Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The New Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Titanium 43mm
The Bathyscaphe now dressed in lightweight materials
With a history that goes back to 1953 and being one of the very first true dive watches, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is amongst the most emblematic watches of the Swiss industry. For a long time already, there’s more to the Fifty Fathoms than just one watch, as the collection also comprises the Bathyscaphe, a slightly simpler, more instrumental-looking piece. Today, Blancpain dresses up this watch is a new material, adding an even sportier touch to this sporty-chic model. Here’s the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Titanium.
We won’t go too far into the details regarding this watch today as we’ll be coming back soon on this topic with our own photos and hands-on impressions. But here’s what you need to know already. The Bathyscaphe, a watch part of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms collection, was born in 1956 as a slightly more compact and less professional-oriented piece in the collection. Nevertheless, it remained a fairly capable dive watch. And in its modern version, it retains a sleeker and slightly more vintage look than the classic Fifty Fathoms. Already available in stainless steel and ceramic editions, it will soon be available in titanium, a material that was first incorporated by the brand during the early 1960s into a special series of MIL-SPEC II models made for US Navy bomb disposal teams.
Based on the larger case diameter, meaning 43mm, this new edition of the Bathyscaphe is crafted in an unusual alloy, titanium grade 23 to be precise – we will ask for more details about this rare grade. The case retains the same angular design and its entirely brushed finishing. Titanium offers numerous advantages for a dive watch, including high resistance to shock, pressure and corrosion, and of course lightness. The watch is 13.45mm in height, features sapphire crystals front and caseback, and is water-resistant to 300m. It comes with a unidirectional satin-brushed titanium bezel with brushed grey ceramic insert and Liquidmetal 60-minute scale.
The dial of this Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Titanium is also new for the collection, with an anthracite colour and an unprecedented vertically brushed finish. It retains the same baton-type hands and geometric hour-markers, filled with cream-coloured Super-LumiNova. This new titanium version can be ordered with a textile NATO strap, a sailcloth strap or, new for this collection, a grade 23 titanium 3-link bracelet that was first introduced on the classic Fifty Fathoms.
Inside the case of the Bathyscaphe Titanium is the classic yet powerful in-house calibre 1315. This automatic movement, with no fewer than 3 barrels, can store up to 120 hours of power reserve. It is equipped with an antimagnetic silicon balance-spring and finely decorated with snailed and chamfered bridges, and a sandblasted, satin-finished and snailed gold oscillating weight.
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Titanium 43mm will soon be available from retailers. Prices start at CHF 10,800 for the editions on straps and CHF 13,200 for the version on titanium bracelet. More details at blancpain.com.
11 responses
Bloody hek…. stunning… want want
Can’t bear to look at another date at 4:30. If it has to be there, at least level the number.
How is this different from the 5000-1230, in titanium, sitting on my wrist? Maybe the dial is different and the bracelet option but that’s more of a minor update than a new release!
Grade 23 titanium is a higher purity grade of titanium than Grade 2 or Grade 5. It is usually used in medical implants that will be placed inside the body as it is highly resistant to corrosion. It also has a high damage tolerance and so is used where high durability is required. It does not seem as though Grade 23 can be polished in the same way as Grade 5 titanium and is more like Grade 2 titanium in that respect which would explain the all over satin finish of the new Fifty Fathoms Bathyscape. This alloy would make the new Bathyscape far more durable and corrosion resistant that 316L or 904L stainless steel.
@SPQR – thanks for the explanations! Much appreciated!
How boring. What to do with the alloy
titanium23, recycle later as a joint for the body if necessary😉?!
What would interest me is the clasp and whether the bracelet is also completely made of the new alloy.
SPQR is correct. Grade 23 is effectively the same “recipe†as grade 5 but with a far tighter control over interstitial elements (impurities) – it is often known as ELI (Extra Low Interstitial). It offers increased toughness under high impact loading (useful for extreme sports watches) and increased resistance to fatigue under high cyclical loading environments (not so important for sports watches).
@Lassi – While we can’t tell yet for the clasp, the bracelet (all the links) are done in grade 23 titanium too.
Ti case ✔ï¸purposeful and sporty.
The dial is a bit on the minimalist side for a diver requiring clarity and high visibility in the murky deep or a dimly lit bar or restaurant .
Not sure what they were thinking .
Find a new design team Blancpain .
id own a fifty fathoms if the date wasn’t there.
This is a great looking version of the watch. I’ve never, ever considered upgrading to a newer version of the same model watch before, but the brushed finish on the bezel, the blacked out indices and hands, the 3 link bracelet all look great. I might have to re-home my 5000 1110 70B to make some room in my watch box. A micro-adjust clasp is probably too much to ask for, but that would seal the deal for me. Swapping out multiple full and half links to get the right seasonal fit is like trying to crack a safe.