The past few years have seen the launch and steady expansion of Blancpain’s Bathyscaphe line up. In 2013, we saw the original three-hander, 2014 gave us the Bathyscaphe Chronograph, and then the beautifully blue Bathyscaphe Ocean Commitment Chronograph came in 2015. This year, Blancpain completed the family portrait with the latest iteration of the Bathyscaphe, which quite successfully puts the look and construction of the Ocean Commitment Chronograph into the original three-hand design.
In broad strokes, if you know the standard Bathyscaphe three-hander, you are well on your way to understanding this new version. While the basic form remains thankfully unchanged, this new model is more than just a blue dial and bezel as its 43.6 mm case is made of grey ceramic. This is not the first time that Blancpain has used ceramic for the case of a Bathyscaphe three-hander and, much like the preceding Ocean Commitment Chronograph, this version has a lovely brushed blue dial and ceramic bezel with Liquidmetal hour markers.
Until you have it in your hands, you could be excused for thinking that the case was metal, as it carries the warmth of titanium and a beautifully brushed finish. Upon lifting this diver from the table the ceramic feels solid, smooth like glass, and lighter than you might expect. The official reference is 5000-0240-NAOA (with the nato strap) but I wish they had called it something, anything, aside from just Bathyscaphe. I suppose we’ll all just know it as the blue Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe.
With vintage reissues becoming all the rage, we weren’t surprised to discover Blancpain roll out the all new and pretty constrained Tribute to Fifty Fathoms ($14,one hundred) earlier this yr. The original Fifty Fathoms was the mother-of-all contemporary dive watches-the to start with automated diver, plus the very first with a rotating bezel for timing. And this certain model is created as being a nod to MIL-SPEC 1 variant originally unveiled in 1957.
Still 13.8mm thick and water resistant to 300m, the blue dial and bezel make for a considerably different vibe than its siblings, perhaps not quite as austere. Less tactical than the monochromatic alternatives, the blue Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe (aside from its ceramic case and 43.6mm sizing) has the demeanor of a watch designed in the early days of diving. Its crystal-clear legibility and razor-sharp detailing is juxtaposed by the warm and inviting blue tones of the dial and bezel. If the Bathyscaphe is an attempt to carry vintage Blancpain design elements into a modern luxury diver, I think this blue version is the most successful iteration we’ve seen to date.
The organization later launched the additional common uni-directional rotating bezel.
Visible via a display case back, the blue Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe uses Blancpain’s calibre 1315 – the same movement used by all of the three-hand Bathyscaphes. This 4Hz in-house automatic movement uses three mainspring barrels to offer 120 hours of power reserve for its display of the time and date. Designed to be tool-ready, the 1315 is function over form and has been used in several of Blancpain’s dive watches in the past.
It truly is often forgotten that the Fifty Fathoms is in fact a year older compared to the Rolex Submariner, having been launched in 1953. The underwater capabilities along with the reliable top quality of this diver have been unanimously recognized – it was swiftly adopted through the explorer Jacques Cousteau and lots of armed forces throughout the world. The existing view is often a later on iteration, since it proudly exhibits the “No-Radiation” emblem at 6 o’clock to show that there is no radioactive lume present. Moreover, it comes with exceptional provenance, right from a fight diver while in the German Bundeswehr. He has provided all his diving logs, and, what we love to see, an unique image of him sporting the watch in services, like a “Kampfschwimmer.” Obviously, the watch also comes with the right engraved caseback, and it shows signs of real-life use, with scratches and dents on the case. This can be exactly the situation you’ll want to expect for an straightforward military watch, which was under no circumstances meant to be babied.
I remember loving the original crop of Bathyscaphes back in 2013, and this blue model is an even stronger fit for my tastes while also being an incredibly unrealistic request of my wallet. The ceramic case ensures top billing in the three-hand Bathyscaphe pecking order, and indeed the blue Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe claims a tidy $12,800 USD, mounted to either the pictured high-quality blue NATO or Blancpain’s frankly excellent sail canvas two-piece strap. Following the example set by the Ocean Commitment Chronograph, the blue Bathyscaphe offers a similar appeal in a more simplified layout that is certainly eye-catching and should look even better underwater. If you happen to take one diving, I’d love to see the photos. blancpain.com
