Aviator 8 Automatic 41 Blacksteel / Middle East Limited Edition

In Context

At 41 mm it is sized to the current mainstream: 40 mm is the median across every watch measured in this catalogue. At 10.74 mm thick it is about average for a modern wristwatch. The case back is closed, so the movement stays out of sight, and the sapphire crystal will resist everything short of deliberate abuse. 100 m is genuine swimming resistance — more than the shape of this watch suggests it would need.

The movement winds itself from the motion of your wrist. Its 38-hour reserve wants wearing most days; leave it off and it stops. At 28,800 vph the seconds hand advances 8 times a second.

M173154A1C1X2 stands on its own in this catalogue — no other reference here shares its base number. It pairs a blue sunburst dial with a stainless steel case. It was a limited edition.

The Caliber 17 is Breitling's three-hand automatic with date, an ETA 2824-2 finished to chronometer standard. It powers 391 watches in this library, the second-largest count of any Breitling movement. The 2824 is the industry's standard automatic: 25 or 26 jewels, 28,800 vph, a 38-hour reserve and a date at 3 o'clock, supplied by ETA or by Sellita as the equivalent SW200 depending on the year. Breitling's contribution is regulation and certification: every Caliber 17 is COSC-certified, which the base movement is not by default, and the rotor carries Breitling's finishing. It is not thin, at 4.6 mm, and that is why it sits in the tool-watch lines rather than the dress ones. Those lines are where the library finds it: 131 [Avengers](/brands/breitling/avenger), 129 [Superoceans](/brands/breitling/superocean), 54 [Navitimers](/brands/breitling/navitimer), 28 [Colts](/brands/breitling/colt), 27 [Superocean Heritages](/brands/breitling/superocean-heritage) and 22 AVIs. Cases run from 36 mm to 48 mm, with 42, 45, 44 and 41 mm the most common, and 21 references are limited editions. The [Caliber 17 ND](/calibers/breitling-caliber-17-nd) is the same movement without the date, the [Caliber 10](/calibers/breitling-caliber-10) is the thinner 2892-based alternative, and the [B20](/calibers/breitling-caliber-b20) is the Tudor-built movement that took over the Superocean Heritage.

390 other watches in the library run the Breitling Caliber 17.

Breitling

Superocean 44

A1739102BA76134A · 44 mm

Breitling

Superocean 44 Australia Edition

U173672A1B1A1 · 44 mm

Breitling

Superocean 42

A1736402BA32132S · 42 mm

Breitling

Superocean 44

A1739102BA80433X · 44 mm