Watch Wednesday: A Norton You Can Wear On Your Wrist

Here is some cool trivia first:

• Swiss watchmaker Breitling was founded in 1884. Norton came in a bit later in 1898.
• Both brands were named after their owners: Léon Breitling and James Lansdowne Norton.
• Both Breitling and Norton have featured in James Bond films. 
• Both are collector items and quite expensive ones at that. 
• Norton was recently acquired by Indian bikemaker TVS Motors. You can read all about the acquisition here.  

It’s not everyday that two of the most prestigious brands in the world come together to build something truly unique. One prime example is the Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 Norton Edition, a product of the partnership between two companies whose legacies surpass a century - to celebrate their legacies surpassing a century.  

Also read: Watch Wednesday: Hublot MP-05 LaFerrari 

Like both brands, the Breitling Norton watch’s design has an understated classiness about it. Like old money. It has a stainless steel case with a glare-proof sapphire crystal cover. It has a black face with a white ring and white subdials topped off with gold dials and gold numerical lettering. The Norton connection can be seen in two places -- an engraved plate on the side of the case and a motorcycle and Norton logo on the transparent sapphire backplate. In case you were wondering, the timepiece is water-resistant up to 100 metres. The watch strap too is an understated raw brown leather one or an optional stainless steel strap. 

Also read: Watch Wednesday: Tissot T-Race MotoGP Chronograph 

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Under the face is Breitling’s B01 chronograph movement, renowned for its accuracy. It is an automatic self-winding watch with an impressive power reserve of up to 70 hours (industry average for mechanical watches is upto 48 hours). For adjustment, it gets a large crown wheel with two stainless steel buttons that work with a satisfying click. 

The James Bond connect:

As mentioned before, both Breitling and Norton have made cameos in James Bond films. In the 1967 James Bond movie Thunderball, Sean Connery aka Agent 007 wore a Breitling Top Time timepiece while Norton made an appearance more recently in the 2015 movie Spectre. In it, a Dominator SS appears parked in Agent Q’s lair alongside other gizmos.  

Pricing:

Like all good things in life, the Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 Norton Edition doesn’t come cheap. At USD 8,500 (Rs 6.43 lakh) it costs almost as much as a 650cc motorcycle. While you will enjoy the motorcycle more, the watch is expected to appreciate in value over time.