Introducing the Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms
The brand new Swatch x Blancpain bioceramic diver is truly neither a Swatch nor a Fifty Fathoms – but is it worth the price tag?
The Fifty Fathoms collection from manufacturers Swatch x Blancpain has officially arrived, following a viral social media marketing campaign in the week leading up to this release. This new collection is Swatch’s second ‘collaboration’ with partner brands, joining the likes of Omega after the highly successful ‘MoonSwatch’ collaboration in 2022.
All the Details
With this release of bioceramic Fifty Fathoms watches, Swatch and Blancpain celebrate the 70th birthday of the Fifty Fathoms collection. Arriving in five different colors meant to represent Earth’s five major oceans and produced from recycled ocean plastics, Blancpain’s ocean conservation message has a strong presence. True to its name, the Fifty Fathoms is water resistant to fifty fathoms, or 91m.
The Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Antartic variations share dimensions including the 42.3mm case diameter (with 48mm lug-to-lug measurement) and 14.4mm thickness. Each piece features the iconic Fifty Fathoms crown, which was used in the collection’s advertising campaign. In classic dive watch fashion, each dial features lumed applied indices and a 120-click lumed bezel has a graduated 15-minute segment and markings every five minutes. The bezel insert and crystal are made from biosourced glass and the NATO-style straps accompanying each piece are produced from recycled fishing nets. Each case back features a colorful and intricate digital print illustration with respect to each of the five oceans, highlighting five sea dwelling animals indigenous to their respective bodies of water. On the side of the bioceramic case, each piece is branded with the Swatch logo, and each crown is signed with both the Blancpain and Swatch logos.
The Arctic model, Ref. SO35N100, features a beige case and gradient dial with orange indices and a matching bright orange diving bezel. Paying homage to the original Fifty Fathoms, a red trefoil on a yellow background lie at the six o’clock position, with a white cross and text reading ‘NO RADIATION.’ On the case back, an illustration of the Dendronotus Frondosus is shown.
The Antarctic variation, Ref. SO35S100, is delivered in a bright white case and grey bezel. The dial is a cool white that slowly gradients to a subtle grey at its edges, featuring a similar time-only classic diving watch layout with dots-and-lines indices and a twelve o’clock triangle marker.. At the six o’clock is a bicolor water contact indicator matching the watch’s case and bezel. A deep French blue color, resembling the blued hands of luxury dress watches, is present in the handset and the NATO-style strap. The Tritoniella Belli nudibranch is illustrated on the caseback.
The Pacific variation, Ref. SO35P100, is packaged in a yellow-orange case with a white-to-black gradient dial that starkly contrasts the watch’s construction. Unlike the Arctic and Antarctic models, the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian variations feature a dial with 12-3-6-9 applied Arabic numerals and triangular indices at every hour. At the six o’clock, dial text reads ‘SCUBA’ for Swatch’s own model-line, black cursive ‘Fifty Fathoms’ text, and 91m/300ft in an accent color (which is also present in the handset’s seconds hand). Notably, these three models have a date-window at the 4:30 position which can be adjusted through the crown. On the case back, the Pacific variation has the Chromodoris Kuiteri nudibranch against a beautiful blue background.
The Atlantic variation, Ref. SO35A100, has an ocean-blue case and crown with a deep navy bezel. The dial is gradient, with a de-saturated blue in the middle slowly transitioning into a navy/black color at its edges. The date window has a black background, matching the accent color of the water resistance text. The caseback showcases the Glaucus Atlanticus nudibranch against blue-and-green digital print.
The Indian variation, Ref. SO35I100, has a green bioceramic case accented with bright orange on the seconds hand, water resistance text, and strap. The black bezel, handset, and indices complete the look, matching the black date wheel. The Kubaryana nudibranch is illustrated on the caseback.
Powering the watch is the in-house automatic Swiss-made Swatch SISTEM51 movement, which has been used for years within hundreds of Swatch pieces. As the name suggests, the movement is comprised of only 51 components, meeting with a singular central screw.
At nearly four days long, the watch features an exceptional 90-hour power reserve. The hairspring is made of Nivachron, a metal alloy with fully anti-magnetic properties. The SISTEM51 movement is the only Swiss movement to be manufactured entirely through automated production – Swatch makes mass-produced and mass-appealing watches.
Our Commentary
Coupled with the fifty fathoms water resistance, the fully anti-magnetic Nivachron hairspring, and no regulator, the SISTEM51 movement is robust and well suited for a tool or diving watch – but is it well suited for a Fifty Fathoms?
At a $400 USD price, the Scuba Fifty Fathoms asks a steep price for a SISTEM51-powered ‘plastic’ timepiece. Due to the nature of the movement, SISTEM51-powered watches are neither serviceable nor repairable – once the case back has been opened, the movement ceases to function. Swatch markets these collaborative models as collectibles and keepsakes, yet a SISTEM51-powered watch can only be described as disposable.
Furthermore, Swatches are mass-produced and meant to be mass-appealing, yet the Scuba Fifty Fathoms, arguably, is not mass-appealing at all. Perhaps it’s due to their bold appearance, which does not feel as playful as the MoonSwatches did. Or perhaps it’s due to the unserviceable movement. Or perhaps people just don’t find the planet’s oceans as cool as other planets in the solar system. Or, most likely, it’s the $400 price tag for a disposable watch.
Swatch is trying to recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle hype that encompassed the entire watch world last year, but the MoonSwatch was the original Swatch collaboration of this kind. Now that there’s a second, the MoonSwatch collection feels lesser than it did before, as if the excitement can only belong to one collection at a time – but the Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection has too many drawbacks and may not be worth the excitement.
Composed of ‘Swatch plastic,’ a disposable movement, and cheap-looking gradient dials, the Scuba Fifty Fathoms construction is inadequate for the crowded mid-range price segment dominated by Hamilton, Bulova, Tissot, Citizen, Seiko, and a host of independents and micro-brands. Blancpain is a true luxury watchmaker with an esteemed history in the watchmaking world, and the Fifty Fathoms is the brand’s keystone collection – a plastic Swatch adaptation of the Fifty Fathoms feels cheapening.
Numbers wise, Blancpain is small, niche, and not positioned to truly compete in the luxury diving market, so it makes sense that Swatch Group coordinated this collaboration to revitalize and bring new life into the Blancpain brand, thought seemingly at the cost of lessening the Blancpain brand. Omega is a highly popular brand with the second largest market share in the Swiss watchmaking industry, and Blancpain is not – the brand is more up-market and less approachable than Omega’s everyman-focused marketing.
Simply put, Blancpain is a true luxury watchmaker, and this watch is the antithesis of luxury – especially at its inflated price. Furthermore, the Scuba Fifty Fathoms doesn’t really resemble a Swatch in any manner except the material and the movement. The watch is neither a Swatch nor a Blancpain, and it’s definitely not worth $400 USD for the average consumer. While this release will undoubtedly be a hot topic online and in watch circles, it may have been a better idea for Swatch to look elsewhere for its next collaboration of this style.
In the long term, this may bring more attention to the Blancpain name, but Swatch’s delivery of an entirely unluxurious experience will likely be a detriment to the Blancpain brand.
