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Breitling Top Time B01 Classic Cars Shelby Cobra 41mm Mens Watch
Ref. AB01763A1C1X1
The Top Time collection launched in the 1960s as Breitling's answer to that decade's appetite for something less formal — chronographs that wore more like sports equipment than dress watches. This Shelby Cobra edition carries that spirit forward through a specific piece of history: the car that Carroll Shelby built by dropping an American V8 into a lightweight British roadster body, winning immediately on track and becoming one of the more coherent expressions of that era's confidence. The dial translates the Cobra's livery directly — the blue, the emblem, the squared sub-dials reading like gauges lifted from its dashboard — without feeling like a replica exercise. The Calibre 01 is built in-house, which at Breitling means COSC-certified accuracy and a 70-hour reserve that absorbs a lost weekend without needing a wind on Monday morning. The perforated brown leather strap is a considered choice: it references the racing heritage without forcing the watch into one context, and the contrast stitching keeps it from reading as plain.
- Reference
- AB01763A1C1X1
- Brand
- Breitling
- Collection
- Top Time
- Case size
- 41mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Fixed
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- 01
- Functions
- Chronograph, Tachymeter
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Condition
- Ex-display
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
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 7 collections
This watch appears in the Breitling Top Time range (6), Back in Stock (4,847), Stainless Steel Watches (3,197), Automatic Watches (1,736), Chronograph Watches (1,234), Leather Strap Watches (1,049) and Blue Dial Watches (876).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
Best of 2 retailers
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Worth knowing
- Leather does not suit regular contact with water
Breitling Top Time B01 Classic alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | AB01763A1C1X1 | M28603-0008 | FURY-BK-SS-R-S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,165 | £3,750 | £4,400 |
| Case size | 41mm | 41mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 100m | 100m | 100m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | — | 38 hours | 65 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.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Goldsmiths and Mappin & Webb list it at £4,165, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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