Introduced: 1957
Purpose / Inspiration: Breitling’s answer to the rising demand for professional dive watches, the Superocean was designed to rival Rolex’s Submariner and Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms. It was built for divers, rescue teams, and naval use, offering serious depth rating, bold legibility, and reliability underwater.
Designer: Originally created under Willy Breitling, with later revamps under Ernest Schneider and now Georges Kern leading the latest iterations.
Case sizes: From 36mm to 46mm, available in steel, two-tone, ceramic, and Breitlight®
Movements:
- Early models: manual-wind and automatic (ETA base)
- Modern models: Breitling Caliber 17 (ETA 2824 base), and in-house B20 (based on Tudor MT5612)
Features:
▪️ 200m–2000m water resistance, depending on model
▪️ Unidirectional bezel with minute markings
▪️ Screw-down crown and caseback
▪️ Lumed indices and bold hands for max underwater legibility
▪️ Chronograph variants in the Superocean Chronograph line
Recent updates include 2022 redesign with retro styling pulled from the original ‘57, and clean, colorful dials
Still in full production
Multiple sub-lines like Superocean Heritage, Superocean II, and Superocean 44
Continually updated to meet modern tool-watch expectations
Born to Dive: Not a dress diver—this was made for the real thing.
Trusted by Professionals Since ’57: Naval units, rescue teams, and serious divers wore it.
Bold, Bright, Built to Be Seen: Underwater or topside, the dial hits hard.
Heritage That Performs: Every new model knows where it came from.