The present Mulliner Tourbillon Chronograph is a very well-preserved example of the model, distinguished by the openwork dial providing a fascinating view of the tourbillon and its rotating mechanism.

Cased in platinum, the noblest of all materials, it is fitted with the hand-wound Breitling cal. 18B, a COSC-certified tourbillon chronograph movement exclusive to Breitling for Bentley. The highly sophisticated tourbillon consists of one of the most ingenious mechanical watch complications, the balance, balance spring and escapement contained within a carriage spinning on its axis, a construction which compensates for the variations in rate that occur when a watch is in a vertical position.

Another special feature of this movement is its “30 seconds” type chronograph mechanism, distinguished by the central hand revolving around the dial in half a minute instead of the usual 60 seconds; this apparently surprising configuration enables extremely precise read-off for the fractions of a second, in this case 1/6ths. It is also fitted with a 15-minute register and a pointer-type date display.

Breitling and Britain’s Bentley Motors enjoy the longest-ever partnership between a watch brand and an automobile manufacturer. In fact, it dates to 2002, when Bentley, one of the world’s most celebrated luxury car brand, commissioned Breitling to design the onboard clock for the very first Continental GT, which was debuted the following year and marked the beginning of an important partnership for both brands.


Bentley’s Mulliner Workshop is an extension of Mulliner, a family company founded by master coachbuilder Robert Bouverie Mulliner in London in 1870. For nearly 150 years, Mulliner has been renowned for its exquisite bespoke handcrafted coaches, created to the highest standards to meet the exacting requirements of its clients.

The collaboration of the master car manufacturer with a high-level watchmaking company was just a further step, an exclusive cooperation visible in the smallest details such as the wooden ring on the outside of the glazed display back, equal to the high-quality veneers of a Bentley car.