Posts tagged #Blancpain Calibre 1315

Insider: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe. Commemorating 60 Years of the World's First Modern Diving Watch.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms —the world's first diving watch—, this manufacture presented the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe ref. 5000-1110-NABA during Baselworld earlier this year. Now, here's our review with live pictures and the mandatory wrist shot.

This watch, features a 43mm in diameter satin-brushed stainless steel case with anti-magnetic protection, display case back, a flat black ceramic rotating bezel with a meteor grey sunburst dial with applied markers, rectangular shaped hands with luminescent material and a date aperture between the 4 and 5 o'clock markers.

The tip of the seconds hand features a luminous dot and a red tip to provide some contrast to the dial and the somewhat bland or simple look of the timepiece. Now, don't misunderstand us, the watch might look simple; however, the craftsmanship, history and Blancpain in-house workhorse movement are present in this timepiece. Depending on the lighting conditions and the angle, the bezel can appear black, grey or sometimes even somewhat brownish.

The watch features very sharp angles on the case, lugs, buckle and on all steel fittings on the strap, a perfect satin-brushed finish, a large easy-to-use crown and a black NATO strap or sail-canvas strap —straps also available in olive green. The Bathyscaphe looks like a rugged timepiece made to take on the abuse of the most experienced divers and non-divers. With its look completely reminiscent of 'tool watches', the Blancpain Bathyscaphe pays solid tribute and homage to the most legendary of all diving watches.

Just as in all other modern Fifty Fathoms, the beating heart inside this timepiece is the the legendary Blancpain calibre 1315 with a 5-day power reserve —120 hours— that can be fully appreciated via the display case back. The movement features a blackened 18K gold rotor, 227 parts and 35 jewels.

On the wrist, the watch wears true to its size but unfortunately not very comfortable due to the NATO strap fitted on it. The wrist presence is nice but somewhat 'too shiny' due to the shape of the raised markers on the dial, other than that, this watch is sure to become one of the legendary modern Fifty Fathoms in no time. For those of you that use mechanical watches for your dives, the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe is waterproof rated to a depth of 30 bar —300m/984 ft. This watch is also available in a ceramised titanium case with black dial and olive green NATO strap as ref. 5000-12C30-NAKA.

Sticker Price $10,500 USD. For more info on Blancpain click here.

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Editor & Publisher and filed under Blancpain and tagged Blancpain Calibre 1315 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe ref. 5000-1110-NABA Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe ref. 5000-12C30-NAKA.

Insider: Blancpain 'Tribute to Fifty Fathoms' No Radiations Limited Edition. Only 500 Pieces Ever Made and We Found One.

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was the first modern diving watch launched in 1953. The original Fifty Fathoms was housed in a steel case with a domed crystal strengthened to withstand the pressure at a depth of at least fifty fathoms —approximately 91 meters. After a few years, the Fifty Fathoms quickly became recognized by divers outside the French Navy and was also adopted by the U.S. Navy Seals and the German and Israeli Navies. In the mid to late 60s, the 'No Radiations' symbol was added to the Fifty Fathoms as a safety measure to differentiate watches made for civilians and those made to meet military standards —in order to meet military standards and achieve the highest luminosity in dark conditions, the watches were typically fitted with a radioactive luminous material.

The Blancpain 'Tribute to Fifty Fathoms' Limited Edition ref. 5015B-1130-52A comes with the same case and movement specifications as the traditional black polished model ref. 5015-1130-52 reviewed here. The two main differences between this limited edition model —besides the obvious 'No Radiations' symbol on the dial— and the traditional Fifty Fathoms, are the bezel and dial configurations. The 'Tribute to Fifty Fathoms' Limited Edition features a bezel with almost an identical configuration to the original Fifty Fathoms No Radiations from the late 60s —different font on the numbers— and the same type of dial configuration with no Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9. Additionally, the dial features round superluminova markers instead of applied arrow-shaped markers and date aperture at 3 o'clock with white calendar disc.

The beating heart inside this watch is also the Blancpain calibre 1315 with a 5-day power reserve. The 'Tribute to Fifty Fathoms' is fitted with the same sail-canvas strap —leather lined— equipped with pin buckle. Just like on the traditional Fifty Fathoms, the 'Tribute to Fifty Fathoms' is fitted with an anti-magnetic protective casing to protect its complex calibre from any magnetic fields. The case back is engraved 'Tribute to Fifty Fathoms'.

For those of you always looking for the most interesting limited edition watches, this is a watch that comes with rich history and tradition. If you are tired of wearing common run-of-the-mill diving watches, then it's time for you to add the Blancpain 'Tribute to Fifty Fathoms' Limited Edition to the collection. Now, you better hurry up because finding a brand new one is like finding a needle in a hay stack. Now, just in case you are interested, there's a brand new one sitting at the Tourbillon Boutique Chicago.

Sticker Price $16,100 USD. For more info on Blancpain click here.

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Editor & Publisher and filed under Blancpain and tagged Blancpain Tribute to Fifty Fathoms Limited Edition Blancpain No Radiations Blancpain 'Tribute to Fifty Fathoms' Limited Edition ref. 5015B-1130-52A Blancpain Fifty Fathoms ref. 5015-1130-52 Blancpain Calibre 1315 Blancpain Limited Edition to 500 Pieces No Radiations.

Insider: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique. Rich in History.

Blancpain was started in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain. Mr Blancpain didn't know it at the time but he had just started the world's oldest watch brand. In 1932, the Blancpain family lost control of the company and it has changed management a few more times since then but the identity of the manufacture has been preserved.

The Fifty Fathoms is interesting as it was conceived as one of the earliest dive watches.

Throughout the 50s to the 70s, 20 different variants were built and the Fifty Fathoms was adopted by the Israeli, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, and most famously, American fighting forces. When the Americans were looking for a dive watch, there was a resolute "Buy American" policy for all units - so no watch with "Blancpain" on the dial were acceptable. So, an American company named Tornek-Rayville took the Fifty Fathoms and re-branded it. About 1,000 Tornek-Rayville Fifty Fathoms were produced, and most were destroyed by the Navy at the end of the commission, so the surviving examples are very collectible today. Worn by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, among others, the Fifty Fathoms became the standard reference among diving watches.

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms ref. 5015-1130-52 is a serious dive watch. It is as pure of a diving watch as can be found in current production among the old-line Swiss houses. Aside from the date display that's tucked between the 4 and 5 o'clock markers, every detail provided by the Fifty Fathoms is essential for diving. Without any superfluous sub-dials to obscure the dial, it's easy to read the total bottom time (by way of the uni-directional bezel that's adjusted to line up with the minutes hand just before descending) and the time of day with just a quick glance. The bezel of the Fifty Fathoms is particularly nice for diving; it's easy to grasp with gloves and is wider than most so that it's especially easy to read.

The Fifty Fathoms Automatique's case is 45mm in diameter and 15.5mm thick. Bulky, yet very comfortable. Fitted with Blancpain's calibre 1315 movement, this watch is water tight to a depth of 300m/1000ft and guaranteed to be a great companion on those night dives as the luminova on the bezel and dial are as bright as it gets.

The watch comes fitted with a bracelet or a sailcloth strap for the ultimate Blancpain Fifty Fathoms look.

For more info click here.