2023-09-06 22:01:20
With its new collaboration, will Swatch arouse the same enthusiasm as with the Swatch X Omega MoonSwatch. We put it on the wrist as a preview…
In Biel, Switzerland, where Swatch is headquartered, the station clock looks just like the one, stopped forever at the town hall in Hill Valley, in Back to the future. And on September 9, Swatch goes back in time triply: destination 1990, 1983 and 1953. In 1990, Swatch tackled diving watches and unveiled the Scuba 200. A diver at a very reasonable price, waterproof up to 200 meters deep , with a bezel indicating the number of minutes remaining before having to return to the surface. A concept that she will decline until 2013, with the Scuba Libre. Seven years earlier, in 1983, it was the Swatch, the mythical second Swiss made quartz watch, which was born just 40 years ago this year. A watch which, on its own, will have saved Swiss watchmaking from the wave of Asian quartz.
But it was above all in 1953, exactly seven decades ago, that a watch was born that was probably much less known to the general public than the Omega Moonwatch worn in space and on the Moon by NASA astronauts. Yet Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms is quite simply the first true diver’s watch of the modern era. Imagined by a diver for divers, by Jean-Jacques Fiechter, then CEO of Blancpain and passionate about scuba diving, for the first French combat swimmers, its patented innovations laid the lasting foundations of what a good watch should be. diving.
A collection of five colours. Swatch
After the phenomenal success of the MoonSwatch last year (queues all over the world in front of watch shops, like for limited edition sneaker drops, unheard of!), the risk was therefore great for Swatch to renew the ‘exercise. Once again, despite social networks, the secret will have been well kept. Confidentiality simplified by the fact that the Swatch Group has all the know-how necessary for the production of its watches in-house: no subcontractors, no indiscretions! But the risk of disappointing him was major: on the one hand, such a feat cannot be duplicated to the same extent. On the other hand, the notoriety of the luxury diving watches of Blancpain, house born in 1735, has nothing to do with that of Omega, giant watchmaker partner of James Bond like NASA or the Olympic Games. Will it seduce the crowds as much? The answer will fall on Saturday, September 9, in a hundred Swatch stores around the world. But to have had the chance to touch and wear these five Blancpain X Swatch Fifty Fathoms in preview, the bet is incredibly successful.
An impressive digital print dial. Swatch
First of all, these Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms are beautiful, in terms of shape, design, from the lugs to the digitally printed dial, including their open sapphire caseback. Light, pleasant on the wrist, these are beautiful watches at a reasonable price, in our eyes even more complex and successful than the MoonSwatch collection. Indeed, they accumulate qualities that one would frankly not expect at such a civilized price: less than 400 euros. The respect for the original watch is total, with a design inspired by the first watch unveiled on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the model. On two of these five pieces, there are even small tributes to its history on the dial, such as the radioactive symbol of the NoRad. The common Blancpain X Swatch logos can be found on the dial and the crown. The word Swatch is also inscribed on the case, just as Blancpain is on the original Fifty Fathoms watches.
The five models in the collection. Paul Malo
As a diver, the waterproofness is there: again, these revisited Scuba are waterproof up to 91 meters, the name Fifty Fathoms referring to the nautical length of the breaststroke. Historical maritime measure of depth in the English-speaking world, 50 fathoms correspond to 91 meters (or 300 feet). Another surprise of these models: a unidirectional rotating bezel, also in bioceramic, to make Omega’s neighbors (almost) jealous! As a reminder, bioceremics is a unique blend patented by the brand of two-thirds ceramic and one-third biosourced materials derived from castor oil.
NATO straps made from recycled fishing nets. Swatch
Quartz or mechanical? The question of the movement embedded in these Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms stirred the watchmaker landernau. Indeed, when Blancpain was relaunched several decades ago, its slogan marked both the era and the revival of mechanical watchmaking: “Since 1735, there has not been a Blancpain quartz watch. And there never will be”. There will be no sacrilege: these five watches in five different colours, one for each ocean of the blue planet, beat to the rhythm of an in-house automatic mechanical system: the SISTEM51. Born in 2013, the first and only mechanical movement whose production is fully automated has only 51 parts, is non-magnetic thanks to the Nivachron hairspring and has a 90-hour autonomy.
A transparent back through which to see his Sistem51 movement. Swatch
Concern for the preservation of the oceans requires at Blancpain, one of the greatest protectors of marine fauna and flora, the NATO straps of these watches are made with recycled fishing nets, removed from the seas or oceans. On the back of these five watches, there is for each the illustration of a colorful animal that inhabits the five oceans, the Nudibranchs (scientific name: Nudibranchia). They are represented in digital printing on the rotor of the movement, the element that allows the watch to recharge automatically by a simple movement of the wrist. All of these nudibranchs actually live in the oceans of their respective watches. Finally, on the back of the watch, there is also the gouache drawing of the ocean it represents.
Very pleasant pieces on the wrist, and surprisingly rich in quality details. Paul Malo
In the end, everyone will undoubtedly find the style that suits them in the five colors offered. As for the watches themselves, they exceed expectations. The gamble of creating a bioceramic luxury diver’s watch known mainly to watchmaking and diving aficionados has been won. It is faultless. The result is stunning quality, with diving watches at the most democratic price, Swatch obliges. Along the way, many people will discover the existence of both Blancpain and its Fifty Fathoms. And, by the way, such bioceramic dive watches are arguably much more likely to conquer female wrists than the more massive and masculine MoonSwatches.
The watches of this new Swatch collaboration will be available from September 9 exclusively in a selection of Swatch boutiques around the world. As with the Bioceramic MoonSwatch, purchase will be limited to one watch per person per day. These watches will be offered in an elegant special box linked to diving.
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