Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Highlands
After expanding its Top Time B21 Classic Cars collection, Breitling now reveals the Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Highlands Collection, its brand-new capsule lineup.
Conceptualized in the ‘50s, the watchmaker’s original SuperOcean diver timepiece was developed to look chic on wrists whether on land or sea. With the new Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Highlands Collection, Breitling looks to recreate the wistful mood as experienced in the Scottish Highlands.
Available in blue, green, mustard, and brown colored dials, the watches are all attired in a 38mm stainless steel case with an 18k red gold bezel. The bezels also come outfitted with complementing ceramic inserts that echo their respective dial colors. Its triangular hour markers and handset boast a mid-century aesthetic that nods to its vintage predecessor, all filled with Super-LumiNova to ensure readability in the dark.
Capable of withstanding up to 100 meters underwater, the new references are powered by Breitling’s in-house Caliber 10, a COSC-certified self-winding mechanical movement with up to 42 hours of power reserve. Every color variant is offered with an Ocean Classic stainless steel bracelet, alongside an additional silk and wool-blend fabric strap that’s inspired by tweed.
Breitling has had a truly strong showing this year. Just look at the Breitling Top Time Limited Edition released a few weeks back, and you can see that they really have the vintage-inspired aesthetic nailed down. With the new Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Highlands Collection, Breitling has taken the Superocean into some gnarly waves with a throwback design tailor-made for the beach or The Beach Boys.
With this watch, Breitling has maintained the general design from the existing Heritage Superocean line, but infused some real 1950s and ’60s heritage into it. One of the first things that popped out to me was the concave bezel. This may sound crazy, but it almost gives off a 50s B-movie flying saucer vibe and adds a real flair to the retro design. On top of that is the completely re-designed marker set on the dial. Gone are the sticks and small lume pips. Here, rather, we have some very groovy overlaid stick and lume-filled circular markers at 12, three, six, and nine o’clock. The hash marks on the minute track have been elongated which I think really brings the whole design together. Always a sucker for typography, the numerals have also been given a more throwback styling, including the much-beloved flat four.
These Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Highlands watches may be limited in one sense or another, but they really show a recognition, on the part of the brand, of what consumers are looking for in a no-nonsense dive watch with vintage appeal, built like a modern watch. The rainbow graduations on the limited edition may seem like a lot, and they probably are, but what’s wrong with having a little fun? In a world where dive watches, bezels, and dials have become quite homogenous, Breitling has delivered a very unique offering. The watches themselves have nailed the mid-century design motif, and in doing so, are quite compelling in more ways than one.
