Breitling has announced new versions of two of its most well-received limited-edition watches of recent years.
Launching today are updated iterations of its Top Time Deus and its Top Time Triumph chronographs. The models were announced at Wheels and Waves in Biarritz, France, a surfing and biking-themed festival.
The Top Time Deus marks the third time Breitling has collaborated with the Australian custom motorcycle, surf and streetwear brand Deus Ex Machina, a partnership that began in 2021.
The latest 41mm model comes in a stark monochrome design featuring a black dial with white sub-dials and is available either on a black leather strap or a mesh bracelet. ‘Pops’ of colour come via touches of red on the dial – most noticeably on the chronograph hand which, as with previous Top Time Deus editions, is designed like a lightning bolt.
According to the brand the Top Time Deus was designed to ‘appeal to bikers, boarders and backpackers, all looking for the freedom to explore the world their own way, at their own pace’.
There’s also a new version of the Top Time Triumph, a partnership with the venerable British motorcycle brand that Breitling introduced last year.
The new watch, also 41mm, sticks with the steel ice blue dial of 2022’s model, with the Breitling and Triumph logos displayed at 12 and 6 o’clock respectively. It also comes with the leather strap/ mess bracelet options.
Both the new sporty models have been upgraded to feature Breitling’s own chronograph movement, the B01, developed in-house by the brand and introduced in 2009.
The Top Time, a model worn by Sean Connery’s James Bond in 1965’s Thunderball — when he wasn’t wearing his Rolex Submariner — was the first Bond watch ever modified by Q branch and came equipped with a Geiger counter to help 007 find two NATO bombs stolen by SPECTRE. It was reintroduced by Breitling in 2020.
Once best-known for its Navitimer – arguably the definitive pilot watch, one that played up Breitling’s unassailable history providing watches and flight instruments to early aviators – the brand has successfully branched out into many other lifestyle avenues in recent years, broadening its audience. Micro-collections have been linked to explorers, rugby, surfing, American cars, film stars and professional basketball players.
The plan seems to be working handsomely. According to a Morgan Stanley report published last, Breitling’s annual revenues jumped to an estimated £574m in 2021 – an increase of 55 per cent over the past previous two years.
The Top Time Deus and The Top Time Triumph are £6,250 on the leather strap and £6,600 on the steel bracelet.
