Breitling stays ahead of the game

Breitling courts new customers with fashion gaming app, Drest, and colourful versions of its SuperOcean Heritage ’57 dive watches for women

How does a 137-year-old Swiss watch house that has positioned itself as a pilots’ brand future-proof itself? It bolsters its digital presence, takes a shot at gamification, aligns itself with surfers and drone racers, and learns to court women. That’s right, CEO Georges Kern has made no secret of the fact that he wishes to position Breitling as a casual, inclusive alternative to traditional luxury brands, and getting women customers on board is a big part of that plan. Earlier this week, Breitling partnered with Drest, an immersive fashion and styling gaming app, to introduce a new batch of Superoceans. While the ‘Breitling Superocean Heritage ’57 Pastel Paradise Capsule Collection’ can be a mouthful, this post-pandemic summer edition of the brand’s retro dive watch is a refreshing departure from most women’s watches. Take its size for instance - the 38mm stainless steel case is just right for women who say no to ‘dainty’. And men won’t be shy about wearing them too. As seen at the Watches & Wonders Geneva fair earlier this year, there is an infusion of pastels on both suit and sports watches for men (I’m looking at your cotton candy experiment, Oris). Breitling’s Pastel Paradise doesn’t disappoint, with white, aquamarine, mint green and iced latte tone-on-tone dials, bezels and straps. These elegant beauties (there’s the popular rainbow dial too), are great for Drest’s ‘dressing up avatars’ and mood board challenges. A 72-hour challenge that began Monday when the collection dropped, saw players pairing the new Superocean models with clothes and accessories from over 200 brands. The ensembles gained them points to level up in the game, but unfortunately no grand prize like the Chronomat Automatic 36 in stainless steel (approx 4,700 USD) that one player walked away with earlier this year. That was the result of Breitling’s debut challenge with Drest in January, a successful branding exercise.