Case #674 — Breitling Superocean Heritage II 42MM Blue Ref. AB2010161C1A1

Case #674 — Breitling Superocean Heritage II B20 Automatic 42 "Blue"

Ref. AB2010161C1A1

Status: Available

Condition: Very Good Pre-Owned

Scope: Box and Papers (Manuals Included — No Warranty Card)

Year: Unknown

🔎 Case Notes

Blue on blue, steel on mesh. The Superocean Heritage II 42 in this configuration is one of the more quietly confident designs in the modern Breitling catalogue — a sunburst blue dial, a matching blue ceramic bezel ring, and the woven steel mesh bracelet that gives the whole watch its mid-century character. It is a dive watch by specification and a sports-elegant watch by temperament, which is precisely the balance the Superocean Heritage line was drawn to strike.

The reference pays tribute to Breitling's 1957 Superocean, and combines a scratch-resistant high-tech ceramic bezel with a steel mesh bracelet. Underneath sits the real talking point: the Breitling Manufacture Caliber B20, a COSC-certified chronometer based on the Tudor Caliber MT5612 — a self-winding, high-frequency movement with approximately 70 hours of power reserve, running at 28,800 vph on 26 jewels, housed in a screwed-in steel case rated to 200 m.

This example is graded Very Good Pre-Owned. It presents nicely overall, with minor visible wear to the high-polish areas of the case and some wear marks on the clasp; the mesh bracelet itself is in very nice shape. On our timing check the watch measured +3 seconds per day at an amplitude of 305°. It is supplied with its Breitling box and manuals — there is no warranty card with this example — and the bracelet is currently sized for an approximately 7¾-inch wrist.

🕰️ The Evidence

• Reference: AB2010161C1A1
• Model / Collection: Superocean Heritage II B20 Automatic 42
• Year: Unknown
• Case: Stainless steel, screwed-in caseback
• Case Diameter: 42 mm
• Thickness: 14.3 mm
• Dial: Blue with applied stick indices, luminous markers, date window at 6 o'clock
• Crystal: Cambered sapphire, glareproofed both sides (AR coated)
• Bezel: Blue ceramic, unidirectional ratcheted rotating
• Crown: Screw-locked, two gaskets
• Movement: Breitling Manufacture Caliber B20, self-winding, high frequency
• Certification: COSC-certified chronometer
• Power Reserve: Approximately 70 hours; 28,800 vph; 26 jewels
• Functions: Hours, minutes, central seconds, date
• Water Resistance: 200 m (660 ft)
• Bracelet: Stainless steel mesh
• Clasp: Stainless steel deployant / folding clasp
• Bracelet Fit: Approximately 7¾-inch wrist
• Timing (measured at BST): +3 seconds per day
• Amplitude (measured at BST): 305°
• Condition: Very Good Pre-Owned — minor visible wear to the high-polish areas of the case; some wear marks on the clasp; bracelet in very nice shape
• Included: Box and Papers (manuals); no warranty card

🌟 Collector Provenance

The Superocean Heritage story begins with the 1957 Superocean, Breitling's first serious dive watch, and the Heritage line has existed since the mid-2000s as its modern interpretation. The chapter that matters here is the second generation: Breitling updated its best-selling Superocean Heritage collection with the Superocean Heritage II family, which arrived in a few case sizes, movement options and colour and material choices. The 42 mm steel version in blue became the signature of that generation.

It also marks a visual turning point for the brand. This is among the first generation of Breitling watches to carry the returning Breitling logo without the aviator wings, with a symmetrical dial, applied polished hour markers and a date window at 6 o'clock — a detail that dates the watch to the beginning of Breitling's design reset and makes Heritage II examples a tidy marker of where the brand pivoted.

Within the Heritage II 42 family, configuration matters. The line was offered either with a matching mesh bracelet or a "mesh-styled" rubber strap on a folding buckle, and the full steel mesh — Breitling's Ocean Classic style weave — is the version that best carries the 1950s reference. It is the harder of the two to find in genuinely good bracelet condition, simply because mesh shows its life, and this one does not.

🌟 Technical Provenance

The B20 is one of the more interesting movement stories of the past decade. The calibre is neither an ETA nor a Breitling in-house design in the traditional sense: it is based on Tudor's Calibre MT5612, with Breitling finishing and a silicon balance spring — effectively part of a movement exchange, since Tudor uses a variant of Breitling's B01 chronograph movement in return.

The Superocean Héritage II was the first watch to use that three-hand movement in Breitling form, bearing the name B20 in its modified version. In practice that means a robust 4 Hz automatic with a weekend-proof reserve: the COSC-certified Breitling Manufacture Calibre B20 delivers 70 hours of running time. Put the watch down on Friday evening and it is still ticking, still on time, on Monday morning.

The rest of the specification is quietly serious rather than showy. A screwed-in caseback, a screw-locked crown with two gaskets, a unidirectional ratcheted bezel and a double-glareproofed cambered sapphire crystal give 200 m of water resistance — enough for real swimming and diving use, while keeping the case proportions closer to the slim, elegant profile of the 1957 original than a modern saturation diver would allow.

🧾 From the Case File

At 42 mm across and 14.3 mm thick, this wears as a substantial but not unwieldy sports watch, and the mesh bracelet does a great deal of the work. Mesh drapes rather than articulates: it follows the wrist closely, distributes weight evenly, and tends to wear smaller than a link bracelet of the same width. It is also the detail that lets a blue dive watch slide under a shirt cuff without looking out of place.

The practical appeal of this particular example is condition where it counts. High-polish surfaces on any steel sports watch are the first to record daily life, and this case shows minor visible wear in exactly those areas — honest, expected, and consistent with a Very Good Pre-Owned grade. The clasp carries some wear marks. The bracelet mesh itself, which is by far the costliest and most conspicuous element to replace, is in very nice shape.

Mechanically, we measured the watch in-house at +3 seconds per day with 305° amplitude — figures a buyer can weigh for themselves rather than take on adjectives. Day to day, the ownership proposition is straightforward: a chronometer-certified automatic with a 70-hour reserve, a ceramic bezel that resists the scuffs an aluminium insert would collect, 200 m of water resistance, and a date at 6 o'clock that keeps the dial symmetrical.

🗝️ BST Verdict

A well-judged modern Breitling: the Heritage II generation that introduced the Tudor-derived B20 calibre, in the blue-dial, blue-ceramic, steel-mesh configuration that best echoes the 1957 Superocean it descends from.

This example is honest about its wear — minor marks on the polished case surfaces and clasp — while the mesh bracelet, the dial and the ceramic bezel present well, and the movement measured +3 seconds per day on our timing gear. Supplied with its Breitling box and manuals, it is a complete-looking, ready-to-wear sports watch for a roughly 7¾-inch wrist.

👉 Every case deserves a closer look.