Having been testing this latest version of the breitling recently and sporting a more casual rubber strap, I found the updated variant of the fake watch to be much more casual and sporting than its siblings. That said, it still maintains that level of polished refinement expected from the Piaget manufacture. It’s actually that combination of sporting nature, performance, and refinement that made the breitling align so well with the Mini that I had just happened to book out for a weekend cruise.
In the case of the Mini, having always had an interest in the more prejudiced corner of the auto industry, I found myself at the wheel of the larger Countryman model in John Cooper Works trim. For those unfamiliar with the name, John Cooper started building rally cars back in 1946, and in 1961, he built the first ever Mini Cooper which would soon go on to become a bit of an obscure racing legend, winning the Monte Carlo Rally in ’64, ’65, and ’67.
Turning back to the replica breitling, there’s much to be mentioned for its inner workings as well, when looking at its specifications. Piaget made the new in-house manufactured Calibre 1160P for the launch of the breitling line—a bi-compax chronograph with a date window at 6 o’clock, showing registers for chronograph hours and minutes, but no running seconds sub-dial. While some will certainly gripe about the lack of running seconds on the dial, I have a different perspective personally. Given the choice I much prefer the appearance of a two-register chronograph versus a three-register, but in the same breath I find there to be something slightly useless about a chronograph that can only count 30 minutes.
Thus to have my cake and eat it too, the design of the breitling chrono is the only way to go. Getting back to the caliber itself, it’s a column-wheel chronograph with a vertical clutch, and very detailed finishing of the caliber visible via a sapphire display case-back. Over to the dial side, it’s hard not to draw a loose parallel to the fake Patek Nautilus given the dial’s horizontal ridging, and to the Aquanaut given its case shape and smooth bezel, however having actually handled said replica watches side-by-side after the initial launch of the breitling, there’s a distinctly different feel to the Piaget that doesn’t always translate until it’s on-wrist. Besides, in this color combination the difference is even more noticeable. Its black ADLC bezel gives the breitling illusion of being slightly smaller on-wrist than its steel siblings, and the addition of a red tip to its seconds hand was the perfect little detail that pulls the whole look together.
That same red/black combo proves equally fitting on the John Cooper Works Mini Countryman as well. By comparison to the conventional Mini, the pudgy all-wheel drive 4-door hatch is by no means svelte, but, a black exterior hides some of its heft, while its roofline, mirrors and grille are accented with a bright lipstick shade of red. Depending on the kind of roads you’ll be on, its suspension is quite firm without being bone jarring. However, both the breitling and Mini Countryman JCW land in the same corner of the market at the end of the day.