I don't have a dressy watch. I've been considering picking one up for the occasional nice dinner, work function, wedding, etc. Looking at a few brands, Breitling seems to capture my attention the most in terms of aesthetics. I like a lot of what they produce. I really like their Super Avenger, but I think it would just be too big for my liking and girly wrists. Next in line would be the Superocean. It appears very similar to the SA with a slightly smaller case. How would this be for an overall dressy watch? I work with a bunch of watch snobs but would like to get some opinions here.

Super Ocean. Do it.

I have an sa 45mm and I'm not a Neanderthal and it looks fine. Get one. You will not regret it.

V

I have a superocean chrono 42 and small wrists.  It's fine.  You can't wear tight cuffs on a shirt since the watch is thick.  

PM me if you want an AD rep that maybe can help with prices.

Also check out Navitimers - they're a great dress watch (though not a diver, so water resistance is very poor).



See also Avenger II - its 43mm case might be a little bit better fit for a smaller wrist.

Don't even try to satisfy watch snobs, you might get one to admit liking it but the others will still be all, "ok, but it's not a Rolex Sub."

They use watches as the tool to rank each other in the classic locker room measuring contest. In that game, you go big or go home.

Buy exactly what you like. Be mindful a large watch has more than just the size across the case which can make or break it being comfortable, the distance vertically from lug to lug has a significant impact. Wide lugs make the bracelet or strap stand off from the wrist too much, short lugs get them to fall down the wrist better. The position of the crown also affects wear, one at 3 will dig into the back of your hand, move it to 4 or even over to 9 and it's out of the way. Pushers are the same - I have a chronograph which refuses to keep running because the start/stop pusher is too easy to depress and the back of my hand turns it off.

Size is also a marketing issue - a watch that fits and wears well may be measured in a way to maximize the posted number as it's always a game of who's bigger. With all that in mind - numbers are not a valid expression of whether you can wear the watch. It can vary up to 4mm, and many on watch forums report it. "I can wear this but I can't wear that" is a frequent comment, with the first being larger. Again, numbers are not a real accurate way to compare.

Then there are photos on the net, and when you take a pic a 6" from the watch on the wrist, it distorts proportions and makes it look huge on someones wrist. At 18" things get back to normal. What pics on the net do is scale up the dial and it's details, so you can see them in all their incredible glory. Be careful, tho. To get that same view, you have to put it in your face six inches away with a lot of light coming over your shoulder.

It's not going to be like that in real life. Be careful about choosing a busy design if you actually intend to read the time on your watch frequently. Busy multitrack dials with extra registers become a confusing blur too far away, and they become wrist jewelry, not a timepiece. Just be sure of your purpose going in and there will be no surprises.

The Superocean is the only Breitling I really care for. The design cues for everything else are a bit much for me. If possible, find a dealer where you can try them out.

For dress you could do worse than finding a vintage Antares World.

If you have small wrists but like the super avenger, then the Avenger II is what you seek.
Same look, smaller case, great watch.

The other model you may like is the Seawolf Avenger. Same style without the stopwatch feature.

Both are great dress watches.

Buy what you want but if I were buying Breitling I would try to buy used.....