Hands-On Is Breitling's SuperOcean Heritage 40mm the Brand's Most Versatile Dive Watch?

Price sensitivity appears to be at an all-time high. It's a peculiar place to start a watch review, but it's been weighing on my mind for a while, as I've noticed numerous comments and heard from many collectors who seem to think that everything is just a little too expensive lately. Tariffs, material costs—heck, even the fact that people were buying like crazy regardless of prices—whatever it is, it feels like the new Breitling SuperOcean Heritage revamp came at the perfect time, at a solid price, and in 40mm, at the perfect size for me. It also appears to be the most versatile of Breitling's divers.

The revamp of the SuperOcean Heritage, launched earlier this month, came with a wide suite of options, ranging from the new 44mm to 36mm divers to a 42mm chronograph. It was built on the back of the Breitling B31 movement, which launched this year with the Top Time B31 watches in 38mm cases. 

The most interesting aspect of those watches may have been the fact that the Top Time was transformed into a three-hand watch, centered on the brand's casual chronograph aesthetic. But when it comes to the SuperOcean Heritage, the Goldilocks sizing is the new 40mm, and the Goldilocks price is $6,200.

When the watches landed on my desk, my initial confusion was whether the two 40mm versions were green and blue or green and black. In the shadows, and under the sapphire crystal, the sunburst dial of the black SuperOcean Heritage picked up a blue hue from the anti-reflective coating that gnawed at the back of my mind. 

The black is the more versatile option, but I feel that not having a blue in the lineup (when the 42mm and 36mm versions come in blue) is a missed opportunity. Yes, there's a Kelly Slater limited edition—one that even non-watch friends of mine recognized as being a bit reminiscent of the Rolex "palm dial" Datejust—but once that's sold out, I expect a standard blue eventually. That said, even if it's a miss, it's a small one.

The 40mm SuperOcean Heritage with the green dial, however, feels like the winner between the two. The green doesn't scream "look at me" the way some hues might, and while the ceramic bezel might look vastly different (maybe a little more yellow) than the sunburst dial, it didn't strike me that way in person.

To give you a sense of where the SuperOcean Heritage sits in the lineup, Breitling also sent me two other new models, including the B01-powered 42mm chronograph in blue and the 44mm B31-powered diver. You can see the size comparison below on the wrist, which just further illustrates why the 40mm is such a success. However, I'll address the wearability in a minute.

Sunburst dials are a double-edged sword. They look phenomenal, and with the polished indices for hour markers and printed minute track, there's a lot of contrast of textures and light bouncing around. But they're difficult to photograph. Sure, it's a minor quibble or a mea culpa if the images don't convey the in-person experience, but it was worth mentioning. I noticed that unless the watch was pointed toward a shadow (reflective metallic surfaces reflect whatever is 180 degrees from them), you lose some of the sunburst effect. In direct light, it looks stunning. I especially enjoyed the raised "B" logo on the dial as well.

The date window is always going to be a point of contention, but I think this is almost the perfect way to do it. Placed at 6 o'clock, the date window doesn't interfere with the symmetry of the dial. The printed surround also draws enough attention to it that you can quickly find the date if needed. However, it would have been nice to attempt to color-match the date window (even though you likely couldn't make a radially brushed date disc with ease). Again, another very minor complaint on a dial I otherwise really like.

The new B31 caliber should get a bit more attention here than it probably did on release. Part of that's driven by the fact that it's now three months old, a peculiar amount of time where it's no longer particularly novel for readers, but also hasn't been around long enough to prove itself reliable. 

I'll give it the benefit of the doubt as I have no reason to do anything else. Self-winding, with 78 hours of power reserve, measuring a relatively compact and versatile 28.4mm by 4.8mm (again, housed from 36mm up to 44mm without looking particularly out of place from the dial side), it seems like it could be a workhorse and keeps the watch a reasonable 11.7mm thick. The finishing is also precisely what I'd expect at the $6,500 price point.

One of the aesthetic updates to the watch is that, in addition to the option of a rubber strap with a folding buckle, the newly redesigned mesh bracelet now tucks neatly into the lug gap and seamlessly integrates into the case. The lug width is actually listed as 20.05mm (which is odd, I have to say), but should be usable for any 20mm NATO strap. Unfortunately, reports indicate that the mesh bracelet will not fit on previous generations of the SuperOcean Heritage.

Strangely, I've never seen the previous mesh bracelet. However, I was impressed with how Breitling has addressed potential issues with adjusting the length while still maintaining the aesthetic of the mesh. It might not be as complex as Patek's new Ellipse bracelet, but it's just what's needed, with a butterfly deployant and Breitling logo on the buckle. It's also very comfortable.

Depending on your sensitivity, you might find the $6,200 price tag on the new 40mm SuperOcean Heritage a bit steep. My gut says that somewhere closer to $5,500 sounds a bit better (around 10% of the current sticker price), but heck, who wouldn't prefer to take 10, 20, or 30% off? Even at list price, I doubt that people will be disappointed by the watch.

Back to the versatility of the SuperOcean Heritage. With 200m of water-resistance with a screw down crown and uni-directional bezel, the watch is a plenty capable dive watch. The bezel may not have the minute markers or numerals that some people would prefer on their divers, but this is a matter of personal preference and not a problem compared to the ISO standard for divers. This is, as its name suggests, heritage-inspired, referencing the 1950s SuperOceans, such as the ref. 1004. In the end, I think that's for the better.

If you want a more modern-looking and slightly more "beefed-up" aesthetic, Breitling already has the main line of SuperOcean. These are solid watches that eliminate the date window altogether, but I'm now looking at them, waiting for an update to the new B31 Caliber movements. And while I think those SuperOceans might be great for the beach-going summer crowd, when it's time away from the water, I think the SuperOcean Heritage is the more versatile option. 

For more information, visit Breitling.