Principal Blog
Need time to ride?
20 August 2025
Need time to ride?
This week, on our behalf, Paul Browne is doing time.
No, he’s not in gaol for Persistent Abuse of Hipster Cafes, a crime of which he is nonetheless guilty.
It’s a play on words you see.
He is, in fact, drooling over a limited edition, bike-inspired watch, the Breitling Chronomat B01 42 Triumph.
Late last year Triumph released another limited edition bike.
This one was a Speed Triple, with the 1200cc engine, and was styled in conjunction with Swiss watch company, Breitling
Since the bikes were produced in such restricted numbers, with only 270 being made for the entire global market, we can safely assume that they’re all gone.
What is still available is the watch, a special, limited edition, Breitling Chronomat.
Making time
Léon Breitling started making watches back in 1884 and a full century later the company launched the first Chronomat.
This was, and still is, a mechanical watch which creates quite the presence on a gentleman’s wrist. Wearing a Breitling is an experience all of its own, a statement.
Meanwhile, whilst the Swiss watchmaker was forging its reputation, a young German engineer by the name of Siegfried Bettmann emigrated from Germany to England, where he settled in Coventry.
In 1885 he began to sell bicycles and called his business the Triumph Cycle Company.
By 1888 he was making and selling his own steeds and in 1902 he had saw the light and stuck an engine on the things.
Triumph motorcycles was born.
The company’s history has been a storied one that couldn’t really be described as ‘running like a Swiss watch’.
Having been rescued from ruin by a successful builder, the reborn company went on to produce their first 1200cc powered Street Triple back in the early 2000s’.
The Breitling RS version is the premium offering and is very much the gentleman’s’ choice of a road legal and trackday-ready motorcycle.
On your watch list
But back to the watch.
Everything about this timepiece is tasteful.
The Chronomat B01 42 Triumph sits in a titanium and 18k red gold frame.
In a note to the motorcycle saddles of old, the strap is calfskin leather, while the Triumph logo sits on the watch’s central chronograph hand counterweight.
One of the joys of owning a watch of this quality is the detail on the caseback. This one is no different. With the simply beautiful workings of the watch being visible, the surround is engraved with the words “Triumph Edition”.
The Breitling Chronomat B01 42 Triumph is available from Paul Sheeran jewellers on Dublin’s Chatham Street.
As a collector’s piece of some distinction, it carries a €10,900 price tag. Not cheap, but then this is not a cheap watch. It’s as classy and classic as a 50’s Bonneville.
You can book a fitting by calling one of their specialist team on 0 1514 3972.
Meanwhile, Triumph motorcycles are exclusively available from Dublin Triumph who can be contacted on 0 1464 2211.
