Pre-Owned Breitling by Analog Shift Superocean Heritage 40990220/AS04528

Why We Love It

Breitling has long been purveyor of chronographs to pilots, but in the 1950's, the popularity of dive watches like the Rolex Submariner and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms pushed Breitling to enter that race.

In 1957, Breitling released both a time-only dive watch, the SuperOcean Reference 1004, and a chronograph in the form of the Reference 807. These watches would be the start of a long lasting and ever evolving line of nautical watches loved by many.

The watch that you're looking at here is one of Breitling's contemporary takes on that original Reference 807 chronograph.

With its 45mm stainless steel case and matching mesh bracelet, this watch is surprisingly well balanced and proportioned for its size. Featuring a luminous satin black dial with matching broad arrow handset, a black ceramic rotating dive bezel, a chronograph complication with a date at 3:00, and of course - water resistance suitable for daily-wear and beyond, this watch packs a a big punch in both the function and the looks department. 

Furthermore, this watch comes with its box, leather watch tube, books, warranty card, punched papers, and COSC hangtag. This is a great opportunity to take an excellent contemporary Breitling for a spin!

The Breitling Story

Breitling was founded in 1892, and while still around today, the company is no longer in the hands of the Breitling family.

The late 1970s was a turbulent time for the Swiss watch industry, and many storied houses were swept away by the Quartz Crisis. By 1978, Breitling was in trouble due to the illness of its leader, Willy Breitling, and the steep decline in sales that had cut through the entire industry. Unable to keep operations going, the Breitling company was liquidated, and parts, toolings and naming rights were sold off. One of the best aviation watch companies was no more, but they left behind a large range of incredible watches.

Breitling has been surprisingly slow to catch fire with vintage collectors, especially since the history of the brand and their ties to aviation are unimpeachable. Sure, many of their watches have polarizing designs and complicated dial aesthetics (hell, we don't know how to use the slide rule feature on the Navitimer 806 any better than you do), but their cleaner designs embody the best of 1960s and 1970s chronograph design and shouldn’t be overlooked.

If we had our druthers, Breitling would be one of the top dogs in the world of vintage watches, and given a strong new direction for the company today, we’re confident that in time, they will be.