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 40 mm Green Quartz
Reference 55835OR.84
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Breitling
- Collection
- Top Time
- Model
- Breitling Top Time 40 mm Green Quartz
- Reference number
- 55835OR.84
- Year / era
- 1951 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- Automatic, Swiss lever escapement
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Dial type
- Green sunburst
- Strap / bracelet
- NATO textile strap
- Water resistance
- 500 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- Quartz TPT
- Bezel
- Octagonal with 8 hexagonal screws
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Green sunburst
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Printed minute track with applied batons
- Bracelet / strap
- NATO textile strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Triple-folding clasp with safety catch
- Water resistance
- 500 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 51E — Automatic, Swiss lever escapement
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 25,200 vph (3.5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 55 hours
- Number of jewels
- 31 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- GMT second time zone, date
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1951 – 1956
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Breitling Top Time 40 mm Green Quartz sits within Breitling's Top Time line, introduced in 1951. It carries the house codes established since 1884 — quartz tpt case, green sunburst dial and automatic, swiss lever escapement — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
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.