Hands On With The New For 2025 Breitling Superocean Heritage Watches

Breitling’s technical watchmaking is usually thought of as focusing primarily on aviation, but the company was in the dive watch game right at the start of the modern dive watch era – the first Superocean watches, Superocean references 1004 (time only) and 807 (a chronograph) were launched in 1957. This was a time when recreational scuba diving was still in its infancy – Émile Gagnan and Jacques-Yves Cousteau had invented the aqualung in 1943, and the less lauded, but still essential wetsuit was developed in 1952 by UC Berkeley physicist Hugh Bradner. Breitling’s ads for the Superoceans said that the watches were designed for “deep sea exploration, and to cater for [sic] the fast growing popularity of underwater sports” and they were designed to be suitable for both technical and sport diving, and to show off the glamor associated with exploring the oceans.

The modern Superocean family of watches was released for the first time in 2007, on the 50th anniversary of the release of the original models, and the designs were quite similar as well, but with smaller dial markers (the first Superoceans had used very elongated triangles). The Superocean II collection, in 2017, updated the bezels to ceramic, and the collection switched to using the B20 caliber – Breitling’s version of the Kennisi-manufactured Tudor MT5612. The third redesign, launched this year, brings changes to the collection which bring it, stylistically, a bit closer to the original launch models from the ‘Fifties, and with a new rubber strap and bracelet which fit flush with the case. For our Hands On, we looked at two models: The Superocean Heritage Chronograph 42, blue on blue, and the Superocean Heritage 40, black on black.

The first impression you get is of extremely high quality in fit, finish, and overall construction. The watches have interesting aesthetics, but that doesn’t take away in the least from the sense that you are getting some very well engineered watches indeed, and I think the Superocean Heritage watches would compare favorably with any other diver’s watch made by any other company in the world. The genre, undoubtedly, is one in which it should be possible for any company to make a high quality diver’s watch which is determined to do so, but even taking that into consideration, there is a lot of wow factor the first time you pick up and handle one of these watches.

The new models use a handset that is similar to, but not identical with, the original – in particular, the original models had an hour hand with two bars extending from the shaft of the hand and passing through the arrowhead, while the new versions have the arrow head broken up by a polished metal chevron. The hour markers echo the elongated triangles of the originals and are an update to the bar indexes and lume dots in the Superocean II models (legibility should be somewhat improved as well as the new markers are larger and more luminous). The 12:00 marker is straight from the ’57 models, with a triangle piercing a lume filled circle. There may be some complaints about the date window, first of all from those who wish there weren’t one at all, to those who wish the date wheel was color matched to the dial, but in this case, I think keeping the date wheel white makes the six o’clock placement work better as an hour marker.

The watches have highly polished cases, with gleaming ceramic bezels, and with the onion crown, you get the definite impression that these were intended from the beginning to be eye-catching; they don’t have the purely technical feel of exercises in matte surfaces like the Pelagos (for instance) but the execution of the Superocean Heritage models has its own appeal. If they weren’t so obviously well-made, the decorative qualities of the watch might feel a little out of place on a diver’s watch, but the sheer solidity of the watches is a good counterweight to some of the retro-glamor feel.

Normally, my personal preference in dive watches is for a strap rather than a bracelet – generally, diver’s watches are more bulky than not and a strap helps keep the weight manageable, but the Milanese bracelet is quite a piece of work. The same impression of overbuilt solidity you get from the watches, you also get from the bracelet and clasp, both of which show the same precision in execution and strength in engineering you get from the watches themselves.

At 42mm, the chronograph wears very well (the Speedmaster is a 42mm watch so if you don’t have any trouble wearing a Moonwatch, you’ll be just fine with the SO Heritage Chronograph 42). All of the wonderful qualities you find in the time-and-date Superocean Heritage models are still present in the chronograph, which runs the column wheel controlled, vertical clutch Breitling caliber B01. Water resistance is of course, 200 meters for the chrono as well as the time and date model.

The Breitling caliber B01 has been around since 2009 (it was, in fact, the very first in-house Breitling movement). The movement is chronometer certified by the COSC and undergoes testing both at the COSC, and in-house at Breitling, where the movement has been subjected to Breitling’s 16 year accelerated aging tests. Caliber B01 runs at 28,800 vph, with a 70 hour power reserve, and it was designed, and has proven to be, a tough, reliable, accurate, modern workhorse chronograph caliber.

The caliber B31 is Breitling’s newest in-house caliber, and was launched earlier this year in the Top Time B31 family. It is in some respects a traditional automatic movement, at 28.40mm x 4.80mm, but it features a longer than usual power reserve for this class of movements, at 78 hours, running at 28,800 vph. (For comparison, the ETA 2824, which is similar to the B31 in diameter and thickness, has a 38 hour power reserve). Like the B01, it’s chronometer certified, and has a freesprung balance with adjustable timing weights. It’s a strongly build movement – the automatic winding train and going train are constructed on the same level (often, in automatic watches, the automatic winding train is under a bridge overlying the movement bridges) with the 78 hours of running time coming from a single large mainspring barrel (whose jewel is visible in the above image, just above and to the left of the center of the winding rotor). The actual going train passes under the rotor, with the movement fourth wheel on the same axis (the usual configuration in modern automatics with center seconds).

Visibility under all lighting conditions is excellent. Super-LumiNova’s only disadvantage is that it fades over time but at least for recreational diving purposes, I don’t think you’d have any problems; the Superocean Heritage watches we looked at for this story remained easily readable to dark-adapted eyes for at least a couple of hours after exposure to sunlight, and readable with some effort for several hours after that.

The bezel feel on these watches is very precise, with crisp, distinct clicks at each detent; there is no play or mushiness at all and the tactile experience of the watches is confirmation of the visual impression of high precision.

These were both some of the most satisfying dive watches I’ve ever handled. I can’t really think of any downsides at all, other than one which devolves to matters of taste: someone looking for a modern technical dive watch may want something whose design is all about signaling pragmatism. From a technical perspective, though, these are pretty irreproachable watches. Breitling’s managed the challenge of creating something that feels organically connected to heritage without going overboard, very well indeed, and as a seamless blend of technical modernity and aesthetics, the new Superocean Heritage watches are going to be hard to beat.

The Breitling Superocean Heritage B01 Chronograph 42: case, 44mm x 12.17mm, 200 meter water resistance, with sapphire crystals front and back; blue ceramic one way bezel; sunray brushed blue dial; arrow hour hand and sword minute hand; applied markers with Super-LumiNova. Movement, Breitling B01 automatic chronograph, chronometer certified, column wheel controlled with vertical clutch, running at 28,800 vph with 70 hour power reserve. Prices, $10,100 on a strap, $10,400 on a Milanese bracelet. 

The Breitling Superocean Heritage B31 Automatic 40: case, 40mm x 11.73mm, sapphire crystals front and back; black ceramic one way bezel; sunray brushed black dial. Movement, Breitling caliber B31, certified chronometer, automatic running at 28,800 vph with 78 hour power reserve. Prices, $6200 on rubber, $6500 on bracelet.

The 1916 Company is proud to be an authorized retailer for Breitling watches. View the Superocean Heritage collection here.