New Watch: Breitling Transocean Chronograph Edition

Breitling's aviation heritage is more than a marketing gimmick, but few of the brand's modern watches have a connection to its mid-century pilot's watches. The Transocean Chronograph Edition is the closest thing we've seen yet to a reissue of a vintage chronograph from Breitling. And its a good effort at that.

First Thoughts: Few brands exhibit such a disconnect between its modern and vintage watches as Breitling. From the 1930s through the '70s Breitling made some of the downright coolest pilot's chronographs: dials that balanced color and subtlety, cases that were large but easy to wear, and top notch mechanics. The movements are still eminently reliable, but the styling is more flash than functionality. The Transocean Chronograph Edition fixes that by pulling details from the classics, including a two-tone dial, applied gold "B" at 12 o'clock, tachymeter scale, and luminous dots, packaged in a more understated 43mm steel case. Vintage nerds rejoice!