Breitling Upgrades the Top Time B01 Triumph and Deus

The Top Time collection seems to be the favourite of every Breitling branding opportunity. Not only were there the recent classic car pieces but both legendary British motorbike maker Triumph and ultra-cool surfer brand Deus Ex Machina have had their own versions. Now those last two partnerships are getting a mechanical upgrade in the form of the Top Time B01 Deus and the Top Time B01 Triumph.

Top Time B01 Deus

As opposed to the beachy light blue of their last collaboration, the Top Time B01 Deus is a little more grounded, a little more serious. Its reverse panda, white subdial on black dial colourway is everything you want from a chronograph, particularly with the Top Time’s signature squared counters. At 41mm of stainless steel and 13.3mm thick, it’s also relatively svelte for a chronograph, with a still readable tachymeter scale on an outer white ring, highlighted with bright red to match the chronograph seconds hand.

The main difference here though isn’t aesthetic; it’s mechanical. That’s because the Top Time B01 Deus is equipped with, surprise surprise, Breitling’s B01 manufacture movement. It was a movement we last saw in the Top Time Classic Car series that now makes an overdue lateral move here. It’s a solid column-wheel chronograph movement with a 70-hour power reserve, a serious departure from the non-manufacture calibre these collaborations previously used.

That of course comes with a bit of a price increase. Where the last light blue Top Time Deus came in at £4,650, the new version will set you back £6,250 on the strap, £6,600 on a bracelet. If you just liked the Deus style, that might be a bit much of a leap, but if you’re a purist it makes perfect sense for the movement.

Breitling Top Time B01 Triumph

In keeping with the previous Top Time Triumph editions, the new B01 version offers the cool, ice blue dial lifted from a Triumph Thunderbird 6T from 1951. The only real difference in look here is that the lighter blue sections have been moved to the 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, while the darker have been moved to 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock. It’s a subtle change, but a change nonetheless.

Otherwise, it has the same Zorro dial layout with two squared bi-compax chronograph subdials. The tachymeter remains written on a black ring, slightly harder to read than the Deus version but not hard, given it shares the same 41mm sizing.

This being the Top Time B01 Triumph, it’s once again equipped with the high-end, in-house, column-wheel chronograph movement. Don’t worry, I won’t go over it again. Otherwise, the Top Time B01 Triumph is available on a perforated leather strap or a mesh bracelet, the same two options as the Top Time B01 Deus.

While I loved this one when it came out, this doesn’t feel different enough from a collaborative partnership for me. The new movement is once again a welcome upgrade, but a difference that amounts to more than turning the dial 90 degrees would be cool, too. I’m sure there are some other funky coloured vintage Triumph bikes out there somewhere. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice watch, but you’re paying an extra £1,750 on strap and £2,100 on bracelet for nothing more than a mechanical upgrade. At least it’s a good one.