Breitling’s unconventional chronograph with a freewheeling 1960s café racer spirit. In the early 1960s, auto-racing was having a heyday, and a whole subculture had sprung up around “café racers,” stylish motorcycles, used to literally transport their riders from hip café to hip café.
Willy Breitling wanted to capture the speed-driven style of the day with a completely new take on the timekeeper. Enter the Breitling Top Time, an unconventional chronograph that became an instant hit with a sporty in-crowd of men and women equally drawn to the watch’s bold proportions.
Today that freewheeling 1960s spirit is back in a spectacular new Top Time collaboration between Breitling and British motorcycle brand Triumph. The star of this watch is the ice-blue dial with its striking take on a Top Time motif known as the “Zorro” design. While it usually takes the form of a contrasting color that frames the two sub-counters like the wily swordsman’s mask, here it’s achieved with a brushed finish that creates a radiant play of light and texture.
The unique ice-blue color has two major archival references: a blue Triumph Thunderbird 6T from 1951 and a rare ice-blue Breitling Top Time Ref. 815 from the 1970s. Features include oversized mushroom pushers that allow for easy control over the chronograph’s stop-start and reset functions. A high-contrast tachymeter scale provides clear legibility of speed readings.
The subdued racing-themed calfskin leather strap lets the hero dial shine, while the Breitling and Triumph logos sit subtly at 12 and 6 o’clock. 41mm, the diameter is, like the original, a fit for both sexes. For Triumph fans, the Top Time Triumph is an absolute must-have, but you don’t have to have a head-turning motorcycle to fall for this attention-grabbing design.
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more information: breitling.com
