Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Review

Early this year, Breitling announced a series of new watches for 2020. In it was the revival of the Superocean Heritage ‘57. This particular model stood out for us and now we finally have the chance to go hands-on.

This particular model, reference A10370161C1X1, is part of Breitling’s Capsules collection where they pay tribute to the 1950’s and 1960’s laidback surfing lifestyles. Breitling drew design inspirations from the songs created by musicians such as Beach Boys, Jay and Dan and the Ventures. 

CEO of Breitling, Mr. Georges Kern said
“The Capsule Collections let us tell some of our brand’s most inspiring stories while we produce some remarkably unique watches for a limited amount of time. With the Superocean Heritage ’57 Capsule Collection, we’ve focused on the relaxed Southern California fun-in-the-sun culture that defined an era. The surfing itself in the 1950s and 1960s is at the heart of our storytelling here, but those times offered so much more: the great music, the amazing cars, and the almost spiritual connection to freedom found on endless sandy beaches and in the search for the perfect wave.” 

We chose to go hands on with the blue dial SOH ’57 (reference A10370161C1X1) as it caught our eye.

Breitling SOH ’57 Case:

SOH ‘57 comes in a 42mm size casing and the case is constructed from stainless steel. The dial without the concave bezel is measured at just 38mm!. With a thickness of just under 10mm, lug to lug just over 46mm makes this a great watch on paper.

Upon picking up this watch what you will notice straight away is the beautiful concave stainless steel blue bezel, which is the stand out design feature of this watch. Bezel ring is made up of ultra-hard and shock-resistant ceramic and is bidirectional. Bezel has a luminous dot at 12 o’clock, which is an ideal feature of a dive watch. 

The use of concave bezel does three things to this watch. First, it draws you in to the centre of the watch and make this watch look smaller than a 42mm. Secondly it hides the non screw -locked crown and the lugs well, as traditionally one can see the full crown and lugs on display. And lastly, this concave ceramic dial plays well with the lights making the dial flatter and at the same time marking the dial stand out.

Breitling SOH ’57 Dial:

SOH ‘57 Capsule collection consists of two dial variations; classy black and the playfully cool sun-ray blue.  Looking at the dial closely, first thing you will notice are the retro style stretched trapezoid shaped hour markers with coated Super-Luminova, except for 3, 6, 9 and 12 ‘clock positions where solid trapezoid shape hour markers are laid on top of circular hour markers, which are filled with Super-Luminova.

The SOH ‘57 has hour, minute and seconds hands, that are constructed in a similar manner to the original 1957 SOH hands. The use of elongated minutes markers, trapezoid style hour markers and the markers on the concave bezel, instantly draw attention to the centre of the dial. The use of blue sun-ray style dial is always playful with light and bound to keep you entertained every time you look at the dial. 

The dial has 6 lines of text including iconic ‘superocean’ at the centre of the dial. At 12 o’clock is the newly updated Breitling ‘B’ logo constructed in 18k red gold. The SOH ‘57 dial doesn’t have a date function which keeps it simple and symmetrical.

Breitling also released two limited editions of this version. One was a black rainbow dial  which was limited to 250 units and the other was a blue rainbow dial limited to 1000 units. Both of these limited editions were so popular that they got snapped up within minutes.

Breitling SOH ’57 Movement:

SOH ‘57 is powered by breitling caliber 10 automatic movement. This is a modified ETA 2892-A2 movement which has 25 jewels and a frequency of 28800 Hz. This movement can create a power reserve of over 42 hours. Similar to the other watches from Breitling, this watch is also a COSC certified chronometer. It’s worth noting, this movement was previously used in the now discontinued Tranceocean series. SOH ‘57 does not have an open caseback to showcase the movement, however closed caseback pays tribute to the 1957 watch by having engraved ‘57 Superocean Heritage’. 

Breitling SOH ’57 Bracelet Variants:

SOH ‘57 comes in two strap choices, either the iconic mesh bracelet or our personal favourite, the blue dial, in the brown calf skin leather strap on pin buckle style. The white stitching on the calf skin strap flows well with the overall look of the watch. If pin buckle is not your personal preference, don’t worry, you can also opt for the folding clasp.

Breitling SOH ’57 on the wrist:

First time I put this watch on, it took a bit of time getting used to the concave bezel. But, I have to say, after having the watch on for a few days, I ended up falling in love with it. Why? Because, I have always been a fan of Breitling’s sun-ray blue dials and concave blue ceramic bezel particularly as it plays so well with light that it takes the watch to a whole new level. Every time I looked at the watch, I caught a glimpse of the shining hour markers or the hands.

On a 6.5 inch wrist, SOH ‘57 sits well thanks to its shorter lug to lug distance of just 46mm and a thickness of under 10mm. Weighing just over 150 grams, this watch feels light on the wrist and can be worn for longer periods of time without any issues. Having this watch with the leather strap means you can wear this watch almost day to night and with any attire. And I did just that, I wore this to a brunch and later in the afternoon for an outing with friends. Both times I wore it with a sports jacket and a shirt.

This is meant to be a fun watch, after all, Breitling calls this the laid back style watch. This is not the watch you want to go diving with but rather do everything else. However, if you really need to dive with this watch, it is rated for 100m of water resistance. 

We think Breitling did a brilliant job bringing this 1957 retro watch back to life!

Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Specification:

Model Reference: A10370161C1X1
Case Diameter: 42mm
Dial: Blue
Case: Stainless-Steel
Functions: Hours and minutes
Movement: Breitling 10 caliber
Power Reserve: 42 hours
Water Resistance: 10 ATM / 100 meters

Australian Retail Pricing : $6,150.00 on the leather tang buckle

Availability: Available now

Local Authorised Dealers :

• Brisbane – Hardy Brothers and The Hour Glass
• Melbourne – Monards ( Collins Street and Crown Casino) ,Gregory Jewellers , The Hour Glass and Watches of Switzerland
• Sydney – Breitling Boutique, Gregory Jewellers, Swiss Concept, The Hour Glass and Watches of Switzerland
• Perth – Watches of Switzerland