Why We Love It

Breitling has long been purveyor of chronographs to pilots, but in the 1950's, the popularity of dive watches like the Rolex Submariner and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms pushed Breitling to enter that race.

In 1957, Breitling released both a time-only dive watch, the SuperOcean Reference 1004, and a chronograph in the form of the Reference 807. These watches would be the start of a long lasting and ever evolving line of nautical watches loved by many.

The watch that you're looking at here is Breitling's contemporary take on their SuperOcean that started it all - with a very fun twist...

Limited to 250 pieces, this watch features a svelte 42mm stainless steel case, a concave black ceramic rotating dive bezel, a domed sapphire crystal, and an extremely attractive satin black dial with "rainbow" luminous indices and a matching handset. Additionally, this watch comes with its full kit!

This is a very fun, daily-wearable watch with just the right amount of details to differentiate it from most of the black dial/bezel divers on the market - and for that, we love it.

The Breitling Story

Breitling was founded in 1892, and while still around today, the company is no longer in the hands of the Breitling family.

The late 1970s was a turbulent time for the Swiss watch industry, and many storied houses were swept away by the Quartz Crisis. By 1978, Breitling was in trouble due to the illness of its leader, Willy Breitling, and the steep decline in sales that had cut through the entire industry. Unable to keep operations going, the Breitling company was liquidated, and parts, toolings and naming rights were sold off. One of the best aviation watch companies was no more, but they left behind a large range of incredible watches.

Breitling has been surprisingly slow to catch fire with vintage collectors, especially since the history of the brand and their ties to aviation are unimpeachable. Sure, many of their watches have polarizing designs and complicated dial aesthetics (hell, we don't know how to use the slide rule feature on the Navitimer 806 any better than you do), but their cleaner designs embody the best of 1960s and 1970s chronograph design and shouldn’t be overlooked.

If we had our druthers, Breitling would be one of the top dogs in the world of vintage watches, and given a strong new direction for the company today, we’re confident that in time, they will be.