The striking combination of a red gold case with a blue dial has characterized some recent Blancpain novelties, now it materializes for the first time in the Bathyscaphe series. Let’s take a look at the new Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Sedna Gold ‚Blue‘ in a large variety of close-up impressions and wrist shots.
The combination of warm red gold and cold blue is creating an impressive look. Blancpain has used this formula already in the 1990s and rediscovered it recently with the 2019 ‚La Dolce Vita’ Fifty Fathoms reference 5015-3603C. This year we already saw two new Villeret models in this configuration, and now Blancpain have launched the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe reference 5000-36S40 with a satin brushed Sedna gold case, a blue ceramic bezel with Ceragold inlays and a beautiful deep blue sunburst dial.
Sedna gold is being used by Blancpain only for the second time, and it is only used for the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe. This gold, copper and palladium alloy is keeping its color and withstands the effects of oxidation, something to be witnessed with traditional gold alloys.
The color of Sedna gold is a bit more red and at the same time a little less pronounced than the red gold you find with the other Blancpain timepieces made from red gold. And it is difficult to capture in photographs, as you can probably tell from this report.
The blue sunburst dial works harmoniously with the blue ceramic insert of the Sedna gold bezel, the Ceragold numerals of the bezel match the case color and finish perfectly.
The Bathyscaphe Sedna ‚Blue‘ comes on a dark blue sailcloth strap with either tang buckle or deployant, also made from Sedna gold. Alternatively you can get it on a dark blue Nato strap with Sedna gold tang buckle. Notably, the Nato strap does no longer come with the previously typical metal keepers, this previous style has been discontinued.
The 43mm Bathyscaphe case measures 13.4mm in height and 49mm lug to lug. The watch is powered by caliber 1315 with 5 days of power reserve, 3 barrels, silicon balance-spring and a 18ct gold rotor matching the case color.
This new version of the Bathyscaphe is no doubt an extrovert timepiece, yet it displays the key virtues of a Blancpain with its very tasteful and timeless design. Here are some additional wrist shots for you to make up your mind on the Bathyscaphe Sedna ‚Blue‘.
I hope you enjoyed the hands-on report and the photos. You can find the new Bathyscaphe here on the Blancpain website. An overview on all 2020 Blancpain novelties can be found here in the blog.
A hands-on report on the Fifty Fathoms Automatique 5015 in the same color combination is available here, my report on the new red gold blue dial Villeret models can be found here in the blog. Finally, the black dial Sedna gold Bathyscaphe is featured here.
Cheers
Henrik