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The Breitling Superocean Uncovered

03/02/2025 by Mark Garner Posted in Watch reviews

Breitling has been building beautiful watches since it was founded in 1884 by Léon Breitling in Saint-Imier, Switzerland and you’ll probably feel that Breitling’s enviable reputation has been built upon its aviation, pilot and chronograph credentials. However, Breitling hasn’t been left on the beach when it comes to diving watches and since 1957 Breitling has been building the highly acclaimed Breitling Superocean watch, both as a time-only diving watch and (true to Breitling DNA) in chronograph form too.   

I really feel Breitling punch higher than they get credit for in the diver watch arena and in this Breitling Superocean review, we’ll dive deep into the evolution of this luxury timepiece from the birth of Superocean model 1004 in 1957 through to the very latest Superocean Automatic 46 Super Diver.


1950’s – the birth of the Superocean

Breitling introduced the Superocean in 1957, capitalising on the growing popularity of recreational diving. The original Breitling Superocean models, the Superocean 1004 and Superocean 807, were simple yet robust dive watches, designed to compete with the likes of the Rolex Submariner and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. The key features in these first Breitling Superocean models included water resistance up to 200 meters (quite remarkable for the time), minimalist designs with bold, luminous dials for readability underwater; and manually wound movements.

Breitling history
Image source: Breitling

1960’s – refinement and expansion

In the 1960’s Breitling focused on enhancing the functionality and style of the Superocean. In 1964 the Breitling Superocean Chronograph 2005 was introduced, a chronograph dive watch with a clean dial and a central chronograph minute counter. This 43mm model also gave improved water resistance and more robust cases to cater to professional divers.

I absolutely love both the design and functionality of the 1964 Superocean 2005. It stands the course of time as a cool vintage luxury timepiece, with leading technical functionality for its time.

This hugely innovative timepiece featured a ‘slow-counter’ mechanism enabling the precisie display of elapsed time and the indicator at six o’clock would ingeniously turn yellow when the chronograph was engaged.

Breitling introduced the first reverse panda dial chronograph and with this watch Breitling’s first signs of vibrant designs also began to appear, probably reflecting the fashionable style trends of the swinging sixties!

Breitling chronograph
Image source: Breitling

1970’s & 1980’s – diverging styles

Breitling really embraced the bold aesthetics of the 1970s, introducing larger cases and colourful dials. The Superocean remained a practical and technical watch but gained mass appeal among enthusiasts looking for fashionable dive watches. Technological advancements led to better movements and increased water resistance.

The quartz movement revolution of the 1970s and 1980s influenced the Superocean models too. Breitling released quartz-powered Superocean models to cater to changing market demands and to keep pricing competitive. New Superocean models of the 1980s included the Deep-Sea Super Compressor 1000m. Not my favourite design and certainly not my ideal movement, but a very impressive depth capability should you wish to explore the seabed and live to tell the tale!

Thankfully, Breitling stayed committed to mechanical movements, maintaining the Superocean’s reputation among traditional watch enthusiasts.

Breitling watch
Image source: Breitling

1990’s & 2000’s – revival and modernisation

These years were progressive for the Breitling Superocean range with significant upgrades, including modernised automatic movements, water resistance reaching 1,500 meters in some models and a more rugged and professional design ethos, making the Superocean a staple in the professional diver’s toolkit.

The Breitling Superocean A17360 could take you to the bottom of most oceans, with an enviable depth capability of 1,500m. Whilst that trumps most watches, it doesn’t trump the Rolex That being said, that far exceeding competitors like the Oyster Perpetual Rolex Deepsea, which is water resistant down to a cool 11,000m!! Probably the deepest point in the earth’s oceans.

The Superocean Professional series, introduced in the early 2000s, emphasized extreme durability. Notable innovations included helium escape valves for saturation diving and new case materials for enhanced toughness. Breitling also explored oversized designs with bold aesthetics to match contemporary trends.

Breitling Superocean
Image source: Chrono24

2010’s – heritage models and expanded lines

Breitling launched the Superocean Heritage collection, paying homage to the original 1957 models with vintage-inspired designs. The Superocean Heritage collection offered modern upgrades like ceramic bezels, sapphire crystals, and high-performance movements and I believe the Heritage collection really pushed the Breitling credentials higher in the luxury diver watch market and some really cracking models emerged.

My favourite from this collection is the Breitling Superocean 44 Heritage Chronograph with a white face and black offset chronograph dials.

This luxury timepiece has the Breitling Caliber 01 automatic movement with a 70 hour power reserve and a crisp & classy unidirectional rotating stainless steel bezel with black ceramic insert.

With 200m of water resistance and sporting the textured black rubber strap, this beautiful Breitling Superocean Heritage Chronograph looks stunning in any environment and performs every time in the water.

The Breitling Superocean Heritage Chronograph was also one of the first Breitling’s to display the ‘B logo’ as the initial of the brand, in place of the infamous ‘winged’ Breitling logo. This was a strategic move on Breitling’s part to highlight the contemporary shift in their products and to retain the ‘winged B logo’ for the aviation collection.

The Breitling Superocean Heritage collection came in 3 sizes, 42mm, 44mm and 46mm and in many different colour and material variations. The blue face Superocean Heritage 46mm on a blue alligator strap looks stunning too and is a close second place favourite of mine from the Superocean heritage range.

This was a great decade for the Breitling Superocean and another of my favourites to emerge was the A17366 automatic Breitling Superocean 42.

I love the simple rugged design of this watch. The features are large, yet proportionate. This 42mm watch is a beefy 13.5mm in depth and has a watertight capacity up to 500m, which outperforms many similar priced watches.

The matt black unidirectional bezel is deeply toothed and clicks around with style and purpose. I love the large Arabic numerals in white on the matt black face, complemented by the large red arrowhead on the second hand. Powered by the reliable ETA 2824-2, this no-nonsense luxury diving timepiece is a great choice.

Breitling heritage
Image source: Breitling
Breitling Superocean 42
Image source: Chrono24

2020’s – eco materials and playful colors

I feel Breitling made the Superocean very current with the introduction of the Superocean 2022 collection, blending retro aesthetics with cutting-edge technology. The new features of this range included modern calibers, colourful dials, and improved materials like scratch-resistant ceramic bezels. Breitling also implemented sustainability initiatives with the use of eco-friendly materials for straps and packaging.The launch of Breitling’s Surfer Squad really highlighted the cool contemporary beach, ocean and diving credential of this luxury timepiece. The amazing trio of world-class surfers includes American Kelly Slater, the most successful surfer of all time, together with Stephanie Gilmore, the most successful female surfer of all time, and Sally Fitzgibbons, a multiple world champion hailing from Australia.

Superocean Breitling
Image source: Breitling

I love the look and feel of this current range of the Breitling Superocean automatic and with sizes ranging from the exquisite more petite Superocean Automatic 36mm through to the monster Superocean 46 Super Diver ,this model sits beautifully on anyone’s wrist. The colours and materials are playful, fun, relaxed and elegant, while supporting the sustainability of a cleaner world with the choice of materials used. 


Final thoughts before we dive off

Breitling is celebrated for its precision, robust designs, and aviation heritage. It continues to produce iconic collections like the Breitling Navitimer, Breitling Chronomat, and Breitling Superocean, all combining functionality with luxury. The Breitling Superocean is a storied line of dive watches that has evolved significantly since its inception in 1957. Today’s Superocean definitely brings this legacy into the 21st century.

And the Breitling Superocean today is much more than an ordinary dive watch. It’s a fun and versatile watch, equally at home on your wrist by the pool or in the restaurant. The Superocean is a truly sporty model, available in a number of bright attractive colours and yet it retains all the technical and reliability characteristics associated with a Breitling watch.

Well done Breitling, the evolution of the Superocean has been a great success and Breitling has skilfully managed to keep this model relevant and interesting for 7 decades.