Blancpain

219
3826

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Testing Blancpain’s Fifty Fathom Bathyscape: Finding Ariel’s song in the ‘Big Blue’.

Hard to imagine that a little over 60 years ago, there was no dive watch market! There were some specialist dive watches developed for military purposes, but to all intents and purposes, these were not available to the civilian population. In today’s market there is hardly any single watch firm that does not have a dive in its line up; they have become a requirement for most watchmakers whether in the haute horologerie market or not. Dive watches were developed by two firms in particular: Rolex and Blancpain.



The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, introduced a year earlier that the Rolex in 1953, the then CEO of Blancpain: Jean Jacques Fiechter who was a diving enthusiast had been approached by the French military (Captain Robert Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud) to develop a specialist dive watch for covert missions. Being an enthusiast, and in the dive market so to speak, Fiechter did not wait long to develop versions of the dive watch for the everyday person. The name Fifty Fathoms was given by Fiechter from Shakespeare: Ariel’s song in The Tempest: “Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made.” Fiechter simply decided that after modifying a watch for a screw back and a rotating bezel that he would multiply the number of fathoms by a factor of ten! It was the Fifty Fathoms. But for watch dimensions of the day, the original Fifty Fathoms was considered large. So somewhere around 1956/57, Fiechter determined that a smaller version of the Fifty Fathoms watch could be offered for more everyday use. And so it was: the Bathyscape.



Of course, half a century later, and the dive watches that were deemed too specialist and not likely to catch on, have become collectors’ items of the first order. Former tool watches are now lauded and command handsome prices in the auction market. However, diving no longer requires that a watch be worn to time the dive. Real time electronic dive computers will do the job with far greater accuracy. That said, divers still wear a watch: a second system might be needed if the first system fails. But the basic need for a tool watch no longer exists. Dive watches have pandered to some degree to the vagaries of fashion: an increased case size that is not sea depth dependent; polished cases; complicated escapements are all unnecessary.



To my mind if you are in the market for a dive watch it comes down to the two most original on the block (or the shop floor if you like): Rolex or Blancpain. While the Rolex Submariner (no date) had initially caught my attention as a clear market leader: I liked the switch to a ceramic bezel but the redesign of the case bothered me a little. In particular, the oversized lugs and the now beefed up case dimensions spoiled, to my eye, a near perfect design in the first place. In trying to give the watch more prominence on the wrist, Rolex managed to make the watch less desirable. But at Basel 2013, Blancpain, celebrating 60 years of the Fifty Fathoms, decided to introduce a new line. Using past designs in the Bathyscape (a slightly smaller everyday model), Blancpain re-introduced the line to run alongside the regular Fifty Fathoms watch (as the company had done so about fifty years previously).





To test the watch I was crewing on a friend’s sailing trip from the north of Sardinia to Salina in a sloop at a leisurely pace. Not a racing trip and one in which swimming and snorkel diving were as important as the sailing aspect. It seemed an ideal chance to ‘sea trip’ the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscape and see if the watch could move between more ‘tool’ activities such as sailing and diving, and more everyday activities being onshore. Would the watch look and (perhaps more importantly) operate under all circumstances for which it was designed and made? Armed with a GoPro and a small Nikon 1 camera, I set out to record the watch under various conditions.



The aesthetics and look to the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscape is definitely that of a tool watch. But Blancpain have managed to pull off something very clever. The watch might have the look of the tool watch, and may even full fill the requirements of a tool watch: depth rating, high visibility, adjustable bezel; but the watch also has elements that make the watch stand out. Not least of which are the polished elements of the dial. The dial not only shows attention to detail, but also the wish to have a tool watch that will double up as an everyday wearer. The superluminova luminosity is second to none. Under the waves, or simply on the bedside table at night, the watch can be clearly seen. Even with deteriorating sight (a symptom of advancing years), the time can be read without the need for glasses. The finish is exemplary, both in terms of the polished edges on the markers and on the hands. Added to that is the dial itself, which being the steel version of the watch, is the sunburst charcoal grey. It does add to the dial and the wish pleasure in seeing the watch on the wrist.





The bezel is made from ceramic and has a thinner profile than either the usual Fifty Fathoms watch or the modern Rolex Submariner. It adds to the vintage tool watch look. In some lighting, out of the water, it is not always possible to see the minute and hour markers clearly. Yet underwater, the bezel is clear and legible in almost any light. The bezel itself is mono-directional (anti-clockwise). The bezel can be moved with a little effort, but otherwise stays where desired. What is impressive is that even after being under water, and drying out without the use of sweet water to clean off the salt, the bezel works without problem. The seal under the bearings allows the watch to be used as a dive watch without hindering the working of the watch after the event.



There are other differences between the Bathyscape and the usual Fifty Fathoms and in my opinion, all for the better. The case is thinner in profile, the lugs and the case ends are angular, and brushed. This adds to the ‘tool’ or vintage look to the watch. The oversized crown both adds to the aesthetic and aids time-setting. The sapphires front and back are treated with anti-reflective coating. The top crystal is slightly domed which adds to the visual effect.







The element that distinguishes the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscape from the competition, for me, is the exhibition back and the ability to see the movement. The movement is the caliber 1315 in-house automatic that also sits beneath the dial of the normal Fifty Fathoms watch. Although the regular Fifty Fathoms has a solid case back. While perhaps not the most elegant of movement designs, it is a workhorse movement that does the job. It is designed for both long term use and to be durable. The free-sprung balance has no index and no swan’s neck; equipped instead with regulating screws placed around the rim of the balance. The screw-based system is ideal for stability for a sports watch, since it mitigates the potentially detrimental effect of shocks that could modify the position of the index or the swan’s neck, thereby disturbing the rate. The balance spring is silicon which helps provide the anti-magnetic properties to the movement. The movement has an industrial type finish. It is definitely a modern movement design. There is finesse in the movement finishing: straight graining, beveling, circular-graining and circular satin-brushing, but the overall effect is to signal a ‘no frills’ approach to the watch. It is a ‘tool’ watch that nonetheless is refined. The rotor, while being made from 18 karat, is given an industrial finish. The visual effect of movement finishing and the industrial finish on the rotor is appealing and fits with the overall ethos for the watch.



The watch has the NATO strap (that was specifically designed for the watch) or the nylon strap. The tang buckle is equally designed to be in keeping with the watch. I would also add that the leather elements of the NATO strap have been treated and after being in saltwater, and being washed with sweet water, the leather on drying out remains supple and does not crack; which is commendable and the NATO strap looks good before, during, and after being in the ocean. On the nylon strap the watch looks equally at home on the wrist with a shirt cuff and jacket, as the NATO strap does with more casual or sporting attire. The watch works well on the water, in the sea, and at the yacht club. It is as versatile a sports watch as you could wish to have.





Certainly on the voyage south through the ‘Big Blue’ Mediterranean Sea the watch looked at home. It was at home under the water (although admittedly I did not test the depth rating) as it was on the water with the yacht. Likewise, it looks at home on the wrist lounging at the Clubhouse, or in a more sartorially demanding establishment. Blancpain’s decision to augment the basic tool watch aesthetic with polished markers, hands, and with the sunburst finish to the dial, was a master stroke. And as such, Blancpain have managed to pull off something very clever and in my book, difficult in the world of haute horologerie. They have managed to make a tool watch look refined and well finished, while retaining the tool watch aesthetic. To my mind, this pulls the Bathyscape both ahead of its rivals, both in the same pricing category, and against its higher priced relative. The Bathyscape is serious competition for the Rolex Submariner (in its re-designed form) and along with its more depth worthy siblings. There is a little more horologerie and savior faire about the Bathyscape over its rivals. Production and distribution of the Blancpain watches is less ubiquitous than that of Rolex.



There are some nice touches with the paraphernalia that accompanies a high-end watch in this day and age with the Bathyscape. First, the watch box itself is a Peli waterproof case that ensures your watch, and the nice pouch it comes in, remain dry. I am guessing that this is more for the pouch than the watch, although should your yacht sink or capsize, the watch box will float ensuring that if such an event occurs that not “All Is Lost!” Second, the watch documentation comes in a plastic folder, which I guess added to the water proofing aspect, but included in with the documentation was the timing results from the watch once it was cased and finished. You will know the accuracy of the watch on your wrist which I find reassuring (I am OCD!). Third, the Blancpain watches come with a travel pouch that is easily removable from the watchbox. This allows you to travel with your watch onshore in a bag leaving the box behind, given that you don’t want to wear it on your wrist (for some strange reason).



How large an impact the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscape will make to the Rolex dive watch hegemony depends not only on the numbers that Blancpain produce, but how popular the watch proves to be. For the reasons already stated, I think Blancpain have a winner and something that should give Rolex (and any other brand for that matter) a run for your money in the dive watch market. Am I a big fan of Blancpain watches? No! But every now and then a watch company, irrespective of what else they may have produced, gets it “just right”! Blancpain did just that with the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscape.

Andrew H This message has been edited by 219 on 2015-02-12 13:28:27 This message has been edited by 219 on 2015-02-12 13:29:16 This message has been edited by amanico on 2015-03-10 21:18:57

Site Info.