If you’ve been following the renaissance in the luxury watch world since the start of this century, you’ll remember that Breitling was the first dial name to establish a long-term relationship with a luxury car maker when it signed a deal with Bentley in 2002.
True, Girard-Perregaux had already been in a partnership with Ferrari since 1993, but it was the Breitling-Bentley deal that set the ball rolling on the noughties trend for car/watch collaborations. In 2004 alone, Jaeger-LeCoultre signed-up with Aston Martin, Audemars Piguet with Maserati and Parmigiani Fleurier with Bugatti, while the following year saw Panerai team-up with Ferrari in a less-than-successful five-year deal. High-end car marques and luxury watch brands have courted one another ever since, but none has stayed the course for quite as long as the near 20 years of that original Breitling-Bentley partnership, which only came to an end in 2021.
From Bentley to Bond: Two Decades of Automotive Alliances
Which bodes well for the news that Breitling now has a new automotive ally in the form of Aston Martin which, as mentioned, previously enjoyed a relationship with Jaeger-LeCoultre that petered-out in 2016. Since then, James Bond’s favourite car manufacturer has hopped into and out of bed with a number of watch brands that’s comparable to the number of women 007 might squire in the course of a typical movie. After JLC, Aston moved-on (briefly) to Richard Mille, then to TAG Heuer, and most recently, to Girard-Perregaux - most recently, that is, if you don’t count the on-going tie-up with Timex that was announced at the end of last year. That, however, is a licensing deal as opposed to the just-announced new arrangement with Breitling that is a far closer and more meaningful ‘partnership’ described by the brand as ‘global’ and multi-year’.
A Navitimer Returns to the Grid as Breitling Re-enters F1
To launch it, Breitling and Aston Martin have pulled the wraps off the ‘Navitimer B01 Aramco Formula One Team’ chronograph that, according to the watch maker, marks its ‘return to F1’ on the basis that Navitimer watches were worn by Grand Prix drivers including Graham Hill and Jim Clark back in the ‘60s.
The watch joins the increasingly crowded grid of watch maker/F1 team collaborations, which include IWC and Mercedes-AMG Petronas, TAG Heuer and Oracle Red Bull Racing, H. Moser and Alpine , Richard Mille and Ferrari and Tudor and Racing Bulls.
Limited to 1,959 examples to commemorate the year of Aston Martin’s F1 debut with the DBR4/250, the new Navitimer features a titanium case, a carbon fibre dial and a strap based on an F1 driver’s racing harness. Dial details are picked-out in the Aramco team’s livery of Aston Martin ‘Racing Green’ and vivid lime, while the first-time use of the titanium and carbon fibre combination on a Navitimer takes inspiration from F1 car cockpit materials.
A sapphire crystal case back, meanwhile, gives a view onto the Breitling Manufacture Calibre 01 COSC-certified chronometer movement, which is fitted with a PVD-blackened tungsten rotor that has been especially created for the watch and carries the Aston Martin F1 team logo.
Engravings around the perimeter of the case back include ‘One of 1959’ and the mantra ‘Instruments for drivers’.
As part of the deal, the Breitling logo will be clearly visible on the bodywork of both Aston Martin Aramco entries as well as the team’s apparel - starting from February 9 when the all-new AMR26 cars are unveiled to the public.
Speaking of the new partnership, Breitling CEO Georges Kern said the two names were “United by a century-long fascination for speed, precision engineering, and design excellence ” and that the global nature of modern-day F1 means it offers the brand the opportunity to reach new customers.
“The success of a relationship like this comes down to activation,” says Kern.
“Formula One is a global sport, but it’s also a powerful media platform with enormous reach. That visibility is important, but engaging directly with customers and communities will be even more important. “ Additionally, he said, the partnership will enable Breitling to explore new ways of making watches.
“For the new Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Aston Martin Formula One Team, we introduced a lightweight titanium case for the first time, paired with a carbon-fiber dial—also a Navitimer first.
“The textured leather strap draws inspiration from F1 seatbelts, another design element we had never explored. Collaborations like this allow us to expand our material and design vocabulary, while maintaining the precision, performance, and craftsmanship that define Breitling.”
Although the F1 team and the sports car manufacturing sides of Aston Martin are now separate entities, the partnership applies to both aspects of the marque and, according to an Aston spokesperson, a new road-car inspired Breitling will be launched in the third quarter of this year.
Watch this space....
