The symbiotic relationship between cars and watches goes back decades, but recent years have shown watchmakers mashing them up more than ever before. Sure, we like the Shinola Canfield Speedway, a retro racing piece, and much of what is happening at motoring-specific brand Autodromo. But what often happens when a brand pairs classic cars and wristwatches is the priority of nostalgia over good design, leaving you with what is essentially a pricey Happy Meal toy.
That’s certainly not the case with Breitling’s new Top Time Classic Cars Capsule Collection, which imbues the spirit of three automotive icons from the ‘60s — the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, Shelby Cobra and Ford Mustang — into a chronograph that we’ve previously championed.
The last time we took notice of the Top Time model was part of a collaboration with Australian brand Deus Ex Machina. And though we respect anyone who isn’t keen on wearing watches with co-branded dials, we think you’ll want to make an exception for these automotive models. The watches, which carry both the Breitling name and the aesthetically dynamic logos like the Mustang’s galloping horse, Corvette flags and Cobra snake, are also paired with complementary dial colors.
But it’s not all about the paint job. These also happen to be COSC-certified automatic chronographs. The Corvette and Mustang models both carry 42mm cases housing the Breitling Caliber 25 movement with three subdials and the logo at the 12 o’clock position. Meanwhile the Cobra watch, slightly smaller at 40mm, features the Breitling Caliber 41 movement with two subdials and the logo at 6 o’clock. All three have tachymeters befitting the automotive inspiration, as well as a power reserve around 42 hours.
And because the three timepieces come in at a very reasonable $5,500, they won’t leave you wondering why you didn’t just buy a car instead.
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