The Breitling Superocean Automatic 44 Outerknown Is a Watch With Purpose

This article was produced in partnership with Breitling.

Breitling released the first Superocean in 1957, applying their historic aviation prowess and bringing it into the world of deep sea exploration, driven by the growing trend of hobby diving at the time. The series has become one of their most enduring entries, with their trademark combination of impenetrable craftsmanship and subtle elegance.

So how do you improve one of the most sought-after and coveted diving watches in the world? Partner with a legendary waterman and his sustainable business to design a product that is eco-responsible as well as expertly engineered.

That is exactly what Breitling CEO Georges Kern did when he enlisted world champion surfer Kelly Slater and his sustainable clothing company Outerknown, founded in 2015, to help the Swiss brand usher in the next era of diving watches, the latest being the Superocean Automatic 44 Outerknown.

The most distinguishable characteristic is the watch’s Econyl strap, with a buckle in regular stainless steel or DLC-coated stainless steel. The material used is a high-performance nylon yarn called Econyl that Outerknown utilizes, and is upcycled from salvaged ghost nets. The strap gives the watch added wrist security crucial while trying to chase down waves or exploring the depths.

Outerknown uses the same yarn to produce their earthy clothing, like jackets and boardshorts, as a means to repurpose vast amounts of undersea waste. Divers are dispatched to places like Croatia’s Adriatic Sea to collect the material off of the seabed and floating in the tide. There is no shortage of supply there, with an estimated half a million tons of fishing gear lost in our oceans every year—where it is left to kill marine wildlife and clutter the coast. The cause of cleaning our seas is one close to Slater’s heart.

“I often point out that the ocean and the beach are essentially my office,” says Slater. “I’ll do everything in my power to keep them clean.” The sentiment is one that is shared by Kern, who says: “The Superocean Outerknown is a fantastic watch, but the enduring story is the innovative strap. It marks another important step in our shared focus on sustainability.”

That significant message makes the watch’s featured color, a deep matte seaweed green that happens to be Slater’s favorite shade, a fitting one. The overall aesthetic is one that undoubtedly stands out in an urban environment, but looks just at home in the ocean or in the forest, as it does on your wrist.

The workable versatility of the classic Superocean remains unaltered though, with a compact 44mm stainless steel case, water-resistant to 1000 meters and with an automatic helium-escape valve at 9 o’clock to prevent any damage during prolonged dives. These significant features and that understated refinement make it the stylish selection for any destination, whether on land or sea.

[$3950; breitling.com]