Watches & Wonders may own the Palexpo floor, but Breitling took a detour—quite literally. On the 1st of April, I hopped a bus past the bustle of central Geneva and landed at Cine 17, a heritage single-screen cinema tucked away near Rue de Lausanne. Three things stopped me in my tracks before I even crossed the threshold: a hulking silver-and-yellow Breitling road wagon, a buzzing crowd of invitees with ginger ale in hand—and the Lancia Delta HF Integrale.
You don’t just walk past an 80's rally legend; you stare. You marvel. You take selfies. I did all three before I even clocked the fact that I was meant to ask Breitling CEO Georges Kern about the brand’s next racing chronograph. Turns out, I had my answer parked right in front of me.
Inside the theatre, Kern, ever the showman, handed the mic to Jancu Koenig, Breitling’s recently appointed CMO. What followed was less a product launch and more a celebration of the Top Time’s enduring charisma—complete with hands-on trials, vintage displays, and a reintroduction to what might be Breitling’s most dynamic family of watches to date.
The Original Rebel: A Brief History of the Top Time
First introduced in the 1960s by Willy Breitling, the Top Time was the brand's answer to a rapidly shifting cultural landscape. "The chronograph your grandfather wore just didn’t cut it anymore," said Koenig. "So Willy Breitling rethought everything. He made something for the youth. Something fast, stylish, and totally unconventional."
It was smaller, funkier, and downright rebellious compared to its older sibling, the Premier. With graphic dials, tonneau and cushion cases, and bright colours, the Top Time embodied the freewheeling spirit of the decade. It became a pop-cultural fixture—gracing the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, TIME, and most famously, appearing as the Q-modified chronograph on Sean Connery's wrist in Thunderball.
The modern revival of the Top Time series has seen collabs with the Mustang, Corvette, Triumph, and Deus Ex Machina—a nod to both its legacy and modern collector tastes.
Top Time B31: A New Movement for a New Era
The Top Time B31 is more than just a style revival—it's a technical statement. At 38mm, this three-hand variant introduces Breitling’s first-ever in-house three-hand movement, the Manufacture Caliber B31. It’s slim at 4.8mm, has a 78-hour power reserve, and features a free-sprung balance wheel and skeletonised rotor finished with Geneva stripes and perlage.
Offered in three configurations—sky blue with a white dial, white on blue, and black on green—each version has a cushion-style case and retains the racing dial design language of vintage Top Times. The dial layout is minimalist yet detailed, with a date window at 6 o’clock magnified by a discreet cyclops lens. Koenig addressed it directly: "We’re all getting older. Without the magnifier, it would’ve been a chore."
Wearability was clearly a top priority. The double-curved glass-box sapphire, short tapered lugs, and choice of perforated leather strap or asymmetrical three-link bracelet make this a solid daily-wear GADA (go-anywhere, do-anything) watch.
The real stars of the show, though, were the new Top Time Racing editions. Reviving the cushion case from late-60s models, these 38mm chronographs feel like a love letter to vintage motorsport.
There are two versions: a black dial with white squircle subdials and beige tachymeter, and a green dial with white accents on a matching green racing strap. The mushroom pushers return for smoother tactile control, and the retro dashboard-inspired elliptical motif on the dial ties back to the original dashboard dial Top Times—a callback Koenig describes as "one of the boldest designs of the era."
Inside is the workhorse: Breitling’s Caliber B01, a COSC-certified chronograph with a 70-hour reserve. "We kept it tight at 38mm," said Kern. "It wears beautifully, just melts on the wrist."
The black-and-white variant feels dressier, almost Carrera-esque, while the green version leans into rally nostalgia. Limited to 750 pieces each, both carry the engraved "One of 750" caseback.
Top Time Martini Racing: Livery Meets Legacy
Martini Racing doesn’t need an introduction. The red and blue livery is synonymous with speed, from the Lancia Delta Integrale to Porsche’s Group 5 monsters. Now, it graces a Breitling. This limited-edition Top Time Martini Racing captures that iconic aesthetic with a white dial punctuated by blue subdials and racing stripes straight across the centre.
The 38mm cushion case, dashboard layout, and mushroom pushers are all present, but it's the strap that seals the deal: a perforated deep blue leather reminiscent of vintage driving gloves. "This isn’t just a collab," Koenig noted. "It’s a return to form—Top Time was always about capturing the spirit of speed." It’s powered by the same B01 movement and also limited to 750 pieces, with Martini Racing branding engraved on the caseback.
Top Time B01 Fausto Coppi & Gino Bartali: From Rivals to Legends
Finally, Breitling shifted gears into cycling history. The new 41mm Top Time tributes to Italian greats Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali are deeply romantic timepieces, drawing inspiration from a postwar era where grit, rivalry, and respect defined sportsmanship. Coppi’s edition features a white dial with turquoise subdials, orange lightning seconds hand, and the label "Il Campionissimo" on the tachymeter—all nods to his bike colours and nickname. Bartali’s edition wears a regal blue dial with yellow accents and "L’Intramontabile" printed on its tachymeter, the name he earned for his longevity in the sport.
Both models share the 41mm steel case, Breitling Caliber B01 inside, and the unique brushstroke-textured subdials representing the two men riding side by side. Their signatures are inscribed at six o’clock, and each watch comes with either a racing-style leather strap or a Milanese mesh bracelet. "This was an era when a rivalry could unite a country," said Koenig. "These watches honour that."
