Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Outerknown Review

In addition to the standard versions of their mainstay dive watch, the Superocean, Breitling has offered the Superocean Heritage line since 2007, with aesthetic nods that resemble the earliest Superoceans. But a subset of that collection, the Superocean Heritage ’57 line, pays even more explicit homage to the hands and hour markers of the original 1957 model. The Superocean Heritage ’57 takes the heritage so seriously that it even includes an old-fashioned bidirectional smoothly-rotating bezel and non-screwdown crown. Here’s my review of the Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Outerknown released in 2020.

The Breitling Superocean ’57 Heritage Outerknown was the third and final Breitling x Outerknown watch collab, and it came in two versions: all stainless steel, or two-tone (steel with rose gold bezel and accents). A DLC-coated Superocean Chronograph 44 was the first Outerknown Breitling in 2018, and a military green Superocean 44 came the year after.

Like all Breitling x Outerknown watches, the Superocean ’57 Heritage Outerknown comes on a striped NATO strap made of the sustainable Econyl fabric that Outerknown is known for using in their apparel. As of 2025, Breitling Econyl straps are discontinued, although surfing legend and Outerknown founder Kelly Slater and Breitling are collaborating still. Here are my impressions of the Superocean ’57 Outerknown.

Impressions

When I first tried on the two-tone version of the Breitling Superocean ’57 Heritage Outerknown (ref. U103701A1Q1W1), it quickly became one of my favorite Breitlings. The all-steel version (ref. A103703A1Q1W1) is decent enough, but I think the rose gold bezel and accents give it some needed “pop.” Plus the rose gold works well with the copper color of the dial, although I do think Breitling could’ve used a richer brown hue.

While the bidirectional bezel and simple push-pull crown exclude this watch from “professional dive watch” territory, its case height (9.99mm) is thinner than any serious mechanical dive watch, so I can forgive those things. The thin case is one of the watch’s biggest strengths; it’s very wearable. I also am a big fan of the unique and spectacularly legible hands.

One of the first things that struck me about the watch was its concave bezel, with a shape that effectively counteracts the protrusion of the sapphire crystal for an almost-flat-across appearance from the side.

The bezel extends well beyond the midcase itself, so the listed 42mm diameter is a bit deceiving. To me this wears more like a 40mm watch. And it’s certainly the most svelte Breitling I’ve ever tried on.

As on numerous other time-only Breitlings, the Breitling caliber 10 (based on the common but reliable Sellita SW300 movement) is inside, offering a just-OK 42 hours of power reserve. But before I get into the full specs, here’s my breakdown of the pros and cons of the Superocean ’57 Heritage Outerknown.

Pros and Cons of the Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Outerknown

Pros	Cons
Concave bezel looks badass	Smooth bidrectional bezel can be nudged accidentally
Slim case (just under 10mm thick)	No screwdown crown
Great legibility, day or night	Simple mass-produced movement
Good value for its secondhand price	Dial is a bit dull in some lighting conditions

Price

The stainless steel version of the Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Outerknown sells for about $3,000 while the two-tone goes for roughly $4,000. That’s around 2/3 of the original MSRP. The two-tone model was limited to 500 pieces, while the steel one was a regular production model–although as a so-called “Capsule Collection” the Superocean Heritage ’57 models were apparently never intended to be permanent.

Specs

Model Name	Superocean Heritage ’57 Outerknown (2020 Steel, TT)
Reference Number	A103703A1Q1W1 (Steel) U103701A1Q1W1 (Two-tone)
Case Material	Stainless steel Stainless steel w/18k rose gold bezel
Case Dimensions	42mm width 9.99mm thickness
Movement Caliber	Breitling 10 (ETA 2892 or Sellita SW300)
Movement Functions	Hours, minutes, seconds (no date)
Power Reserve	42 hours
Water Resistance	100m
Caseback	Solid
Bracelet/Strap	Brown ECONYL® NATO
Approximate True Market Value (2025)	$3,000 (Steel) $4,000 (Two-tone)

Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Outerknown Review: Conclusion

The hour markers, hands, and concave bezel are all awesome. When I do things like putting my youngest kid in her car seat, though, sometimes I inadvertently nudge the bezel by a few minutes. That’s really the main annoyance I have with the watch. The overhang of the bezel naturally provides some level of protection against accidental crown-pulling, so the non-screwdown crown doesn’t really bother me.

Whether or not you call it “fauxtina,” the egg-nog-colored lume is very pleasant. And while I do think Breitling could’ve made the dial a touch browner and less grayish, it’s still a cool color scheme and it’s complemented well by the Econyl strap. Breitling AD’s are pretty cool about letting you order whatever bracelet you want, and there’s a mesh bracelet that fits this model if you’d prefer that. But I think the Econyl NATO strap fits it perfectly.

As CEO, Georges Kern has streamlined the Breitling lineup in several key ways already. And now that the latest generation of Superocean Heritage models ‘have the ’57-style hour hand and 12 o’clock marker, there isn’t much differentiating the Heritage and Heritage ’57 lines. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole Superocean ’57 “Capsule Collection” gets discontinued soon.

In fact Breitling has done three different “Capsule Collections” of Superocean Heritage ’57 models–the original 42mm models announced in 2020 (of which the Outerknown is one), some pastel-colored 38mm models that debuted in 2021, and some earthy two-tone 38mm “Highlands” models from 2023. Personally I think the “capsule” thing is a bit unclear–is this one capsule or three capsules?–as the sort-of-limited-but-not-really status is confusing. But what really matters is the watches, and I like this one a lot.

Although an oversupply of Superocean options may have caused collectors to sleep on the Superocean ’57 Heritage a bit, it’s one of my favorite Breitlings ever–particularly this Outerknown version.