Introducing The Breitling Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute To Aston Martin DB5

Earlier this year, Breitling announced a partnership with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, debuting a carbon fibre-dialled take on its Navitimer that represents one of the more impactful collaboration watches the brand has made in recent memory. Now, Breitling is teaming up with the road car side of the Aston Martin business to pay homage to the iconic DB5 with a trio of Top Times.

There’s an all-steel model with silver dial and black chronograph subdials, a steel and platinum combination with an all-black dial, and at the top of the tree is an 18k red gold individually numbered edition with a natural onyx dial - Breitling’s first-ever natural stone dial.

Two main ingredients make up this new release: the new Top Time itself, and the Aston Martin DB5 it draws inspiration from. You’re certainly familiar with the DB5, even if just from its inseparable role as James Bond’s wheels in the 1964 and 1965 films Goldfinger and Thunderball. The Italian-designed grand tourer is the car that put Aston Martin on the global map as a symbol of the 1960s: a refined grand tourer powered by a silky straight-six engine clad in a beautiful magnesium-alloy body designed by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera.

This special edition Breitling Top Time takes the design back to the 1960s golden age of chronographs, with a cushion case featuring some almost Art Deco grooves in the case corners. It has thin pump pushers and ‘squircle’ (that's squared and circle) chronograph subdials, a common design trait in late 60s chronographs. The case measures in at 41mm with a 13.8mm thickness, notably sized up compared to last year's smaller Top Time B01 special editions, which featured an identical case design, but in 38mm.

To top off the dials' DB5 inspiration, each version features a wood-grained rehaut with printed tachymeter scale and ‘Aston Martin DB5’ text, the wood inlay itself inspired by the wood steering wheel of the DB5. At first glance, this nod to the Aston may appear a bit on the nose, but there is some historical precedent: wood inlay found its way into a handful of period chronographs, including the Yema Rallygraf.

The vintage-inspired details extend to the strap, a brown calfskin that’s been hand-coloured to create a handsome colour gradient that darkens as the leather meets the stitching. It’s topped off with an Aston Martin-signed deployant clasp in steel or red gold to match the watch's case.

Inside is Breitling’s B01 chronograph movement, giving the Tribute to DB5 a 70-hour power reserve, the movement on show through a display caseback. Breitling has given it a special gold rotor engraved with the Aston Martin logo and ‘Tribute to DB5’ beneath it. The movement is also COSC-certified.

Prices start at A$15,990 for the steel, then go up to A$24,990 for the steel and platinum before topping out at A$62,990 for the red gold, which is individually numbered and limited to 250 pieces.

You’ll probably remember the days of Breitling for Bentley about a decade ago, where Breitling badges found their way into Bentley dashboard clocks and Bentley logos found their way into 49mm Breitling chronographs. Thankfully, those days are behind us, and this collab with a British high-end car marque is much more subtle and much more reasonably sized, though I do wish Breitling had stuck with the 38mm Top Time case that's already in the collection for this collaboration. Given the mid-60s inspiration, a rounded-corners square 41mm case feels unnecessarily large to honour the dainty and delicate DB5, a car so small Sean Connery himself struggled to fit in it.

Without wishing to sound like a broken record when it comes to watch proportions, we are witnessing tastes rapidly change to favour smaller cases, and historically speaking, a 41mm gentleman's chronograph is at odds with the subtlety of the DB5 - and if these watches are aimed at both owners (or, more realistically, lovers) of the DB5, their tastes are likely aligned to a case size that’s historically fitting.

The marriage of DB5 and Top Time is a fitting combination, given the DB5 was the Bond car in Thunderball, and in that film, 007 wore a Breitling Top Time which was modified by Q (the first Q-modded watch in a Bond film, I might add!)

Whilst perusing the different variants, the steel and platinum example is the one that jumps out at me. The only platinum component in the case is the high-polished bezel, which adds a bit of valuable lustre but stops short of being overtly flashy. I think both the black and silver dial nicely compliments the wood rehaut, giving it just the right amount of contrast against the dials without drawing too much attention to the rehaut. 

The Top Time Tribute to DB5’s design manages to avoid falling into the automotive watch trap of putting badges or silhouettes on dials in a literal sense; the nods to the Aston are more whisper than shout. I just wish I could say the same about the case size.

Brand: Breitling
Model: Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute To Aston Martin DB5
Reference Number: AB0178121G1X1 (steel), PB0178121B1X1 (steel/platinum), RB0178131B1X1 (g0ld)

Diameter: 41mm
Thickness: 13.8mm
Case Material: Stainless steel, stainless steel with platinum bezel, 18k 5n red gold
Dial Colour: Silver, black, onyx
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 100 meters (10 bar)
Strap/Bracelet: Brown calfskin with beige underside

Calibre: Breitling B01
Functions: Hours, minutes, running seconds, 30-minute chronograph
Diameter: 30mm
Thickness: 7.2mm
Power Reserve: 70 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 4 Hz
Chronometer Certified: Yes, COSC

Price: A$15,990 (steel) A$24,990 (steel and platinum), A$62,990 (gold)
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: Yes, 1022 in steel, 315 in steel and platinum, 250 in gold

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