A gorgeous new Breitling Premier Bentley Mulliner Limited Edition was just released to celebrate the partnership between the Swiss watchmaker and British carmaker. The new timepiece shares the inspiring values of Bentley’s design DNA as showcased in the pinnacle of luxury grand touring, the Bentley Continental GT Mulliner Convertible.
The limited edition timepiece celebrates 17 years of collaboration—the longest-ever partnership between a watch brand and an automobile manufacturer—and focuses attention on Bentley’s Mulliner bespoke department which, since 1959, has crafted the world’s leading luxury car maker’s most unique tailor-made models.
A Long Standing Partnership
Bentley’s partnership with Breitling can be traced back to 2002, when the iconic automotive brand was designing its legendary Continental GT. Bentley commissioned Breitling to create an onboard clock that would reflect the unparalleled luxury, peerless quality, and extraordinary performance of the new grand tourer, which was debuted in 2003.
“The links between the new Breitling Premier Bentley Mulliner Limited Edition watch and Bentley’s Continental GT Mulliner Convertible can be seen in the exquisite engraving detail of the watch and the design features that reference the Breitling clock in the GT’s dashboard,” shares Adrian Hallmark, Bentley Chairman and CEO.
Georges Kern, Breitling’s CEO, says that the new chronograph underscores one of his brand’s most important partnerships: “The Premier Bentley Centenary Edition that we launched a year ago was warmly received, both by Bentley and Breitling fans. The Breitling Premier Bentley Mulliner Limited Edition, with its clear links between Bentley’s and our DNA, is a logical next step in our shared story and it is also a testimony to Bentley Mulliner, whose name is synonymous with heritage, craftsmanship and outstanding performance.”
The Bentley Continental GT Mulliner Convertible
The Continental GT Mulliner Convertible builds on the success of two other Bentley special models in the Centenary year of 2019, GT Number 9 and the GT Convertible Number 1 Limited Editions. A perfect display of Bentley Mulliner product craftsmanship, the Continental GT Mulliner Convertible is the only Continental GT to have a Breitling Edition Clock in the car. Its silver face mirrors that of the Breitling Premier Bentley Mulliner Limited Edition watch. Blue, red and white accents highlight the importance of British design.
The Breitling Premier Bentley Mulliner Limited Edition
With only 1,000 pieces produced, the Breitling Premier Bentley Mulliner Limited Edition features a 42-mm stainless steel case presented on a blue alligator leather strap echoes the Imperial Blue leather interior and its silver dial recalls the dashboard clock of the Bentley Milliner. The watch boasts blue subdials—a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock and a small seconds subdial at 9 o’clock—an indication of the Breitling Manufacturer Caliber 01, with an impressive power reserve of approximately 70 hours.
The dial also features a white tachymeter scale on a blue inner bezel around the dial, with a red tachymeter inscription. The red second hand and centered 60-minute scale mirror the red stitching found throughout the interior cabin of the Bentley Continental GT Mulliner Convertible.
As another nod to the design DNA between the GT Mulliner’s dashboard clock and the timepiece, complementary sets of Arabic numerals can be found. The dashboard clock features the numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9, while the watch has them at 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11.
On the left side of the case is a plate with an engraved “Bentley” inscription, whose design is based on the engine spin dashboard found in historic Bentleys. Around the watch’s transparent sapphire caseback is an inscription saying “MULLINER EDITION–BREITLING–ONE OF 1000”. The Breitling Premier Bentley Mulliner Limited Edition is a COSC-certified chronometer.
