Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Breitling · Top Time
Breitling Top Time 44 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
Reference 18345OR.36
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Breitling
- Collection
- Top Time
- Model
- Breitling Top Time 44 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k
- Reference number
- 18345OR.36
- Year / era
- 2011 · 2010s — modern production
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- High-beat automatic
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- Milanese mesh
- Water resistance
- 150 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 11.3 mm
- Case material
- 18k yellow gold
- Bezel
- Bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied Roman numerals
- Bracelet / strap
- Milanese mesh
- Clasp / buckle
- Triple-folding clasp with safety catch
- Water resistance
- 150 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 25D — High-beat automatic
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 2011 – 2023
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Breitling Top Time 44 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k sits within Breitling's Top Time line, introduced in 2011. It carries the house codes established since 1884 — 18k yellow gold case, mother-of-pearl dial and high-beat automatic — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Breitling
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1884
- Founder
- Léon Breitling
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Premium
- Major collections
- Navitimer, Chronomat, Superocean, Avenger, Premier, Top Time
- Signature technologies
- Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Composite and ceramic case materials · Hand-applied guilloché dials
- Famous movements
- Spring Drive · Automatic, Swiss lever escapement · High-beat automatic · Automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Breitling Navitimer 40 mm Ice Sapphire (2000) · Breitling Navitimer 44 mm Skeletonised Platinum (2003) · Breitling Navitimer 43 mm Black Platinum (1962) · Breitling Navitimer 43 mm Slate Platinum (1996)
Brand history
Breitling has spent more than 142 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Navitimer, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Léon Breitling established Breitling in 1884, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Breitling calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1884
Léon Breitling founds Breitling in Switzerland.
1899
Breitling earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Breitling to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Breitling enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Breitling continues to produce Navitimer, Chronomat, Superocean and other icons in limited numbers.