Breitling Rolls Out New Bentleys


Breitling-for-Bentley-GMT-V8 angleIt’s been a big year for Breitling, which introduced a slew of new products at this year’s Baselworld watch fair in March. The brand’s family of Breitling for Bentley watches, elegant sporting timepieces developed in cooperation with Bentley, the prestigious British automobile marque, was no exception. This year sees the debut of two new models: a more compact version of the Barnato and a new limited edition, the GMT V8.

The Breitling for Bentley Barnato 42 is the newest iteration of the watch created as a tribute to the so-called “Bentley Boys,” the 1920s British motorists who helped establish Bentley’s reputation for high-performance sports cars. It has a 42-mm-diameter stainless steel case that is water-resistant to 100 meters. It features red-rimmed chronograph subdials, a screw-locked crown, and the model’s characteristic knurled bezel, which echoes the look of the control buttons on a Bentley dashboard. The central chronograph seconds hand is also in red. The watch contains Breitling’s automatic Caliber 41B, which has been certified as a chronometer by the Swiss agency COSC. (Breitling is, of course, one of the top producers of chronometers among the Swiss watch brands.) It is a 1/4-second chronograph with a 30-second counter at 9 o’clock, a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock, and small seconds at 3 o’clock. The sapphire crystal is curved and has been glare-proofed on both sides. (Click on watch photos to enlarge the images.)

Breitling for Bentley Barnato 42 angle

Breitling for Bentley Barnato 42 front

The Breitling for Bentley GMT V8, which is limited to 250 pieces, was created as a tribute to Bentley’s recently launched Continental V8 and features a second-time-zone display in addition to a chronograph. This watch also features the characteristic knurled bezel and screw-locked crown, along with asymmetrical chrono pushers; a curved, glareproof sapphire crystal; and a COSC-certified chronometer movement, in this case Breitling Caliber 47B. This automatic movement has 38 jewels and a frequency of 28,800 vph.

The chronograph measures time to the 1/8 second; its 6-hour counter is in a subdial at 6 o’clock and 15-minute counter is at 9 o’clock. The 30-second counter is on a scale on the periphery of the dial, indicated by the red-tipped central hand. Small seconds are on a subdial at 3’clock.

The watch’s most distinctive feature is its metallic red, rotating inner bezel, printed in white with the names of 24 world cities representing 24 time zones. Using the center-mounted pointer and the 24-hour scale around the dial, the wearer can use it to indicate the time in any other time zone in the world.

The large 49-mm diameter stainless-steel case is water-resistant to 100 meters. It comes attached to either a steel “speed” bracelet or a black rubber strap reserved exclusively for this model.

Breitling for Bentley GMT-V8 angle

Breitling for Bentley GMT-V8 front

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