobra | Image: Breitling

Breitling Top Time B01 Shelby Cobra

The three original watches are still at the core of the line-up and base their colourways on car paintwork. There’s the Chevrolet Corvette edition that sports a rich red dial and the Ford Mustang model that follows the same design but with a dark green dial. The third watch, the blue Shelby Cobra, has a different layout, with only two sub-dials and a larger brand emblem at the foot of the dial. All three watches successfully evoke the era and feature Breitling’s signature ‘squircle’ sub-dials – not quite square or circular. The new case is classically styled and is now 41mm wide.

Diameter: 41mm
Height: 13.8mm
Case: Stainless Steel
Movement: Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01
Strap: Calfskin Leather Strap Stainless Steel Mesh Bracelet
Crystal: Cambered Sapphire
Water Resistance: 100M
Price: from $8,000 AUD

Shop at Breitling

Breitling top time

Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird | Image: Breitling

Breitling Top Time B01 Ford Thunderbird

The star of the show has to be the Ford Thunderbird watch, a new addition to the collection. This is definitely going to be a hit with fans – remember the original three watches sold out in months. The white dial contrasts beautifully with the red leather racing strap and the red chronograph hand. There’s also an attractive teal Ford logo and matching small seconds hand.

The Top Time Classic Car again delivers, and all four models are offered with more throttle this time around. The engine in this new collection is Breitling’s in-house Calibre 01 mechanical chronograph movement. Comprehensively updated in 2022, the new movement is visible through the exhibition back and along with a trimmed-down profile boasts COSC certification.

Diameter: 41mm
Height: 13.8mm
Case: Stainless Steel
Movement: Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01
Strap: Calfskin Leather Strap Stainless Steel Mesh Bracelet
Crystal: Cambered Sapphire
Water Resistance: 100M
Price: from $10,890 AUD

Shop at Gregory Jewellers

Breitling top time

Breitling Top Time B01 | Image: Breitling

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Lee Smith
Contributor

Lee Smith

Lee Smith lives in Tynemouth, England. Having graduated with a BA(Hons) from Sheffield University (1996) he spent several years at a FTSE 100 software company. He left to pursue his love of literature and opened a bookstore. As well as exhibiting books at events around the UK, he also became manager of the annual Alnwick Bookfair. In 2016 Lee switched to his other passion - watches. He began retailing niche brands and launched his own microbrand. He then used his extensive knowledge of watches to write a popular blog. Since 2020 he's written about watches full time.