31

Breitling has released its latest Top Time collection and with it, a new in-house movement in the form of the Calibre B31

Before we get into the new watches, for those who are not up with their Breitling history, then let’s take a step back and look at just how the Breitling Top Time came to be, given it is one of the more niche, or cult collections in the brand’s stable. The Breitling Top Time burst onto the scene in the 1960s as a bold, youthful alternative to the brand’s more aviation-focused chronographs. Designed for a new generation of style-conscious adventurers, it stood out with striking dial layouts, often featuring contrasting sub-dials that gave it an unmistakable sporty edge that was inspired by and closely associated with all forms of motorsport.

It quickly found its way onto the wrists of racers, thrill-seekers, and even Hollywood icons—most notably, James Bond in Thunderball (1965), where a specially modified Top Time doubled as a Geiger counter. This moment cemented its reputation as a watch built for action, adventure, and an effortless sense of cool.

Over the decades, the Top Time has evolved while staying true to its original spirit. Modern reissues pay tribute to its motorsport heritage, with collaborations like the Shelby Cobra, Chevrolet Corvette, and Ford Mustang editions capturing the essence of classic motoring. These contemporary models blend nostalgia with modern mechanics, proving that the Top Time remains as relevant today as it was in the ‘60s, and with its DNA still squarely rooted in motorsports, continues to be a symbol of style, performance, and timeless adventure. Today, Breitling has taken the next step with the new Top Time B31 collection.

Initial thoughts

It’s great to see that Breitling has made another step forward in their in-house movement capabilities and the new Top Time collection seems to be a pretty solid start. The new collection has been designed as an easy-wearing, everyday sports watch with its classic lines and 38mm sizing. Added to this, the clean time-only dials with a date window makes these highly versatile.

The colour ways that Breitling has chosen will also hit the mark for most people. The dark green isn’t too overt, so it can be worn both day and night fairly easily. The white dial is super crisp and pops, especially in the sun, whereas the blue dial version, which has a more royal blue look to it, comes to life in the sun, but in lower lighting, it can blend in quite nicely with whatever you’d be wearing.

The Design

Breitling has opted to give people a choice of either the three-link bracelet with sliding micro-adjust on the clasp or various choices of leather straps that complement the three colours on offer. I’ve spent most of my time with the green dial variant for several reasons. One of which is this green is a new style of green for Breitling.

I like the way Breitling has designed the dial – it is vertically brushed so when the light hits the dial at the right angles, you can see the brushing coming out, with the green having an almost dark olive colouration to it when in full light. I feel this gives you something a little different compared to the standard black, blue or white dials that are commonly found on watches these days. While green is becoming a much more popular colour, it is not an easy colour to get right. The orange second hand was a great move I feel as it contrasts with the green, in fact, it does so on all three of the different colour variations.

The blue dial has the same vertical brushing as the green. In a certain light like in the sun, it really comes to life, and the blue that Breitling has used, as mentioned in my opening, is more of a deeper royal blue. This means that in the light, it pops, but inside or in lower light is tends to be more of a deep navy blue.

The white dial in my opinion is the freshest looking as it has a sky blue outer-track which really compliments the crisp white dial and the pop of orange for the second hand. It is also the only watch where the Breitling “B” logo on the dial is done in rose gold, so it adds a little bit of something extra to the look of the watch.

The cases themselves have a very classic feel to them, with lugs designed to look like they are welded, similar to those pocket watch-style pieces from the mid-1900s. However, these are part of the casing and a forged and cut in a specific way to create this effect.

Breitling has given the new Top Time B31 collection beautiful domed crystals, which serve two purposes in my mind. The first is it adds to that vintage feel of the watches – making it look like those old Hesalite or Perspex glass domes of the 50s and 60s. Secondly, as the doomed Crystal is quite pronounced, it means Breitling can slim the case thickness down as the space it needs between the dial and the crystal is accommodated by the domed crystal itself. This is one way watch bands in general can play with the design to alter the size appearance of a watch. On that note, I will say the inclusion of the loupe on the crystal to magnify the date was maybe not needed. I feel Breitling could have kept the crystal clean and had a normal date display window to counter-balance the 9 o’clock marker on the other side. It’s a minor gripe though.

The leather straps have been designed to complement the dial colour with dark green and blue for their respective watches, and on the white dial variant, Breitling has chosen a tan leather strap. To me, this gives this piece a bit more of a funky, vintage vibe, reminiscent again of those Top Time models from the 60s. Breitling has even gone one step further by styling these straps to have a racing-strap vibe, with partly perforated holes towards the top of the strap akin to those vintage racing straps from the 60s.

How It Wears.

So I have been privileged to have had the entire collection at my disposal over the last week or two which has given me a chance to play around with and get to know each of the three different colour ways. I’ve also had the steel bracelet variant, so I’ve been able to compare the look of the leather strap versus the steel bracelet and how these look and feel on the wrist.

Initially, when I saw these pieces, I thought I would spend the majority of my time wearing them on the leather strap. To me, this is what gives these Top Time B31 pieces a more complete look, or rather the vibe reminiscent of their predecessors of the 1960s. However, I will say that the bracelet on the Top Time B31 was fairly comfortable to wear thanks to the design and the addition of the sliding micro-adjust on the clasp. It meant I could get a perfect fit, and if you have read any of my hands-on review articles in recent times, you will know how much I value a clasp and bracelet that can be adjusted on the fly to accommodate my fluctuating wrist size!

Now Breitling has had a micro-adjust clap for a long time now, I had one on my old Super Avenger from 2011. The difference however was back then, it was only an option on the rubber strap and it was also fairly big and chunky. These new clasps Breitling has developed are much smaller and streamlined, so they feel as if they are better suited to both the bracelet and the watches themselves.

On the leather strap, these pieces do look fantastic, and for anyone who wants a smaller and more vintage-styled piece, these will look the part completely. For those who want a slightly more modern-looking piece on the wrist, the bracelet will give you this, thanks to the polished inner link, the brushed outer links and Breitling’s diagonal link style that they are now famous for. If you see this on someone’s wrist from afar, you know it’s a Breitling.

I don’t normally gravitate towards pieces under about 40mm as to my eyes, they look just that little bit too small – I like to feel I’m wearing something a bit bigger and more solid on my 17.5cm wrist. However, that is not to say I am against anything under 40mm, but for me, 40mm to 41 mm seems to be the sweet spot. As I am getting older, and I would like to think wiser and more refined, (can you hear the hint of sarcasm in my voice?) I am open to pieces being smaller as the average watch size in my collection has shrunk considerably over the last 10 years. Because of this fact, a 38mm vintage-styled classic piece, like the new Top Time B31 models, I could see myself wearing for the right occasion and outfit.

Like with all of the straps when they are brand new, for the most part, are a little stiff, but also from my experience with Breitling leather straps having owned several, I know these take a few weeks to break in. On the flipside, they are also super durable and I have had none wear out yet, so this says something about their construction. If you can get over the initial break-in period whilst wearing the piece, then these will become quite an easy-wearing and comfortable watch on the leather strap. If you are not the type of person who opts for leather, then as mentioned, the steel bracelet may be the option for you.

Style-wise, as I touched on before, these do have that retro feel, which is on trend these days. Many brands are looking back to their vintage pieces and doing either vintage-inspired or vintage revival collections as the watch collector community is into these. Because of this, I feel the Top Time B31 is a watch that will tick quite a few boxes for those who are like-minded.

Putting the vintage style aside for a moment, and looking at these purely as a sports watch, you can pretty much wear these anywhere. Given these are 100m water resistant, you have a watch that when on the steel bracelet or potentially a rubber strap, you can then truly wear them in most places for most occasions. The leather would need to be swapped out if you’re planning a tropical holiday just FYI.

On that point, I would say that the green or the blue dial versions are probably the most versatile to pair with different outfits and occasions, whereas the white dial with the baby blue outer track has a more sporty and fresh look, so it would be better suited for more casual wear in my opinion, and paired with a baby blue strap or the steel bracelet, a great summer watch.

The Movement.

The new B31 movement from Breitling is what this new collection is really all about. Breitling is a brand that is looking to make a vast majority of their movements in-house by 2029. Their target for this is to have around 85% of all production of movements in-house. After the announcement of the B19 perpetual calendar last year for Breitling‘s 140th birthday and now with these new B31 time and date movements, Breitling is now producing around 65% of movements in-house, which is a great feat considering it takes a massive amount of resources, money, expertise, and skills to scale up your movement capabilities over time. It also means that Breitling can further break away from their supplier partner in Tudor/Kenissi, who has previously supplied the movement for the time and date models. While there was absolutely nothing wrong with these movements, it shows that Breitling under George Kern is putting an emphasis on being more vertically integrated than they are.

As these are new movements for Breitling, they wanted to make sure these are on full display via the sapphire crystal case back and the movement finishing is what you would expect on a watch around these price points. Breitling has decorated the base plate with perlage, and on the bridges, they have horizontal Geneva Stripes, and within each of these, they are brushed on an angle which gives them an almost iridescent effect as you move the watch around in the light. They also have the Breitling “B” stamped onto the main part of the bridge, just below the bridge that holds the free-sprung balance wheel in place. So overall, not a bad-looking movement for the the new Top Time B31. One interesting point to note, the B31 also undergoes testing equivalent to 16 years of use: 100,000 crown winds, 3,456,000 weight turns, and 60,000 shocks at 500 G, among other extreme challenges. So it’s built tough you could say.

Operating the movements through the crown, unlike some models that I have commented on before, the crown stem is quite tight with very little play when changing the time. In real-world terms, this means that setting an accurate reference time is just a little bit easier when making small adjustments. The movement has hacking seconds also, which means setting the watch to a reference time is a much easier process than those pieces that don’t have this functionality.

I would like to have seen a screw-in crown on these given they are sports watches with 100 m water resistance, and from a price perspective, are going to head with the likes of Omega and Rolex, both of which have screw-down crowns. This is a minor issue though, as I have pointed out many times in the past, just don’t try and change the time whilst you are swimming in the pool!

I will mention one thing here however with regards to the movement. While this has been in development for around four years by Breitling, they are, for now, getting a little assistance from movement maker AMT to assist in the production of the movement by way of a dedicated line at AMT in La Choux-de-Fonds. This is not a new thing as many brands will set up production or assembly at higher-end movement specialists to assemble the movements while their own production capabilities are expanded. Think of it as hiring an external space to complete your work while your own place is being renovated or under expansion.

Final Thoughts

As I delve further and further into the many rabbit holes that the watch world has, I find myself taking a bit of a backstep from my personal preferences on an everyday basis, and really looking at each individual piece on its own merits. I feel this comes from countless hours of looking at lots and lots of different watches, researching them, and also talking in depth about them with respective brands. When it comes to Breitling, I’ll be the first to admit, I do have a bit of a soft spot for the brand. Breitling was one of the very first brands I, as a watch lover in my younger years, fell in love with, and back then it was because they were big and bold, and I loved the look of a large watch. As my tastes have changed substantially, however thankfully, so has Breitling.

Under the stewardship of Georges Kern, the brand is now in a bit of a renaissance. They are slimming down many of their models and collections, and along with this, they are looking back to their past and some of their most iconic pieces to see how they can draw inspiration aesthetically from these, thus keeping up with the trend of today and the added benefit of making watches that have an air of timelessness about them. For me as both an enthusiast and a journalist, these things seem to tick a lot of boxes for me.

Now, personal preference aside, as with all things, what you like is totally subjective based on you, I can say hand on heart that Breitling is moving in a very good direction, and I feel from talking to many different people, they are sensing this as well. Looking at the new Top Time collection, it is another example of Breitling going back to its roots and seeing how it can bring to life some of these vintage-styled pieces that were a hit with collectors, not to mention subculture groups like the car and motorbike enthusiasts of the 60s, which is where the top time collections originally came from.

Does the new Top Time B31 scream motor culture? On the bracelet, I would say not as much, but on the leather straps, I would say yes – these are more reminiscent of those vintage pieces and what you would see strapped to the wrist of someone who is into their cars and motorcycles. But what these pieces also do is give buyers another option of going with something that is simple and classic. It puts these Top Time pieces head to head with all those other brands out there that have those smaller classic cases and are designed for those people who want a watch that will stand the test of time and wear fairly easily.

Case-in-point: I was talking with my brother recently who lives in the US and he is after a piece that is similar to these. He likes something that isn’t too big, has a clean dial, easy to wear and nothing too flashy, as his job dictates this for the most part. Now, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to tell him about this while he was shopping for something over the last couple of weeks, but now these have been released, the Top Time B31 collection will be on his radar. Now I will assume that there are many people like him out there, which is why I would say Breitling has moved in this direction for this new collection.

Price-wise, these are on the slightly higher end for a time-only sports watch sitting at just under and just over A$9,000, depending on whether you have it on leather or the bracelet. Now price, like anything, is subjective depending on what areas you place emphasis and value on within a watch itself. It also very much depends on your means and budget. But, when I look at other competitors in the market that I feel these directly compete with, then the likes of an Omega Aqua Terra or a Rolex Date Just are probably the most comparable options in terms of functionality & style. These pieces are sitting at A$10,975 for the 38mm Aqua Terra on the bracelet, and the 41mm Date Just with the basic Oyster bracelet and domed bezel is A$13,350.

References:

• Blue Models: AB3113A71C1X1 – Leather, AB3113A71C1A1 – Steel
• Green Models: AB3113171L1X1 – Leather, AB3113171L1A1 – Steel
• White Models: AB3113281A1X1 – Leather, AB3113281A1A1 – Steel

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 38mm x 45.8mm lug-to-lug x 10.3mm thick
• Case Material: Brushed and polished stainless steel
• Dial: vertically brushed green with a black minutes track, vertically brushed blue with a white minutes track, and white with a sky-blue minutes track. Super-LumiNova® hour markers, hour and minute hands
• Movement: Breitling Manufacture Caliber B31 self-winding mechanical, bidirectional with ball bearing abd beating at 4Hz / 28,800 VpH and COSC-certified
• Power Reserve:  78 hours
• Water Resistance: 100m (10 bar)
• Crystal: Domed Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on the inner side
• Strap/Bracelet: Blue, green and beige racing-themed calfskin leather strap with pin buckle (20/18mm) or stainless-steel bracelet with folding clasp.

Australian Recommended Retail Price: A$8,590 on Steel, A$8,190 on Leather

Availability: Available now via Breitling boutiques, retailers or online at Breitling.com

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