2023 has been a busy year thus far for Breitling, particularly within its sporty, retro-inflected Top Time chronograph collection. As the Swiss brand continues its push toward a greater proportion of in-house movements in its lineup, the Breitling Caliber 01 (also known as the B01) movement has become the backbone of the Top Time series. At the same time, though, the Top Time has become a canvas for collaborative designs with some of the most storied names in automotive and motorcycle culture – in fact, Breitling’s current plan is to continue the Top Time as a fully co-branded series. The brand’s two newest regular production releases are some of the finest and most focused examples of this current philosophy, stylistically refining and reshaping a pair of the most successful recent limited edition collaboration designs while adding the sophistication and capability of the B01 movement to the mix. The new Breitling Top Time B01 Deus and the Breitling Top Time B01 Triumph are handsome, sharply finished bellwethers for the future of the series, with compelling designs, thoughtful visual storytelling, and charismatic presentations.
The stainless steel case designs of the Breitling Top Time B01 Deus and the Breitling Top Time B01 Triumph are functionally identical. Both models measure in at 41mm-wide and 13.3mm-thick, but wear slightly smaller than the dimensions might suggest. The slightly tapering notched lugs, slim polished bezel, and the warmly domed sapphire crystal all work in concert to give this design a charmingly ‘60s-sporty feel on the wrist. With its finishing, however, Breitling elevates this case beyond its vintage inspirations. All the upper surfaces visible on the wrist – the bezel, the tops of the unchamfered lugs, the tall piston pushers, and the crown – are all brightly and immaculately polished, giving the design a fair amount of light play. By contrast, the smooth linear brushing along the case sides works toad some variety to the overall look and reinjects some sporty ruggedness into a design that could easily come off as too delicate. Both models are fitted with sapphire display casebacks featuring Deus Ex Machina or Triumph co-branding printed directly onto the crystal. Like the rest of the Top Time collection, these two models are both rated for an athletic 100 meters of water resistance.
Naturally, the visual centerpieces of these two new watches are their dials. For the Top Time B01 Deus, Breitling substantially changes the formula from 2021’s limited edition Top Time Deus, opting for a three-register layout and a darker, more straightforward “reverse panda” colorway. The matte black main dial surface and the optic white azurage subdials give this one a classic, athletic feel on the wrist, but there’s still a wealth of unique visual character to be found here. Beyond the Top Time’s now-trademark rounded-square subdial design, the Top Time B01 Deus adds a tachometer redline-inspired splash of orange and red to the outer tachymeter scale and uses a subtly jagged lightning bolt form for the vivid red central chronograph seconds hand. The playful looseness of the Deus shield emblem at 12 o’clock stands in stark contrast to the usual rigidity and seriousness of graphic design in watchmaking, while the Deus Ex Machina motto “In Benzin Veritas” brings further personality to the tachymeter scale. Looking past these playful new elements, the Breitling Top Time B01 Deus’s dial benefits from the excellently balanced proportions of the base Top Time design to create a distinctive-yet-classic sports chronograph look.
For the Breitling Top Time B01 Triumph’s dial, the brand cleaves close to the look of previous Triumph collaborations. In truth, it takes a fair amount of scrutiny for the new elements of this watch’s dial to become apparent, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The basic layout here is still strikingly attractive, with an ice blue-on-black color palette and a simple, deftly balanced two-register layout. Although the largest visual shift on paper is the removal of the arrow that was featured underneath the “Units Per Hour” label on the tachymeter scale, what truly stands out is the dial finishing. Breitling further emphasizes the unique segmented surfacing treatment of the Top Time B01 Triumph compared to its predecessor, leading to greater contrast and more instances when the ghostly “Zorro” dial pattern reveals itself on the wrist. In short, there are two wedge-shaped matte dial segments extending from the center of the dial to narrowly surround the subdials at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock. For the rest of the dial, the brand uses sharp, richly detailed vertical brushing. Depending on the viewing angle and lighting conditions, these two finishes can blend into one another seamlessly or visually separate, with one finish appearing lighter than the other. In practice, it’s a brilliantly eye-catching style, without coming off as baroque or ostentatious.
Breitling powers both the Top Time B01 Deus and the Top Time B01 Triumph with its in-house Caliber 01 automatic chronograph movement. Equipped with both a column wheel and a vertical clutch, this chronograph remains a joy to operate, with a moderate, sharp pusher action and zero sense of tactile mushiness. In terms of overall performance, the Caliber 01 is impressively solid, featuring a COSC chronometer certification for accuracy and a 70-hour power reserve at a 28,800 bph beat rate. The movement’s finishing is relatively simple but attractive, with a large vertically brushed central bridge and large, dramatic visual cutouts for elements like the column wheel and the balance cock. An elegantly skeletonized signed rotor completes the look. Like previous Top Time iterations, Breitling pairs both of these watches with semi-perforated black leather deployant straps. With Prominent texturing and bright, high-contrast white box stitching, these straps further reinforce the vintage sporting feel of the series while offering a respectably comfortable wearing experience.
As part of Breitling’s greater push to make the Top Time line fully in-house powered and styled in collaboration with high-profile lifestyle brands, both the Breitling Top Time B01 Deus and the Top Time B01 Triumph are capable, charismatic beacons for the future direction of the brand. Both the Breitling Top Time B01 Deus and the Breitling Top Time B01 Triumph are available now through authorized dealers.
Tag: Breitling Top Time B01
Breitling Top Time B01
Originally launched in 2021, the Breitling Top Time Classic Cars series is the brand’s tribute to iconic American sports cars from the 1950s and 1960s. Much like the original Top Time chronograph, the modern Breitling Top Time collection represents a lighthearted break from tradition, and the Classic Cars series further leans into this spirit with bright colors and automotive-inspired design elements. The original Breitling Top Time Classic Cars series consisted of three different models that were each inspired by a different classic American Car, and although they weren’t limited to a specific number of examples, the series was only produced for a single year. Following the success of the original trio of models, Breitling is bringing back the Top Time Classic Cars series for 2023, and in addition to adding a new fourth member to the lineup, the brand is also giving the other three models a significant update compared to their predecessors from just a couple of years ago.
The latest addition to the Breitling Top Time Classic Cars collection for 2023 is the Ford Thunderbird edition, which features a white dial and a bright red strap. The other three models making their return as part of this second generation of Top Time Classic Cars watches are the Ford Mustang edition with a dark green dial, the Chevrolet Corvette version with a bright red dial, and the Shelby Cobra-inspired model, which features a blue dial with contrasting white registers. Additionally, similar to the first generation of Breitling Top Time Classic Cars watches, the Shelby Cobra edition features a two-register layout, while the rest of the models all have three chronograph registers on their dials. The primary reason for the different number of registers is due to the shape of the Shelby Cobra logo. Unlike the other three logos, which can comfortably fit under the Breitling emblem on the upper half of the dial, the Shelby Cobra logo is circular and requires more space. Relocating the logo to the lower half of the dial and having it take the place of the third chronograph register ultimately allows for a greater sense of balance and a less cluttered display.
Although the dials fitted to the new Breitling Top Time B01 Classic Cars watches all offer a similar overall appearance to those from the first generation, they also incorporate a number of small updates and refinements. While the registers still appear in the collection’s signature “squircle” shape (a mixture between a square and a circle), the order of the registers has now changed due to the use of a different movement, and the running seconds sub-dial has moved to 9 o’clock location. In addition to other small updates relating to the tachymeter scales that surround the periphery of the dials, the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, and Shelby Cobra models all have a subtle tone-on-tone racing stripe running down the center of their dials, which reveals itself when viewed in bright light.
From an external perspective, the new generation of Breitling Top Time B01 Classic Cars models offers much of the same shape and profile as their first-generation counterparts. However, while the first generation features a 40mm case, the new Top Time Classic Cars watches have stainless steel cases that measure 41mm in diameter by 13.8mm-thick, with 20mm lugs and an overall lug-to-lug distance of 50.36mm. Similar to the first generation, a cambered sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides sits above the dial, while a signed winding crown at the 3 o’clock location flanked by two pump-style pushers offers access to the movement. Additionally, just like the previous generation, water resistance for the new Top Time B01 Classic Cars watches comes in at a fairly respectable 100 meters.
With that in mind, one of the most significant updates to the case of the new Breitling Top Time B01 Classic Cars models is in regard to their casebacks. While the first generation had solid stainless steel casebacks, the new Top Time Classic Cars watches all have sapphire display casebacks that have the logos of their respective cars printed on the underside surfaces of the display windows. Generally speaking, I’m not the biggest fan of graphics on display casebacks, as they can often defeat the entire purpose of having a display window in the first place. However, the logos are quite small on the new Top Time Classic Cars watches, and since they sit right above the axle of the rotor, they ultimately do very little in terms of actually obscuring a view of the movement.
Powering the new generation of Breitling Top Time B01 Classic Cars watches is the brand’s manufacture Caliber 01 automatic chronograph movement. An integrated self-winding chronograph that operates with a column wheel and a vertical clutch, the Breitling Cal. 01 runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) while offering users a power reserve of approximately 70 hours. Breitling first unveiled its Caliber 01 manufacture movement in 2009, and in the years since making its debut, the Cal. B01 has steadily been making its way throughout the brand’s catalog, and it now serves as the foundation for a number of other related Breitling movements. In addition to being a proven design, the Breitling Cal. 01 is also a COSC-certified chronometer, meaning that the new generation of Top Time Classic Cars watches is guaranteed to keep time within -4/+6 seconds per day.
All of the new Breitling Top Time B01 Classic Cars watches are available with the option of either two-piece calfskin leather straps or stainless steel mesh bracelets fitted with butterfly-style folding clasps. Tapering from 20mm at the lugs to 18mm where they meet their signed stainless steel deployant buckles, the leather straps for the new Top Time Classic Cars series come in complementary colors for the dials of the watches, with the Ford Thunderbird model receiving a red strap, the Chevrolet Corvette edition fitted with a black strap, and both the Ford Mustang and Shelby Cobra versions receiving dark brown straps. Additionally, regardless of color, all of the leather straps feature Breitling’s signature bright yellow lining and a racing-style perforated pattern on their outer surfaces.