Breitling reunites the Top Time with the Aston Martin DB5 in three limited-edition chronographs inspired by the car’s instruments, materials and grand-touring character. The relationship started 19 years ago with the dashboard clock that Breitling created for the first Continental GT and grew into one of the longest-running alliances between a watchmaker and a motor manufacturer.
Aston Martin has travelled through watchmaking too, from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s technically adventurous AMVOX series to TAG Heuer in 2018 and Girard-Perregaux from 2021. Breitling, however, arrives with a historical connection none of those partnerships could manufacture. In Thunderball, Sean Connery wore a Q-modified Top Time ref. 2002 while driving the DB5. The new Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Aston Martin DB5 therefore revisits an encounter that happened on screen 61 years ago, long before “brand collaboration” became a marketing department’s favourite phrase.
Two readings of the Breitling Top Time B01 Chronograph 41 Tribute to Aston Martin DB5: the steel edition with silver dial beside the car itself, and the red-gold model with natural onyx dial, taking the same dashboard-inspired design into more formal territory.
The 41mm cushion-shaped case, mushroom pushers and squared-off subdials draw from the original Top Time while reading convincingly as dashboard instruments. A wooden inner ring recalls the DB5’s steering wheel and the hand-coloured leather strap has the graduated depth of well-kept upholstery. Three editions follow: steel with a sunray brushed silver dial, limited to 1,022 pieces (£8,650); steel and platinum with a sunray brushed black lacquered dial, llimited to 315 (£14,400); and 18kt red gold with Breitling’s first natural onyx dial, limited to 250.
The steel version makes the clearest connection to the car. Its silver dial has the cool, metallic character of Silver Birch paint, while the wood and brown leather bring the warmth of the DB5’s interior. The platinum model is darker and more formal and the one in red gold and onyx bring considerable glamour (£35,100).
The full DB5 trio, from steel and platinum to red gold and onyx, united by dashboard-inspired detailing. Through the caseback, Breitling’s Calibre 01 appears with its dedicated Aston Martin rotor.
The best parallel lies beneath the surface. Breitling’s Calibre 01 uses a column wheel to govern the chronograph and a vertical clutch to engage it cleanly, with a 70-hour reserve for long stretches away from the winder. The DB5’s 4.0-litre twin-cam straight-six and five-speed ZF gearbox followed a similar philosophy: sophisticated power delivered smoothly enough for distance. Both machines belong to the grand-touring tradition, in a universe in which precision makes performance feel civilised.
Author: Julia Pasarón
If you enjoyed this review you may like reading our recent feature, Drive Time and On the Dash.
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