Blancpain gives the diving watch a genteel luxury look with the new Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Day Date 70s, which looks back to a 1970s version of the Bathyscaphe which had a graduated grey dial and a cushion-shaped case. The new version updates the dial colour, into a warm grey that harmonises well with the aged-look leather strap shown here. The dial acquires complexity with a triple ring of markers, the hour markers which incorporate the day window, the minutes track with the date window, and the unidirectional rotating bezel. It is all held together by the graded warm grey that becomes the distinctive feature of the piece. The nicely detailed hands add character.
Case and movement
The case is fairly large at 43 mm diameter and 14.25 mm thickness. It has a water resistance of 30 bar, 300 metres. The unidirectional rotating bezel is in black ceramic, with LiquidMetal inserts for the minutes, a Swatch Group technology. The display caseback reveals the 1315DD calibre, with 281 parts and 37 rubies.
Photo courtesy of watchcollectinglifestyle.com
Price and reference
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Day Date 70s is reference 5052-1110. It is a limited edition of 500 pieces. It will be available in boutiques from August 2018, price €12,000, $12,700, £9,290 with distressed leather or NATO strap. It costs €14,500 with a stainless steel bracelet. Further information from the Blancpain website.
