Seiko Champion

A Breitling chronograph that I like – say it isn’t so!

Actually I’m exaggerating, I respect Breitlings, they are not over-hyped, and their heritage with auto racing is great. However what most Breitling models usually do however, especially the chronos, is leave me somewhat cold – it’s the “technical” watch look, the equivalent of the pilot’s slide rule.

One exception this past year has been the SuperOcean Heritage models, either the SuperOcean Heritage 46, or the smaller SuperOcean Heritage 38, released last spring. All are COSC certified chronometers. I’ve always thought these are nice looking watches (the first pic is of a black 46, the next two of the other colors in the 38 size).







Now Breitling has released chronograph versions.

When I saw this new model, I was expecting the nice look of the Heritage line to be ruined, but was pleasantly surprised. Sure it’s a chrono with three sub dials, sub-second markers around the dial, and other “techy look” features common to Breitling chronos. However it’s still done in a subdued manner on an elegant dark dial, with a wide and fairly plain diver’s bezel. The bezel actually turns this into a very different watch for me, than it could have been – so much better than the base SuperOcean Chronograph – it’s actually one of the best diver’s chronos I’ve seen, style wise!



Ablogtoread has a nice post about it, with a quote that nicely summarizes how I feel about this watch…

… What separates this watch from many other Breitling chronographs is the legibility …

Similar to the non-chrono line, these watches are available with woven steel or rubber bracelet, and in any of three dial colors – black, blue, and bronze. We’re not talking subtle variations here, either, they’re the same colors as the non-chrono Heritage models (I like the black best, but both of the other two are strong statements that look good also).

Good work Breitling.