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 36 mm Silvered 18k
Reference 70734OR.70
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Breitling
- Collection
- Top Time
- Model
- Breitling Top Time 36 mm Silvered 18k
- Reference number
- 70734OR.70
- Year / era
- 1990 · 1990s — mechanical revival
- Complication
- Moon phase
- Movement
- Spring Drive
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Dial type
- Silvered opaline
- Strap / bracelet
- Oyster bracelet
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 36 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Bezel
- Emerald-set
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Silvered opaline
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Oyster bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 60E — Spring Drive
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 65 hours
- Number of jewels
- 21 jewels
- Complications
- Moon phase
- Functions
- Flying tourbillon, power reserve
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1990 – 1995
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Trades close to retail on the secondary market, with steady demand for full-set examples.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Breitling Top Time 36 mm Silvered 18k sits within Breitling's Top Time line, introduced in 1990. It carries the house codes established since 1884 — 18k rose gold case, silvered opaline dial and spring drive — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- 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.