Has the pandemic changed our tastes? Breitling CEO Georges Kern believes so. âWhat was cool pre-Covid is not cool post-Covid,â he says. âI think in-your-face luxury â with V12, yellow, loud cars â is over.â The new luxury, in his eyes, is much more informal, defined by meaningful experiences, authentic lifestyles and the great outdoors.
While Breitling has never operated at the âflashy carâ end of the watch market, its latest piece is particularly keyed into Kernâs vision of post-pandemic credibility. The Breitling Top Time Deus Limited Edition (1,500 will be made) partners the watchmaker with Australian custom bike specialist Deus Ex Machina, which has a cult following both for the quality of the machines it makes and for the culture it has fostered. Its shops are hybrid spaces where you can buy Deus products, sure, but also enjoy a coffee and listen to music in the company of like-minded others. It might seem a niche brand, but Kern say
Breilting
A squircle is a real shape. Who knew? Different from an elilipse, an ellipsoid, a squround or an asrtoid (not an
asterorid, as in “a small planet” – it’s a mathematical curve), a squircle, as you might have guessed, is the intermediate shape between a square and a circle. It’s the shape of Apple’s apps in iOS. Or Instagram’s logo, where the outline of the camera is. a squircle.
The squircle is a feature of Breitling’s new racing themed sports watch, used for the two central chronograph counters. With its silver dial and yellow and orange details, the Top Time Deus Limited Edition is an idiosyncratic take on its Top Time chronograph, originally from the 1960s and relaunched after 55 years in a spruced-up version last March. That watch entered into pop culture lore when it became the model Q kitted out Sean Connery’s James Bond with in 1965’s