Three New Breitling Top Time Limited Editions Pay Tribute To Aston-Martin's Iconic DB5

Breitling’s Top Time chronograph, an iconoclastic watch designed in the spirit of the 1960s’ culture of motorcycles and muscle cars, made its most memorable public appearance on the wrist of Sean Connery’s James Bond in 1965’s Thunderball. The watch, the only Breitling model ever worn by any cinematic version of Agent 007, shared the screen with another iconic machine, the Aston-Martin DB5, a British-made luxury roadster that would go on to become Bond’s go-to ride for decades as well as an enduring example of U.K. culture and craftsmanship. Today, Breitling releases three limited editions of the Top Time that merge the proud legacies of both these legendary luxury brands. Here’s what you need to know about the Breitling Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Aston Martin DB5.

The trio of special editions are the latest to emerge from Breitling’s modern Top Time collection, which underwent a major revival in 2020 that doubled down on the origins models’ motorsport DNA. Previous special editions in the series have paid homage to classic American cars like the Chevy Corvette, Ford Mustang, and Shelby Cobra, as well as “cafe racers” and motorbikes like the Triumph Thunderbird, also born n Great Britain. The collaboration with Aston-Martin was a near-inevitability, as the DB5 and the Top Time Ref. 2002 featured in Thunderball were released just a year apart — the car in 1963, the watch in 1964. 

All three watches feature the Top Time’s familiar 41mm cushion-shaped case with grooved corners, retro-style “mushroom” chronograph pushers, and bicompax dials with “squircle” (squared circle) subdials reminiscent of the gauges on a car’s dashboard. In addition, they stand apart from the regular collection, and from previous limited editions, with their use of several elements specific to the Aston-Martin DB5: a wooden inner ring, inspired by the DB5’s steering wheel, inlaid in the tachymeter-scale flange; hand-colored gradient leather straps that echo the look of “fine automotive upholstery;” and dial colorways that draw from interior elements of the car’s cockpit. 

Of the three, the new Top Time model most evocative of the Ref. 2002 in Thunderball (which was the first watch in the series modified by Q Branch with gadgets, in this case a built-in Geiger counter) is the model in stainless steel, limited to 1,022 pieces, with a sunray-brushed silver dial and high-contrast black subdials, all framed by the previously mentioned wooden ring on the rehaut. Another model, limited to 315 pieces, offers a bi-material execution, with a stainless steel case and platinum bezel and a high-gloss monochromatic dial, with both the main dial and “squircle” subdials finished in sunray-brushed black lacquer.

The most luxurious execution — and consequently, the rarest, at just 250 pieces — has its case in 18k 5N red gold and a two-register dial cut from natural black onyx, a precious stone used here for the first time in a Breitling watch. On this model, the wooden rehaut scale matches up with gold details on the dial, like the rounded frames bordering the subdials. On all models, the brown tones of the rehaut’s tachymeter ring carry into the brown calfskin leather strap, with a beige inner lining and a folding clasp.

The cases are water resistant to 100 meters, topped in the front by a domed, glareproof sapphire crystal and in the back by an additional sapphire window to showcase the movement, Breitling’s in-house Caliber B01, with bidirectional automatic winding, a 70-hour power reserve, and an integrated ¼-second chronograph function driven by a column wheel and a vertical clutch. Like all the movements in Breitling’s chronograph lineup, it is COSC-certified for chronometric performance. In these watches, the B01 features a specially engraved rotor with Aston-Martin iconography. In the steel-cased, silver-dialed version, this rotor is rhodium-plated; in the steel-platinum and all-gold models, it is in 18k red gold.

Prices range from $11,400 for the 1,022-piece stainless steel edition (Ref. AB0178121G1X1), to $18,600 for the 315 pieces of the steel-and-platinum model (Ref. PB0178121B1X1) and $41,500 for the red gold-cased model with black onyx dial (Ref. RB0178131B1X1), limited to 250 pieces. The Breitling Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Aston Martin editions are available now, at select Breitling authorized retailers.