Panda displays have long been a staple of the chronograph wristwatch archetype, using the high contrast of a white dial and black subdials to ensure that the extra complexity of a stopwatch display with multiple subdials remains easy to read, especially in a motorsport context. However, the first reverse panda with a black display and white subdials wasn’t a racing chronograph at all. It was on the Breitling Superocean Chronograph Ref. 807 from 1957, which was the world’s first dive watch chronograph. Today Breitling pay tribute to that legacy with the Superocean Heritage B01 42 in reverse panda colours.
The modern watch measures 42mm in diameter with a thickness of 14.55mm and a water resistance rating of 200m. It’s quite a practical size that’s both at home in the water and on land, which was entirely the point of the Superocean range when it was created in the 50s. It was designed to be the ultimate watch for that mid-century jet set lifestyle, where it would be champagne in the airport lounge, then off to a tropic island for a swim and back home again to give a keynote speech at the club dinner. And you wouldn’t need to change your watch for any of it.
That energy is perfectly captured in the sunray brushed dial of the Superocean Heritage B01 42 Chronograph and its silver accents across the subdials and hour markers. It even makes use of the same spear-and-arrow hand set as the original 50s model, which was seen as the vogue design at the time. Though fortunately they have modernised the design in the ways that count.
Instead of an anodised bezel, the tribute watch has a black ceramic bezel which is much tougher and scratch resistant, as well as impervious to colour damage and fading. The movement inside is also a modern calibre, the B01 flagship chronograph movement with 70-hour power reserve and COSC-chronometer certification. It’s visible through the exhibition caseback where you can see its intricate finishing and Côtes de Genève rotor.
It’s priced at £7,300 on rubber strap or £7,500 on mesh bracelet. That’s the same pricing as the existing steel models with monochrome displays from the 2025 collection revamp]. Taking an objective look, this really is just a two-tone edition of Superocean Heritage Chronograph but at the same time it feels more special than that. The connection to the history of the collection and its legacy as the first reverse panda deserves celebrating.
Price and Specs:
More details at Breitling.
