I recently purchased a Breitling SuperOcean Steelfish. I love the watch, but I was unhappy with the shiny finish on the center links of the bracelet, on the sides of the case, and on the side and inner rim of the bezel. I was also unhappy with the lack of a blackened background to the lines/numerals on the bezel (cut-out only, unlike the “plain” SuperOcean, which has blackened lines/numerals). Here’s what I did to modify the watch.

First, I purchased quality fine and very fine emory boards (the type sold in salons and better pharmacies). These are mounted on either side of foam board. After cutting the emory boards into ¼”-wide strips (to match the width of the links of the bracelet), I carefully rubbed the shiny center links, the sides of the case, and the side of the bezel with the fine and then the extra fine emory board strips, working only in one plane (a single direction, back and forth). The shiny finish slowly became brushed, matching exactly the brushed finish of the outer links of the bracelet. I then repeated this procedure VERY CAREFULLY (with the crystal masked) on the inner rim of the bezel. I wore a loupe while rubbing the metal to ensure accurate placement of the abrasive strips before making contact.

I then used a Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker to apply black ink to the lines/numerals on the bezel, also wearing the loupe. After waiting about 10 seconds, I removed the excess ink with a dry or a slightly dampened Q-tip. I applied the ink to each line and numeral separately. It has now been 6 weeks, and the results have remained except for the need for one slight touch-up of one numeral.

This took some courage, but I’m very pleased with the final result. See the photo.