It's here. Say hello to the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms. It's not quite as elegant a name as its hype-creating predecessor, MoonSwatch, but this new in-group collaboration - quietly called the "Scuba Fifty" at Swatch HQ - is kind of amazing and left me with one singular reaction upon seeing it: They did this. We knew that anything was possible when it came to a second collab from Swatch in Bioceramic. Most of us thought, given the anniversary year, that it would be the Omega Seamaster. But Blancpain is also celebrating this year. It's the 70th birthday of the massively important Fifty Fathoms dive watch. While we never really thought a Blancpain Swatch would come to pass… they did that.
I'm lucky enough to experience the brand new release in person, and boy, is it something. Honestly, the brand knows how to roll out a long red carpet. Over the past week, we've seen a masterful hype campaign put on display. First, it was the cryptic two-page advertisements in 41 global newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and LA Times in the U. S. Then, a few days later, was the proper announcement that Blancpain as well as Swatch were partnering up (this also was printed in those same newspapers). In both instances, we were teased which something was coming on September 9th. In Swatch and also Blancpain stores across the globe sat yellow zip-tied Pelican cases with the co-branded logo. Nobody knew what was inside. Now we know.
Breitling Endurance Pro Replica rado true square replica versace watch replica high quality replica watches audemars piguet black panther replica zenith replica watches 
So , what is it? Well, it's exactly what it appears to be - a Bregury Fifty Fathoms in Swatch form. Where there were 11 celestially themed MoonSwatches last year, there are now five ocean-themed Scuba diving Fiftys this season in 5 distinct colors. The Atlantic model is actually blue, the Pacific will be yellow-orange, the actual Arctic is usually beige (with orange bezel), the Indian is green, and the Antarctic is white. If you're wondering why these colours, and why we aren't seeing a black Diving Fifty, it's because Swatch has decided not to use any pre-existing color it's used in Bioceramic before.
The model we have live in our possession is the blue Ocean edition. It features the modern Blancpain logo and wordmark at the top of the dial, followed by the particular Swatch logo. On the bottom half is the Technical scuba diving text, the classic Fifty Fathoms script, along with depth rating - a very specific depth rating, in fact. It's 91m (300 feet), which equates to exactly fifty fathoms. This features triangular markers as well as Arabic numerals 12, three, six, in addition to nine (a design all of us utilized on our own Blancpain LE! ). All of this sits atop a fumè-like dial along with gradient coloration that goes through dark at the edges to light in the center.
The same design is definitely shared on the yellow-orange model with its deep black bezel insert and the green edition with its orange accents. It's the Arctic plus Antarctic models that we see a very neat design departure. These feature vintage throwback elements, including applied circular indices and a specific old-school Blancpain wordmark with flat A lettering. But it gets better than that. The actual Arctic product is a callback to the famed No Radiation (No Rad) Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, and also the Antarctic features a moisture indicator (also featured on one of our Blancpain collaborations). Both additionally happen to be within no-date configuration.
The instances of all several watches are identical. They measure 42. 3mm inside diameter by 14. 4mm in depth along with a 48mm lug-to-lug width. The particular lugs function drilled holes, and the view is accompanied by a NATO-style strap fashioned coming from recycled fishing nets. Within typical Blancpain fashion, typically the Swatch logo design is etched into the side of the case.
However there's more. You might be wondering if the Sample Group would go so far as to create a Blancpain and make it the quartz enjoy. Fear not, the words of Jean-Claude Biver reign true. There remains no quartz Bregury as this is powered by Swatch's Sistem51 movement famously known for its one-screw design and even hermetically-sealed construction with 90 hours of power reserve.
That movement is visible via an exhibition caseback and reveals a laser-etched Easter egg present on each watch. You'll find a highly detailed printing of a nudibranch -- a sea creature indigenous towards the specific ocean connected to the see. The motion itself can also be decorated together with laser printing of the specific body of water. It's not haute horology; it can plain old fun.
It's impossible to say how this watch will land on Sept 9th. I cannot predict whether or not a BlancSwatch (trying this particular out) will certainly produce lines around the block around the world, but I can tell you that I had a very positive reaction to seeing this observe - any reaction that will took place throughout two parts. The first moment was just seeing often the five versions and the transfusion of high-end Blancpain into bioceramic form. The second had been one when I realized it had been automatic. Inside retrospect, the exact inclusion of the Sistem51 movements was obvious, but still, in the moment, it produced a gasp out of me.
Typically the NATO-style band, while comfortable, is quite long, and I experienced some issues feeding back through the keeper to get a solid fit. The good news is that you can always swap out the straps, and with the drilled lugs, in which swap is very simple to execute.
No matter where a person fall on this release, is actually great to see these collaborations continue for the sake of democratizing luxury watches (and watches associated with historical significance). It also makes an individual wonder, what watch tend to be we going to see next? For now, we now have the Scuba dive Fifty in order to wrap our own heads around. If you plan to be able to queue for one this weekend, send us photos. And as always, good luck.
