Hands On: Breitling Superocean Heritage B01 Chronograph 42
The Husar Tic-Tok Shop located inside of Craig Husar Fine Diamonds is very proud to be the exclusive Breitling Authorized dealer for the Milwaukee area. We have had the line for about 9 months now and feel very fortunate for this partnership with one of the great Swiss watch brands.
Earlier this year Breitling announced the release of the updated and improved Superocean heritage line. They developed a new calibre, the B31 for their 3 handed dive watches – a review on those is coming soon. Our favorite, though is the new chronograph in black with red gold accents. Nothing mechanically has changed with the chronograph, but there are some aesthetic improvements that we’re fond of.
Breitling Superocean Heritage B01 Chronograph 42 Specifications
Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 14.5mm
Lug to Lug: 49mm
Weight: 173.0 grams
The Case
It’s refreshing to see a brand that is clearly listening to watch customers that are shying away from bigger, bulkier sizes. Breitling takes their Superocean heritage down from a 44mm case to a 42mm case that feels a lot more wearable. The lug-to-lug also makes it easier to wear; the 44mm chronograph is about 54.5mm lug-to-lug, whereas the new version is 49mm. If we’ve said it once, we’ll say it a thousand times: there are more important aspects to how a watch fits than just the diameter. For example, the Nomos Club Campus is only 38.5mm, but has a lug-to-lug of 48.9mm. I found that watch incredibly difficult to wear even though it’s a smaller diameter.
With the smaller diameter also comes a thinner profile, the new Superocean Heritage 42 measures in at 14.5mm thick, compared to the 15.3mm thickness of the 44mm older generation. I have a 7.25” wrist and while 42mm is normally outside of my preferred size, the shorter lug-to-lug, the way the lugs curve around the wrist, and the thinner case makes it a nicer watch to wear than I was expecting.
The Movement
Nothing new with the movement, Breitling still having a lot of success with their B01 automatic chronograph movement which is developed entirely in-house. 70 hour power reserve, 28,800bph, and COSC certified. The exact watch used for this review settled in at +2spd in the dial up position on our timegrapher.
The Bracelet
The big difference for the entire Superocean Heritage line is the mesh bracelet. The simplest way to describe the difference is that the older generation bracelet is a little more shark mesh style. Thicker, not quite as tightly woven, and a little less flexible. The new mesh is more Milanese style. Not quite Omega levels, but definitely closer to an Omega mesh than the old style mesh in my opinion. On the B01 chronograph, the bracelet tapers nicely going from 22mm between the lugs, to 18mm at the clasp. The new bracelets are also curved to fit snug to the case, compared to the older generation that has a straight bar across the lugs.
The new bracelet is also substantially thinner, measuring 3.4mm thick compared to 4mm thick on the previous generation. The clasp is…controversial. Breitling have done away with a diver’s style clasp with micro adjustments in favor of a butterfly style clasp. I find it to be more comfortable and better weighted, but it is more of a challenge to get the perfect fit without the micro adjustment.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I think this watch is a huge winner for Breitling. Slimmer proportions all around make for a watch that is significantly easier to wear. The bracelet really steals the show. It’s so much nicer than the old thicker mesh, and the curved ends really make a great looking watch. Overall it seems that Breitling is focusing on making their watches easier to wear for more people; thinner case, thinner bracelet, if you can get used to the butterfly clasp it’s really a great looking watch. As of now we have a handful of Superocean Heritage models in the case with more to come and are 1 of only 2 authorized dealers in the entire state. Stop in our showroom any time to see them in person.
