The Swatch X Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms Pacific Ocean watch.
It was just last year, in March of 2022, that Swatch and Omega collaborated on the release of the “Reach for the Planets” Swatch x Omega Bioceramic MoonSwatch collection. It was an immediate hit – with people lined up for hours in hopes of getting one of the first launches. With watches based on Omega’s famous Speedmaster Professional but with Swatch-like prices (think under $350 depending on where in the world you are) and materials (bioceramic), the quartz chronograph Swatch x Omega was easily one of the more successful collaborations within the Swatch Group. Now, Swatch is hoping to emulate that success, this time with sibling brand Blancpain.
The Swatch X Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms Arctic Ocean watch.
The all-new Blancpain x Swatch collaboration honors Swiss brand Blancpain’s first diver watch, the Fifty Fathoms, that was created 70 years ago in 1953 and has become an icon among dive watches. The new Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection references Swatch’s Scuba line and is a non-limited series with hallmarks of the Fifty Fathoms watches, including water resistance, legibility, mechanical movement and rotating bezel, as well as anti-magnetic properties.
The cases of the The Swatch X Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms watches are made of Bioceramic. This … [+]
There will be five models (the Omega planets had 11 models, including the sun), each named after the five oceans: Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Antarctic. The Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms is water resistant to 91 meters (300 feet) and houses a Swatch mechanical movement, the SISTEM51, that the brand first unveiled in 2013. It was the first mechanical movement whose production is automated. With just 51 parts, it boasts a Nivachron™ hairspring making it anti-magnetic and offers 90 hours of power reserve. By utilizing this mechanical movement, Swatch and Blancpain stay true to the creed that it will never make a quartz watch.
The Swatch X Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms Antarctic Ocean watch.
The five new watches are offered each in a different colorway with all new colors created just for this launch. Each features an illustration on the case back with a digital print on the rotor of an animal found in all five oceans: the nudibranchs. Depending on the ocean version, a different type of nudibranch is featured. The watches are all made of Swatch’s patented Bioceramic material made of two-thirds ceramic and one-third of another undisclosed material that is derived from castor oil.
The case back of each of the Swatch X Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms watch is artfully designed with … [+]
The watches are finished with NATO straps made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea to underscore the commitment to ocean preservation on behalf of each brand. Swatch is engraved on the case side and Blancpain x Swatch can be found on the dial and on the crown. There are also references such as the words “No Radiations” below the logo on the Arctic Ocean model –a throwback to the dials in the 1960’s, when Blancpain wanted to ensure that the watches did not contain radium. The Antarctic model boasts a genuine water contact indicator – a feature the brand implemented for some of its watches back in 1954. Located at 6:00 on the dial, the sensor ensures that the watch hasn’t come into contact with water on a previous dive. The 42.3mm watches retail for $400.
The case of the Atlantic Ocean Swatch X Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms watch is crafted of blue … [+]
Just like no one expected the Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch, the Swatch X Blancpain Fifty Fathoms watch may have once seemed unfathomable – yet here it is. What’s next for the Swatch Group and its many brands? Perhaps a Swatch X Breguet Tourbillon? Or a Swatch X Longines Conquest?
