Just like that, a new watch collaboration to be MoonSwatch-level hyped about has dropped – the Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms. Queues outside Swatch stores have already begun despite people not knowing what they’re lining up for. Predictions and mock-ups have been circulating around the watch realm ever since Swatch and Blancpain said something new was coming. Many experts thought it might be a BathySwatch but we can confirm a Swatch Scuba and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms have been joined in holy matrimony.
The journey started 12 months ago, amid a heightened hunger for MoonSwatch watches few people within Swatch Group – or anywhere else in the world really – could have possibly imagined. Marc Hayek, who has been the person in charge at Blancpain since 2002, saw an opportunity ripe for the taking. Conversations were had between Marc and CEO of Swatch Group, Nick Hayek Jr, about two icons – Swatch’s Scuba dive watch and Blancpain’s diving OG, the Fifty Fathoms. The result was Swatch and Blancpain pressing ‘go’ on a collab for 2023, which makes total sense as this year is the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms.
Last Wednesday, while standing at the entrance to the auditorium inside Swatch HQ, I looked out of the window. Below me was a long queue forming patiently. Watch fans were attempting to bag a new MoonSwatch “Blue Moon” Moonshine Gold Mission to Neptune, but little did they know that a few floors up something way more seismic was going down.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new collaboration, and why it's a bigger deal than the MoonSwatch, with exclusive commentary from those responsible for orchestrating the hype – Nick Hayek Jr, Marc Hayek and Gregory Kissling, Head of Special Projects for the CEO of Swatch Group.
The specifics of the Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms
There are five pieces in the collection, named after the planet's five oceans. Each watch has a 42.3mm diameter and 14.4mm thickness, the distance between lip to lug is 48mm and each one weighs 44g. Housed inside is a self-winding SISTEM51 mechanical movement which has up to 90 hours of power reserve. The watches are water resistant to 91m, as detailed on the dial, and feature a one directional Bioceramic bezel (honouring the original Fifty Fathoms bezel), which has 120 teeth. There is grade A Super-LumiNova on the 60-minute diving scale as well as on the numerals on the dial and the hands. The glass covering the dial is made from a biosourced material that has been specially treated with an anti-scratch coating.
In keeping with dive watch tradition, each piece comes with a NATO strap. The straps are made from recycled fishing nets which have been recuperated from the coast, the sea and the shore by Blancpain. The pin buckle and loops on the strap are made of Bioceramic.
The colours
The Arctic is beige with an orange bezel, the Pacific is yellow-orange with a black bezel, the Atlantic is blue with a black bezel, the Indian Ocean is green with a black bezel, and the Antarctic is ice white with a dark grey bezel. On the dials, Kissling says that thanks to Swatch’s digital printing technology, they were able to manage the printing of dots pixel by pixel, which is how they created the smoky gradient effect on the dials.
Inspiration for these colours stemmed from Marc Hayek's passion for the oceans. He felt the obvious thing to do would be to take generic images of the ocean, like coral reefs, and use them. Instead, he chose to use nudibranchs that were native to each ocean to determine the five colourways.
Nudibranchs are sea slugs; there are about 5,000 different species in the five oceans. “They are positive animals that play an important role in the balance of the marine ecosystem, but I had never heard of them,” says Hayek Jr. So much so that on first hearing Marc mention nudibranchs, Hayek Jr had to double check what they were: he thought his nephew had said “nudist beaches”.
On the Arctic you have the nudibranch Dendronotus Frondosus, which is known for its soft, subtle characteristics. The Chromodoris Kuiteri is as bright as the sun and reminiscent of the Pacific’s warm, clear blue waters. The deep blue of the Glaucus Atlanticus – nicknamed the blue dragon as it’s poisonous – pays tribute to wild Atlantic seas. For the Indian Ocean, Nembrotha Kubaryana helps to conjure thoughts of the coral reefs and the lush waters, and the Antarctic features Tritoniella Belli, which is a reminder of the mystery and allure of its icy polar waters.
The Scuba Fifty Fathoms has a mechanical movement
Back in the ’80s, watch royalty Jean-Claude Biver famously said there has never been and there will never be a quartz Blancpain – and this piece remains true to that with a Swatch Sistem51 inside, which contains only 51 components including just one screw. Having a mechanical movement rather than a quartz movement is arguably the most significant upgrade to the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch from last year.
“The majority of people, not only young people, don't know about mechanical movements,” says Hayek Jr, “and this we can communicate within Swatch because we are a brand who do really innovative products themselves.”
As well as inspiring the colourways of each watch and strap, visuals of each nudibranch are also painted on the transparent pulsating weight of the movement, thanks to Swatch’s digital printing technology. The fact it’s transparent means you can see the backside of the Sistem51 movement, decorated by the different oceans. Kissling says that it is the first Swatch movement that is completely automated in terms of production but also in terms of assembly.
At the heart of the movement, the spiral regulating organ is produced by Nivarox, a sister company of the Swatch Group. As a non-magnetic material, it means the magnetic resistant frequency of these watches is 3Hz, which is another impressive feature. While not strictly movement-related, when you are copping a load of the open caseback you’ll notice around the case there are five poppy phrases, which tie into what Marc Hayek’s core values are for Blancpain. All in caps to promote the idea of shouting them loud and proud, in no particular order, there is: ‘PASSION FOR DIVING’, ‘LICENCE TO EXPLORE’, ‘OCEAN BREATH’, ‘PROTECT WHAT YOU LOVE’ and ‘IMMERSE YOURSELF’.
If you were in any doubt before about Fifty Fathoms being an iconic dive watch, not to mention Blancpain's strong commitment to the ocean, surely you aren't now.
All the Easter eggs to look out for
The eagle-eyed among you will see that there are different faces and different dials within the collection. The Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean pieces refer to more modern Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, as they have a date window located between four and five o'clock. They also have the Arabic numbers and indexes in positive relief. However, for the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, these two dials are odes to historical Blancpain timepieces. The Arctic dial is inspired by the ’60s piece, which as well as having an older version of the ‘Blancpain’ logo, had a ‘no radiation’ icon too, to signal that there was no radium inside the watch.
The Antarctic piece refers to Fifty Fathoms Mil Spec – Military Specification – from 1954, which was linked with the US Navy specification and had a moisture indicator to alert the wearer if any water had gotten into the watch – naturally, a very important feature for a dive watch. In the case of the new Scuba Fifty Fathoms, if water somehow gets inside, the white half moon indicator will turn red, which is a nice touch.
The shape of the crown remains true to the original Fifty Fathoms crown, and the word ‘Swatch’ is inscribed on the back of the case, just as Blancpain is on the OG FF.
The packaging
Everyone loves an unboxing. Each watch comes in a box, inside of which is a circular pouch with the core colours of the watch around it (the Indian Ocean has green and orange rings around it, for instance), and the zip tag has Swatch on one side and Blancpain on the other. The box gives you a few playful little factoids about the ocean you have chosen – the Indian Ocean “is home to most sharks”; the Arctic Ocean “covers 3% of the earth”; and the Pacific Ocean's “Ring of Fire hosts 75% of all volcanoes on earth”.
What Swatch's Nick Hayek Jr says
“Just like with the MoonSwatch [and the history of the Omega Speedmaster], this Scuba 50 will communicate to many people who don't know the story of Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms. There are so many stories that I didn't know about the Fifty Fathoms! Like the 91 metres – I never knew a fathom was a measurement of length equal to six feet [50 fathoms equates to 91m or 300ft]. I thought it was about ghosts!” laughs Hayek Jr. “So this will playfully be opening the storytelling of a legend.”
“I'm the guy from Swatch, [Marc] is the luxury guy. He's passionate about Blancpain. This forced me to understand why when I go to my dentist who is a young guy, he only wants to talk about Blancpain Fifty Fathoms while doing my teeth. Now I know why, and it’s a story to be told that will reinforce the credibility of the Swiss watchmaking industry."
What Blancpain's Marc Hayek thinks
Hayek is a keen diver as well as an understated gentleman of few words, so when he does speak, you know it's important. For him, by far the biggest incentive for this collaboration was the chance to offer a version of Blancpain’s iconic dive watch at what he calls “an accessible price”. He believes the negative side of the luxury market is the high price points, so the Scuba 50 will hopefully go some way in making a Fifty Fathoms dive watch much more attainable. He feels it will exponentially open up interest and excitement around the brand, and will help outline the fact that Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms is the original dive watch, born in 1953 ahead of the Rolex Submariner in 1954 and the Omega Seamaster in 1957.
How much it costs and how to get hold of one
All Swatch x Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms models are priced at £340 (€390, CHF375, USD$400). The new collection will only be available to purchase from Swatch stores around the world, from 10 am on Saturday, September 9.
