March 29, 2024
Breitling Superocean Heritage New High-Performance Caliber

Breitling’s output of new models at Baselworld 2016 was small compared to recent years, but featured some notable innovations, including an all-new, proprietary case material in the Avenger Hurricane and, in the new, limited-edition Breitling Heritage Superocean Chronoworks, a re-engineered movement with a 100-hour power reserve.
Breitling Superocean Heritage New High-Performance Caliber
Breitling’s Chronoworks department, headquartered at the brand’s manufacture in la Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, is the equivalent to a team of engine-tuning experts in the automotive world, tasked with developing and testing performance-upgrading technologies that can subsequently be introduced in series-produced watches. Breitling describes the well-equipped Chronoworks lab as a “think tank and a test bench for  tomorrow’s technologies.” For this new watch, the experts at Chronoworks turned their attention to Breitling’s in-house, COSC-chronometer-certified base Caliber 01, ultimately incorporating five new technological advancements that enhanced the movement’s energy efficiency, reduced friction, and pumped up its already impressive 70 hours of winding autonomy to a full 100 hours.

The first Breitling watch to showcase these advancements, from the brand’s Superocean Héritage family, launches this year in a 100-piece limited edition. The Breitling Superocean Héritage Chronoworks is an all-black model with a new matte ceramic case, measuring 46 mm in diameter and featuring a ratcheted, rotating divers’ bezel and a curved sapphire crystal with glareproof coating on both sides. The “Volcano”black dial has pointed hour-markers echoing those on the 1957 Superocean, this watch’s vintage inspiration. Its tricompax design features 30-minute and 12-hour subdial counters for the 1/4-second chronograph function, along with a small seconds subdial and a date window at 4:30. The transparent caseback provides a view of the performance-optimized (and still COSC-certified) Chronoworks movement and its black winding rotor. The watch, which is water-resistant to 100 meters/330 feet, comes on Breitling’s “Aero Classic” woven rubber strap, whose look and texture is inspired by the original watch’s woven steel bracelet. The Breitling Superocean Heritage Chronoworks will be priced at $39,295.