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The Breitling Top Time Martini Racing is a stylish tribute to the brand’s motorsport heritage, blending retro 1960s design with the iconic flair of Martini Racing, and here is how it performs in the modern-day watch world…

Two Brands, One Shared Passion

Normally when watch brands embark on collaborations with companies or brands outside the watch world, there is normally a pre-existing association in place. Usually through a sponsorship of an event, or partnership with a movie, that kind of thing. However, with the new Breitling Top Time Martini Racing, this is not quite the case. What it is, however, is a partnership based on a shared passion – Motorsport.

Interestingly, neither Breitling nor Martini Racing are motoring brands either. Before you say, “But Martini Racing is one of the most iconic motorsports brands out there!” to which you are right, I’ll preface that statement. Martini Racing is part of Martini & Rossi, the alcohol brand based in Turin. Back in 1958, the business started a sponsorship program for race cars, originally known as Martini International Club founded by Count Metello Rossi di Montelera of Martini & Rossi.

Over the years, Martini International Club became Martini Racing, and so successful is the branding, as has been the success of the motorsport teams across many different motoring disciplines (Le Mans, Formula 1, Rally Racing etc), the association with the Vermouth brand has almost been lost, instead replaced by the iconic light blue, dark blue and red stripes on silver or white cars that are now so iconic to the team. I still remember the Martini Racing Lancia’s that dominated the World Rally Championships throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s. So it stands to reason that Breitling, a brand that back in the 1960s developed timepieces for motoring enthusiasts, watches that exemplified the carefree lifestyle and attitude back then, would partner with a team synonymous with motorsport.

First impressions 

Seeing the Breitling Top Time Martini Racing for the first time my initial impressions are that it is a nice-looking watch. Ok, that may be a little too simplistic, so what do I mean by that? It has some great subtle vintage cues and it really conveys the association that Breitling has with Martini Racing thanks to the clever use of the motorsport’s brand colours on the dial. The cushion case gives it more of a sportier look, and the fact that the top of the case is grooved just amplifies this. The large domed crystal again gives it a unique look, especially on the wrist however, the curvature of the crystal does somewhat distort the outer tachymeter scale a little.

Given this is a 38 mm case, a size I rarely wear as it appears too small (at least to my eyes), I’m keen to see how this may change over the course of a week. But, before I make my judgement on this, as I’m sure after wearing it for a while I’ll get accustomed to the size, I’ll say that those who have slightly smaller wrists will most probably love it. The other thing that I noticed is other than the colours on the dial, there is no Martin Racing logos on the watch, anywhere. So this just helps to keep the branded partnership more subtle, a potential nod to how Martini Racing was first set up…

The Design

I won’t go into too much detail on the design as I have already covered that when we wrote about the release of the new Top Time Racing Chronographs, however, in person, I can say I quite like the way Breitling has created the style of this watch, and in turn, the vintage aesthetics of the entire piece. When you look at it close up, you can see a lot of the details that Breitling has put into the watch such as the lugs which look like they are welded, taking design cues from vintage-style pocket watches and wristwatches. The cushion case, while not unique to Breitling, does give this watch an additional element that I quite like. Looking at the flared edges of the cushion case that have the bevelling on top of each corner, I feel this is reminiscent of a car’s front grill and it amplifies the association with motorsport and Martini Racing even more.

The case thickness has been kept to a minimum as well and the way Breitling has designed the case, whilst it’s not overly thin when you’ve taken into account the case back and the domed crystal, once you put it on you don’t notice it thanks to the clever design – with a screwed down case back that is inset, the main case with the rounded edges and the domed bezel leading into the domed sapphire all assist in the thinner visual appearance of the watch. More on that later when I talk about my wearing experience.

Coming back to the dial, Breitling has designed it to stand out. The middle part of the dial is in Breitling’s “Surfboard” shape, which to me could also double as the dashboard of a car with the square circles, or “Squircles” on each side. This is something that Breitling has done well with the Top Time Racing collection. It really gives these watches a feel of those old-school race cars, and when you look at the watch, it reminds you of looking at the dash with the speedo and the rev counter on the left and the right. In the case of the watch, the left sub-dial at 9 o’clock is the small seconds and on the right at 3 o’clock you have the 30-minute chronograph counter.

The colours of the dial also work incredibly well with this piece and yes, they are the colours of the Martini Racing team with the dark blue, light blue, and red accents. But even if you put that aside for a second, the design from a pure watch sense still works, to the point that if you are unfamiliar with Martini Racing, it is still a nice-looking colour scheme, especially for a racing-themed watch. One thing I did notice, however, which is more an issue when on the wrist, is the domed crystal does distort the outer track of the dial a little when not looking at it straight on. But, as you will probably not use the Units Per Hour Scale to measure your speed over a certain distance, then it is more or less a moot point.

How It Wears

I mentioned at the start that the Breitling Top Time Martini Racing may feel a little small for my taste. And I think, after spending some time with the watch, I still feel this way, mostly because I very rarely wear any watches that are smaller than 40mm. Now, this is all about personal taste as is everything when we are talking about watches. It is also due to your wrist size as well and what you feel comfortable wearing. Now my wrist is 17.5cm in circumference, so the size range I feel pretty comfortable wearing is from around 40mm up to around 44mm. Any larger and it’s starting to get too large, and if I go much smaller, depending on the design of the watch obviously, I feel it doesn’t have as much wrist presence as I like.

I also feel that the Top Time Martini, Racing possibly wears slightly smaller on the wrist due to the way it is designed. The lugs are small, which is good, and they are inset a little from the edge of the case, so it gives the watch a slightly slimmer appearance, especially across the wrist. On top of this, the strap is also on the smaller side, so you are not getting a lot of bulk with the strap. It also has a minimal taper on the already smaller 18mm width, tapering down to 16mm at the buckle, and on the wrist, it’s not majorly noticeable and aids in the smaller appearance of the watch.

Speaking of the strap, it is the same style as what is found on the new Top Time B31 pieces I reviewed back in March, and also the two other variants that form the Top Time Racing collection. Now the straps are very reminiscent of vintage-style racing gloves that were made from leather and had the perforated holes on the top for breathability. Wearing the watch you do get that vintage inspiration and design cues coming through quite evidently. The leather itself is solid and like most leather straps will take a little bit of time to break in and mould to the wrist as the leather softens slightly. So just expect that on first wearing the watch, it will feel slightly stiff, but again this is nothing unique to any particular brand.

As I mentioned, the watch itself is not super thin, but nor is it super thick. It sits somewhere in that in-between space. When you first look at it, it would appear on the thicker side for a 38mm watch, at 13.07mm thick. But, being a chronograph it’s not as bad as it may first appear. This is where the clever design I spoke about earlier comes into play. Several millimetres of this thickness is in the domed crystal which blends down into the domed bezel that is angled in line with the curvature of the crystal down to the main case. So what your eyes see is really the midsection of the case as the raised case back gets hidden underneath against the wrist. From a visual perspective, if worn snugly on the wrist, the watch appears thinner on, and I would say is perceived to be more like 9mm – 10mm thick.

In terms of style, it is one of those watches that you could wear with a lot of different outfits, however, it is probably not a piece you would wear to a black-tie dinner. In saying that, you could most probably wear with a suit heading to the office or a nice dinner or a function. Much of this has to do with the colourway of the watch – it lends itself to being more versatile thanks to the white and dark blues and can be paired with a blazer or such should you want to wear the piece out at night time.

For me, it probably wears better with that more casual look, or be it a slightly elevated one. The other thing to add as well is the watch is not heavy. This is due to both the size of the watch as well as the leather strap, and according to Breitling weighs a tad under 90 grams, so when you have this piece on your wrist, it won’t bother at all. In fact, while I wore it, I couldn’t perceive it being on all that much if i wasn’t looking at it. Now it’s not as light as a titanium watch obviously, but compared to a steel diver, it is.

All in all, unless you have very small wrists, you’re going to find this a fairly easy-wearing piece. Personally, I would love this to be slightly bigger, but saying that, I wouldn’t want it to be more than 40mm. This is a personal choice for me and if you are not this way inclined, then the 38mm will suit you perfectly well.

The Movement

Inside the Top Time Martini Racing is the Breitling in-house calibre B01. For those who aren’t aware, this was Breitling‘s first in-house movement they developed and debuted at Baselworld in 2009, so it’s been around now for a while, and going strong ever since. This movement was a turning point for Breitling as it signalled a new era for them. Their first Manufacture calibre and on top of this, a chronograph. Given Breitling‘s heritage with chronographs, innovations and patents with these, it made sense that their first in-house movement, the B01 was a chronograph movement. They have of course extended the in-house capabilities over the last two years, or really since last year’s release of the B19 Perpetual Calendar movement and then earlier this year with the release of the in-house B31 time only.

With these pieces, the crown is not screwed down but rather a pull-out crown. Operating it, the crown stem feels quite taught and smooth when going to change the time. It also has hacking seconds, which means setting a reference time is nice and easy. There is a little give in the crown as you find with most watches, but not overly so, nor is it too loose. The mushroom-style vintage chronograph pushers are a nice touch to the look of the watch, but I will say on the model I had, the initial start of the chronograph was a little stiffer than I thought it would be – providing some resistance when starting the chronograph timer. However, stopping and restarting felt as it should.

On this model, Breitling has opted to go with a closed case back. Given there are no etchings or motifs on the actual case back itself, I thought this was a slightly strange choice given the collaboration with Martini Racing. I would have expected to have a sapphire case back to showcase the movement, and with Breitling‘s movements, they are quite nice to look at the way they have designed and finished them. Alternatively, it may have been nice to put a motive of one of the classic Martini Racing cars on the back as part of the limited edition series. Some may not like this or feel this is necessary, but for me, with a closed case back, as you’re not obscuring the movement in any way, I felt that Breitling could have decorated it somewhat. This is in no way a dealbreaker, so don’t misconstrue what I’m saying here, it is more commentary around how I felt this collaboration could’ve come to life on the watch just a little bit more. But again like anything in the watch world, this is a personal choice and you may or may not agree.

Final Thoughts

I quite like the direction Breitling is taking with their releases this year. I have said it before about the brand that under CEO Georges Kern, Breitling is going back to some of its roots, taking inspiration from those pieces of the 50s, 60s and 70s. The brand is really honing in on what the enthusiasts and collectors want but also refining the range and collections for the average person who is just looking for a nice watch to wear. Even though the Top Time may not be Breitling‘s most popular collection, it fits into the overall suite of watches that Breitling has – given, that it is a brand that focuses on different elements of performance, and they tackle the land, sea, and the air. It is fitting they have a collection like the Top Time that talks to the spirit of motoring, the performance and the timing of motorsport that goes with this.

This specific piece in partnership with Martini Racing doubles down on that motoring enthusiast genre. For those who know of Martini Racing, they will also know that they are perhaps one of the most successful teams in motoring history, especially in sports like Rally Racing. But even if you’re not a motor racing fan or you don’t know a lot about Martini Racing, you can still appreciate this piece thanks to the way it is designed, the colour palette, and the lack of branding on the dial. Now this point may contradict my previous point about having some sort of motif on the back of the watch, but for me, keeping the dial true to the watch’s style and DNA without a lot of branding or logos is great. A kind of IYKYK kind of piece.

Reference: AB01772A1G1X1 – Breitling Top Time Martini Racing

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 38mm x 13.07mm thick x 44.1mm lug-to-lug
• Case Material: Stainless steel cushion case with satin-brushed and polished surfaces with bevelled insets on the cushion corners
• Dial: White dial with blue dashboard-styled inner, squircle sub-dials with “squircular” graining and Martini Racing colour accents
• Crystal: Domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment.
• Movement: Breitling in-house Manufacture Calibre B01 Automatic, beating at 28,800 VpH/4Hz.
• Power Reserve: Approx. 70 hours.
• Water Resistance: 100m (10 bar)
• Strap: Blue calfskin leather racing-styled strap with stainless steel pin buckle.

Australian Recommended Retail Price: AUD $10,490

Availability: Limited to 750 models. Available now through Breitling boutiques and authorised retailers, or head over to Breitling.com

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