Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms

Jamie Weiss

• Blancpain’s iconic dive watch receives the MoonSwatch remedy
• Powered by a SISTEM51 computerized motion, it’s water resistant to 91m 
• 5 colors can be found, every named after totally different oceans and impressed by vibrant sea slugs

The Swatch x Blancpain Fifty Fathoms has been one of many worst-kept secrets and techniques within the watch world. After the large success of the Swatch x Omega Bioceramic MoonSwatch final 12 months, many watch followers have been speculating when and the way Swatch would observe up such an infinite collaboration. Blancpain was lengthy tipped to be the following model within the Swatch Group secure to be the main target of a collaboration – and after months of rumours, dodgy renders and wild hypothesis, Swatch has lastly pulled the covers off their reasonably priced luxurious dive watch. Naturally, we dashed all the way down to Melbourne’s Swatch retailer to take a look on the watches ourselves… And we’re fairly impressed.

So, all the way down to brass tacks. The gathering’s full title is the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms assortment. The Scuba, in fact, was Swatch’s dive watch line, which has largely been moribund in recent times after the not-particularly-successful Scuba Libre launch in 2013 – so it’s cool to see the Scuba come again, particularly in such model. Because the Scuba title suggests, you possibly can certainly swim with this Swatch x Blancpain – one thing some watch followers have been anxious about. Certainly, it’s water resistant to actually fifty fathoms (or 91 metres, for those who choose).

To place one other concern to mattress, the Swatch x Blancpain is an computerized watch. Blancpain famously ran a collection of adverts post-quartz disaster that boldly claimed that “there has by no means been a quartz Blancpain watch, and there by no means might be”. Swatch, fortunately, has saved true to that promise: the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms is powered by Swatch’s SISTEM51 mechanical computerized motion, which boasts a Nivachron anti-magnetic steadiness spring and a formidable 90-hour energy reserve. Because it occurs, 2023 marks not solely the seventieth anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms but in addition the tenth anniversary of the SISTEM51 motion, so it’s all very becoming.

Some extra necessary particulars: because the title implies, the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms contains a case constituted of Swatch’s eco-friendly Bioceramic compound, just like the MoonSwatch earlier than it. It contains a screw-down crown (additionally constituted of Bioceramic) in addition to a unidirectional diving bezel constituted of Bioceramic and scratch-resistant glass. It comes mounted on a NATO strap constituted of recycled fishing nets, which options Bioceramic {hardware}, and maybe most significantly, is available in 5 totally different colors, every named after one of many planet’s 5 oceans: the Arctic Ocean (beige), the Pacific Ocean (orange), the Atlantic Ocean (blue), the Indian Ocean (inexperienced) and the Antarctic Ocean (ice white).

Swatch explains that the colors of every of those fashions are impressed by the colors of nudibranchs – a sort of vibrant sea slug – present in every of the planet’s oceans. Nudibranchs additionally adorn the clear computerized rotors of every of the Swatch x Blancpain fashions, whereas the principle plates of their actions characteristic graphics of the Earth. It’s a cool contact; one which displays Blancpain’s longstanding Ocean Commitment program, which has helped to double the floor space of protected marine areas world wide. Blancpain President and CEO Marc A. Hayek, who himself relaunched the Fifty Fathoms in 2003, explains that “these sea animals are pure marvels of nature. With their unlikely shapes and infrequently shimmering colors, they’re an immense pleasure to look at of their factor throughout a dive. They create a serene and calming impact.”

Moreover, the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean fashions are modelled on trendy Fifty Fathoms references and have Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 in addition to a date window at 4:30, whereas the Arctic and Antarctic Ocean fashions are styled after classic Blancpain references, and have a retro Blancpain emblem as an alternative of a contemporary one. The Arctic contains a trefoil emblem at 6 o’clock and references ‘No Rad’ fashions supplied to militaries in the course of the Chilly Struggle, whereas the Antarctic contains a humidity indicator graphic, one other widespread characteristic of ’60s Fifty Fathoms fashions.

Addendum: Given the give attention to sustainability that Swatch and Blancpain have positioned on this launch – the Bioceramic case, the recycled NATO strap, the recycled glass and the nods to Blancpain’s Ocean Dedication – it does beg the query as as to if or not the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms’ SISTEM51 motion is extra reparable than earlier examples. For individuals who don’t know, Swatch’s SISTEM51 motion isn’t designed to be repaired: all the calibre (certainly, all the case) is usually sealed on the manufacturing facility; that’s, it isn’t designed to be repaired. Nonetheless, we marvel as a result of the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms’s motion and case are extra water resistant than earlier SISTEM51 watches, whether or not or not it’s extra serviceable. This isn’t info we’ve got available, nevertheless.

Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms pricing and availability

Just like the MoonSwatch assortment, the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms is non-limited and might be obtainable at choose Swatch shops worldwide. Worth: A$630