Breitling Flying B Chronograph

By Michael S. Marsh

When Bentley Motors and Breitling watches joined forces a few years back, it seemed a perfect match. Bentley is recognized as one of the most distinguished marques in the automotive world, known for sleek and stylish cars that balance precision mechanics with elegant design. Breitling possesses similar virtues, only its forte is world-class watches. It should be no surprise, then, that the synergy has created a growing collection of Breitling for Bentley luxury watches, the latest of which is the Flying B Chronograph, with its redesigned face and the addition of a stopwatch function.

A nod to the British carmaker's "Winged B" emblem, the Flying B Chronograph maintains the signature character of earlier releases in the collection, including the original Flying B. Namely that, like a Bentley Flying Spur or Continental GT, which are viewed as not simply cars, but works of art, the timepieces in the collection are not simply watches, but instruments of the highest degree, built by master craftsmen with the utmost attention to detail.

The other important effect that the Flying B Chrono-graph shares is the positive and powerful image it creates. When you're behind the wheel of a Bentley, the road seems to open up before you, other drivers notice you, and a cool and confident swagger develops. When you strap the Flying B Chronograph onto your wrist, people are going to notice. Like the Flying B, the chronograph's rectangular design was created to focus attention on its angles and curves.

Where the Flying B Chronograph differs from its predecessor is that the dial has been completely redesigned. The original Flying B featured a jumping hour mechanism, which replaced the hour hand with a window at 12 o'clock to tell the hour. The Chronograph returns to traditional hour, minute and second hands, while adding a date window display. The automatic chronograph movement brings with it square sub-dials for reading the stopwatch, which is operated by the push button located on the side of the case.

The Flying B Chronograph is available in steel ($12,570) and 18-karat rose ($23,675) or white gold ($30,625).

Visit www.breitlingforbentley.com.

If you are interested in purchasing reprints of a recent article, please contact the Reprint Department at reprints@mshanken.com.
(Minimum quantity: 500 copies)