ReviewBreitling Superocean Chronograph II

As the name suggests, the Breitling Superocean Chronograph II is a watch built for professional divers. With an exceptionally bulky design, sporty red accents and a deep black dial, the timepiece looks like the serious diving watch that it actually is. And to top it all, it is water resistant to a staggering depth of 500 metres or 1650 feet.

The Superocean watch was initially introduced in the 1950s. With water resistance of upto 200 metres, which was a mark of great engineering at the time, Breitling had already been known as a supplier of timepieces to the world of aviation. With the Superocean, Breitling announced itself as a maker of high-grade diving watches as well. The lineage has continued and Breitling has now brought to us the Superocean Chronograph II.

This timepiece has a round case made of polished stainless steel with a diameter of 44 mm and Breitling’s signature thick lugs. In spite of the large size, the dial maintains a balanced look and is not to outwardly large, thanks to the exceptionally wide bezel. The watch has an overall masculine appeal, pleasantly stopping just short of being chunky which a lot of mens sports watches tend to move towards. The timepiece is presented on a three-piece-links bracelet made of polished stainless steel.

The dial is deep black in colour with silver-toned luminescent stick markers for the hours at all positions except 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock. The markers are quite thick and ensure easy readability underwater, especially considering that the dial is rather busy thanks to the chronograph sub-dials. These include a 30-minute counter at 12 o’clock and a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock. A running seconds sub-dial is placed at 9 o’clock. All three sub-dials are black in colour with a red outline and red-tipped hands. The central chronograph hand is also red in colour which stands out beautifully above the black dial. A square date window is present at the 3 o’clock position which displays black Arabic numerals on a white background. The hour and minute hands are also exceptionally thick and luminescent, the reason being the need for legibility while diving at the dark depths of the ocean.

The bezel is extraordinarily wide and black-ion plated to match the colour of the dial. It features Arabic numeral minute markers in a distinctive font, which gives a watch a very unique look. The bezel helps you measure diving time in a highly effective way. As you would expect in a diver’s watch, the bezel is a unidirectional rotating one, which ensures that even in the case of any accidental manipulation underwater, you will err only on the safe side.

The timepiece is water resistant to a depth of 500 metres, which means you can dive almost half a kilometre underwater and not have to worry about water entering into the case. To ensure this, the timepiece features a screw-down crown as well as caseback. The chronograph pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock are also screw-down ones, which guarantee enhanced water resistance.

The watch is powered by the Breitling Calibre 13, a self winding movement with a power reserve of 42 hours. The watch has been certified as a chronometer by COSC, the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute. It is the ultimate certification of precision and reliability in timekeeping. In fact, all watches manufactured by the brand today are chronometer certified. Breitling is perhaps the only watchmaker in the world which can boast of this achievement.