It’s been a while since an update on the Superocean Heritage 46 and I know many members, including myself are a fan of this watch. There have been a number of versions V1, V2 and V1.5/3. The V2 is the best of the versions and now legendary amongst aficianados of the marque and commands a premium price when they come up, which is not very regular. TDs have told me it was a Noob production but hasn’t been made for several years now.
First off thanks to Krpster, By Tor, Seadweller, Breitest for their excellent reviews which I read and consumed avidly when I fell in lust with this watch and if you want to know more about the versions just go to the Stickys above and read them for yourself, well worth it. I hope the following will help other members as they have helped me.
I have always liked the blue dial on mesh and tried for over a year to see if I could score a V2, but these seem to be rarer than the black dials, so in the end I thought what the hell and about a year ago purchased the latest SOH 46 blue offering from Lucy at Truetime to see how the fit and feel was. All the TDs can get these but be aware that some are still showing pics of previous models that are some years old. The review I’m about to do is this model v my Gen as I’m not aware this comparison has been made and most reviews have been about the black dial models. Pics taken on my smart phone so combo of this and my lack of photography skills explain some of the less than perfect images.
First a couple of facts, the Gen costs £3,200/$5,000 and the rep on rep mesh cost £166/$260. I got mine on ebay, brand new with electronic AD 2 year global warranty for roughly half the full retail price with full box and papers. PM me for source if interested.
First impressions of the Gen are that it looks absolutely bang on, everything fits correctly and is perfectly lined up, there are no little niggles and the finish gives it a sparkle the rep can’t match. The other thing that hits is the blue colour which the rep factories find so hard to replicate and this is more pronounced in the flesh than my photos do justice.
In the following picture the Gen is on the left.
Starting the comparison from the outside one can see the following
The Bezel
- Bezel edge on the Gen is far more pronounced, rounded and deeper than the rep and in operation the gen has a very robust and positive movement, once it clicks in place it is fixed with no play, the rep movement is far less positive and there is still some play in position.
- The original bezel insert on the rep is pretty bad and marks like anything, so I asked Lucy to source me a spare. The one she sent, which is on the rep now is much better and I think probably comes from the Chrono. It fits in place nicely too without adjustment. Colour is off but not too bad and markers go further to the edge of the bezel, marker at 12 slightly different but overall this is pretty good.
The Dial
- Lume markers on the rep are applied within small white retaining circles and this method is never totally accurate as one can see. Gens are perfect. Lume on the gen lasts well all night, rep fades.
- Markers are pretty good on the rep, slightly shorter but rounded like the Gen. Twelve O clock markers lets it down being too close together, Gen has a noticeable gap between them.
- Printing on the Gen is much whiter and really stands out, a great crystal helps this
- Font is off on rep but not massively so
- Breitling B on the rep is pretty good and you’d need them side by side to tell
- Big tell is p and A don’t line up in superocean and AUTOMATIC, which means they’ve used a V1 dial
- Date window is smaller and poorly cut compared to the Gen and Datefont is wrong
- No swiss made on rep but this isn’t always on the Gens
- Hands are pretty good, second hand on rep is marginally thicker but that’s being picky
- As mentioned gen has great AR, reps isn't great, one sided at best
- The real difference on the dial is the way the Gen goes from dark blue to an almost aquamrine, or steel blue depending on the light, something the rep can't match, as you can see in the following
Gen above
Caseback engraving on the Gen, which is on the right is more substantial and deeper, the outer engraving font is larger too but the rep isn't bad, serial number not so good
The case of the Gen on the right is slimmer than the rep and the overall finish of this and the lugs is as one would expect better. Lugs on Gen are thinner. Gen crystal has pretty much disappeared and is much flatter, rep is slightly rounder. Note also shape of crown which is much thinner on the Gen
Gen on right has normal Breitling serial number stamped between the lugs, rep doesn't. Original V1 and V2 had this
Onto the bracelets, the original mesh i bought with the rep is OK at best but has little adjustment in the 24mm version and if your wrist is under 7.5 inches forget it unless you like your watches doing 360 round your wrist. Its also not a patch on the Staib I bought to replace it. These are good value at a little over $100 and in the picture below you can see it compared against the Ocean Classic for thickness. Staib is on top and about 3.5 mm and Classic is 5mm
As I said the Staib is a very good bracelet but the Ocean Classic, below, is another notch up, as it should be. It catches more light and you can see why, whereas the links on the Staib are flattened off the Classic's are rounded and reflect the light across its whole length
In conclusion it's an unfair comparison. There is nothing like a gen and whilst some reps come pretty damn close the latest SOH rep isn't one of the best, but it's still a great looking watch and carries through the theme of the SOH and the blue on mesh is a great combo. I'll leave with you some pics of the Gen which shows how versatile it is and how its character changes in different light, something which keeps it endlessly interesting.
First off thanks to Krpster, By Tor, Seadweller, Breitest for their excellent reviews which I read and consumed avidly when I fell in lust with this watch and if you want to know more about the versions just go to the Stickys above and read them for yourself, well worth it. I hope the following will help other members as they have helped me.
I have always liked the blue dial on mesh and tried for over a year to see if I could score a V2, but these seem to be rarer than the black dials, so in the end I thought what the hell and about a year ago purchased the latest SOH 46 blue offering from Lucy at Truetime to see how the fit and feel was. All the TDs can get these but be aware that some are still showing pics of previous models that are some years old. The review I’m about to do is this model v my Gen as I’m not aware this comparison has been made and most reviews have been about the black dial models. Pics taken on my smart phone so combo of this and my lack of photography skills explain some of the less than perfect images.
First a couple of facts, the Gen costs £3,200/$5,000 and the rep on rep mesh cost £166/$260. I got mine on ebay, brand new with electronic AD 2 year global warranty for roughly half the full retail price with full box and papers. PM me for source if interested.
First impressions of the Gen are that it looks absolutely bang on, everything fits correctly and is perfectly lined up, there are no little niggles and the finish gives it a sparkle the rep can’t match. The other thing that hits is the blue colour which the rep factories find so hard to replicate and this is more pronounced in the flesh than my photos do justice.
In the following picture the Gen is on the left.
Starting the comparison from the outside one can see the following
The Bezel
- Bezel edge on the Gen is far more pronounced, rounded and deeper than the rep and in operation the gen has a very robust and positive movement, once it clicks in place it is fixed with no play, the rep movement is far less positive and there is still some play in position.
- The original bezel insert on the rep is pretty bad and marks like anything, so I asked Lucy to source me a spare. The one she sent, which is on the rep now is much better and I think probably comes from the Chrono. It fits in place nicely too without adjustment. Colour is off but not too bad and markers go further to the edge of the bezel, marker at 12 slightly different but overall this is pretty good.
The Dial
- Lume markers on the rep are applied within small white retaining circles and this method is never totally accurate as one can see. Gens are perfect. Lume on the gen lasts well all night, rep fades.
- Markers are pretty good on the rep, slightly shorter but rounded like the Gen. Twelve O clock markers lets it down being too close together, Gen has a noticeable gap between them.
- Printing on the Gen is much whiter and really stands out, a great crystal helps this
- Font is off on rep but not massively so
- Breitling B on the rep is pretty good and you’d need them side by side to tell
- Big tell is p and A don’t line up in superocean and AUTOMATIC, which means they’ve used a V1 dial
- Date window is smaller and poorly cut compared to the Gen and Datefont is wrong
- No swiss made on rep but this isn’t always on the Gens
- Hands are pretty good, second hand on rep is marginally thicker but that’s being picky
- As mentioned gen has great AR, reps isn't great, one sided at best
- The real difference on the dial is the way the Gen goes from dark blue to an almost aquamrine, or steel blue depending on the light, something the rep can't match, as you can see in the following
Gen above
Caseback engraving on the Gen, which is on the right is more substantial and deeper, the outer engraving font is larger too but the rep isn't bad, serial number not so good
The case of the Gen on the right is slimmer than the rep and the overall finish of this and the lugs is as one would expect better. Lugs on Gen are thinner. Gen crystal has pretty much disappeared and is much flatter, rep is slightly rounder. Note also shape of crown which is much thinner on the Gen
Gen on right has normal Breitling serial number stamped between the lugs, rep doesn't. Original V1 and V2 had this
Onto the bracelets, the original mesh i bought with the rep is OK at best but has little adjustment in the 24mm version and if your wrist is under 7.5 inches forget it unless you like your watches doing 360 round your wrist. Its also not a patch on the Staib I bought to replace it. These are good value at a little over $100 and in the picture below you can see it compared against the Ocean Classic for thickness. Staib is on top and about 3.5 mm and Classic is 5mm
As I said the Staib is a very good bracelet but the Ocean Classic, below, is another notch up, as it should be. It catches more light and you can see why, whereas the links on the Staib are flattened off the Classic's are rounded and reflect the light across its whole length
In conclusion it's an unfair comparison. There is nothing like a gen and whilst some reps come pretty damn close the latest SOH rep isn't one of the best, but it's still a great looking watch and carries through the theme of the SOH and the blue on mesh is a great combo. I'll leave with you some pics of the Gen which shows how versatile it is and how its character changes in different light, something which keeps it endlessly interesting.
