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Breitling Top Time B01 Classic Cars Chevrolet Corvette 41mm Mens Watch
Ref. AB01761A1K1X1
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Stepping up in Breitling's range
The Top Time collection launched in the 1960s as Breitling's answer to the decade's appetite for sport and spectacle, and the current Classic Cars series continues that logic by pairing each edition with a specific vehicle rather than a vague automotive mood. This one is drawn from the second-generation Corvette Sting Ray — the shape that turned the model from a curiosity into a cultural fixture — and the collaboration goes further than a badge on the dial. The red comes directly from the car's colour identity, the subdials are rendered in rounded-square forms that read like vintage dashboard instruments, and the perforated calfskin strap is an explicit reference to the driving gloves of the period. At 41mm with a 13.3mm profile, it sits flatter on the wrist than most vertical-clutch automatic chronographs manage, and that matters here: the watch is meant to be worn driving, and anything that catches a cuff or fights a jacket sleeve undermines the premise. The Calibre 01 inside is COSC-certified and built around a column wheel and vertical clutch — the vertical clutch being what keeps the seconds hand still at the moment you start the chronograph, rather than giving the slight jump a lateral clutch produces. Seventy hours of reserve means a weekend off the wrist costs nothing when Monday comes.
- Reference
- AB01761A1K1X1
- Brand
- Breitling
- Collection
- Top Time
- Case size
- 41mm
- Case thickness
- 13.3mm
- Lug width
- 20mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Red
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- Breitling Manufacture Caliber 01
- Functions
- Chronograph, Tachymeter
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Black
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Ex-display
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 50.36mm
- Power reserve
- 70 hours
Learn more about Breitling
Léon Breitling founded a workshop in Saint-Imier in 1884 specialising in chronographs and precision counters for industrial, scientific, and sporting use — deliberately narrow ground at a time when most makers built everything.
The family's technical contribution is the chronograph as we use it. Gaston Breitling introduced a wrist chronograph with a dedicated pusher separate from the crown in 1915, unpicking the start-stop-reset sequence from the winding mechanism. Willy Breitling added the second pusher in 1934, separating reset from stop and completing the two-pusher layout every chronograph has used since.
Aviation followed naturally. The Chronomat arrived in 1942 with a rotating slide rule bezel, and the Navitimer in 1952 refined the idea into a circular flight computer capable of fuel burn, climb rate, and unit conversion. It became the semi-official watch of pilots and remains the brand's signature.
Breitling was among the consortium — with Heuer, Hamilton, and Dubois Dépraz — racing Zenith and Seiko to the first automatic chronograph in 1969.
The company faltered badly in the quartz crisis and stopped trading in 1979. Ernest Schneider bought the name and rebuilt it around aviation and oversized cases. A change of ownership in 2017 brought Georges Kern and a deliberate softening toward slimmer, more archival designs.
- 1884
- Léon Breitling opens his chronograph workshop.
- 1915
- The first chronograph pusher independent of the crown.
- 1934
- The two-pusher chronograph layout is completed.
- 1952
- The Navitimer introduces the aviation slide rule.
- 1979
- The original company closes; Ernest Schneider revives the name.
Also in 5 collections
This watch appears in Stainless Steel Watches (2,996), Automatic Watches (1,368), Chronograph Watches (1,234), Leather Strap Watches (958) and Pre-Owned, Ex-Display & Vintage Watches (154).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 70-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Worth knowing
- Leather does not suit regular contact with water
Compare alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | AB01761A1K1X1 | M28603-0006 | L38214932 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,165 | £3,750 | £4,250 |
| Case size | 41mm | 41mm | 42mm |
| Water resistance | 100m | 100m | 100m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Fabric strap |
| Power reserve | 70 hours | 38 hours | 68 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched | Closely matched |
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Yes. At 100m it is rated for swimming and snorkelling, though not for diving.
Will the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Does it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
How long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 70 hours fully wound — enough to sit off the wrist over a weekend and still be running.
What size strap does it take?
20mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 50.36mm, which suits wrists from roughly 17.5cm (7 inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Goldsmiths at £4,165, ex-display. No UK retailer we track lists this reference new.
Is this available new?
Not from the UK retailers we track. This reference is listed as ex-display only, at £4,165 from Goldsmiths. Ex-display watches are unworn shop stock rather than second-hand — sold below the recommended retail price, and with the manufacturer’s guarantee intact.
Who are Goldsmiths?
Goldsmiths has been selling watches in Britain since 1778 and is part of the Watches of Switzerland Group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. They are an authorised dealer, so a watch comes with the manufacturer’s own warranty.
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