It’s a seemingly match made in heaven. Two iconic brands, both with one eye on their rich and established heritage, but the other on the future of design and desire for the modern luxury world. Bringing Breitling and Aston Martin together feels like a homecoming party, with the DB5 serving as the perfect catalyst for inspiration and celebration, leading to the launch of Breitling’s new Top Time B01 Chronograph 41. That launch was headed up with a film produced with the involvement of Classic Driver's in-house creative agency, CD Works.
The video follows YouTuber and confessed speed obsessive Mr JWW as he gets properly acquainted with the DB5 and the trio of watches built in its honour. It's a story that begins, fittingly, in 1965, the year Sean Connery slid behind the wheel of a silver birch Aston Martin DB5 in Thunderball, a modified Breitling Top Time strapped to his wrist. Six decades on, that pairing has been reborn in three beautifully considered limited editions, each drawing on the DB5's dashboard details, wood-rimmed steering wheel and hand-finished leather.
Classic Driver's CEO, JP Rathgen, appears alongside Mr JWW and Aston Martin's Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman, lending the film a layer of genuine industry knowledge that's hard to fake, because here, it isn't. What makes it work is that neither hero gets short-changed. The DB5 is given all the reverence it deserves, while the watches get room to shine on their own terms, including the cushion-shaped case, the squircle subdials, the wooden inlay lifted straight from the steering wheel it references. Balancing two icons in the same frame is no easy task, but the film gives the DB5 the reverence it deserves, while allowing the watches to establish an identity of their own.
If you haven't watched it yet, put the kettle on and settle in for a chance to unwind, just for a while. It's the kind of film that reminds you exactly why loving watches also leads to a love of cars, and vice versa.
