And here it is: the highly anticipated Act 3 of Blancpain‘s lineup of Fifty Fathoms novelties, celebrating the anniversary year. And there’s no way denying that it is a looker! Let’s get up close and personal with the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3 reference 5901-5630-NANA in a 41.3mm bronze gold case that leads us back to one of the many milestones in the unrivaled history of the iconic dive watch.

.

The previous Milspec watches

The characteristic moisture indicator made its debut with a watch that won the rigorous selection process by the US Navy when they chose the watch that would be part of the equipment of their combat swimmers and divers. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was the only contestant surviving the US Navy tests, even more so with attested full satisfaction and no wishes for improvement.

The US Navy did not hand out those watches to the divers as a personal permanent watch. They were remotely given out prior to action and collected back once the training or mission ended.

.

The wanted their divers to trust their equipment and not run the risk of receiving a compromised watch. That security was what the moisture indicator delivered: if a watch had water intrusion the upper half of the indicator would change color and alert the diver or the quartermaster.

Parallel to the US Navy military use this Fifty Fathoms was available to the public as the FF Milspec 1, in the US branded under the name Tornek Rayville, with Tornek being the name of the US distributor for Blancpain and Rayville being their movement brand and an anagram of Villeret, the birthplace of Blancpain.

.

Later there were a few watches that featured a case made from an unusual steel alloy and a movement from mostly Beryllium parts, all to reduce the magnetic signature of the timepiece. These ultra rare timepieces were later referred to by collectors as the „Bronze Fifty Fathoms“ since the case material developed a yellow patina over time.

In the modern day we saw two limited 40mm Fifty Fathoms featuring the famous moisture indicator: the 2017 Tribute to Fifty Fathoms MilSpec and the 2020 Fifty Fathoms MIL-SPEC for Hodinkee.

.

But now let’s get to reference 5091-5630-NANA aka the 70th Anniversary FF Milspec. Please note that all photos were taken during the event at nighttime, so only under artificial light. The watch will look a bit different and reveal its beauty only under natural light, but that’s (hopefully) for another day.

.

The return of the original size and design

With the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3 the original case design and dial/bezel ratio return for the first time. Just like with the 2019 Air Command Blancpain decided to stay very close to the the inspiration for the timepiece, and the result is stunning.

Viewed from the front the case and bezel/dial dimensions look almost exactly like a vintage Fifty Fathoms Milspec. It is not a full re-edition, though. There is one detail that’s very different to the Fifty Fathoms models from the 1950s/60s: the missing distance ring between bezel and crystal. And this detail makes a big aesthetic difference in my humble opinion.

.

The ceramic insert of the unidirectional bezel features luminescent numerals and markers inspired by the typography of the vintage timepiece, they appear larger than with the ancestors, though… possibly a visual effect created by the missing distance ring.

The matte black dial features indices with the same SuperLuminova color and a moisture indicator that is not white/orange like with the two 5008 MilSpec watches but white/grey as a reference to vintage US Navy specimen.

.

The 41.3mm case has a height of 13.3mm. The material is called bronze gold, a patented alloy with 37.5% gold (leading to the hallmark 9ct), 50% copper, silver, palladium and gallium. This alloy enables a carefree contact with the skin and it avoids oxidation with its verdigris effect.

The case flanks and lugs are revealing their close relation to the vintage ancestor, albeit with a slightly thicker middle case. The lugs are quite long which is untypical for a modern Blancpain. I have no exact number but I would assume the lug to lug being around 50mm, quite a lot for a 41mm timepiece.

.

One element that adds significantly to the character of the watch is the domed crystal. It reminds us of the plexiglass used for the famous ancestors in a most beautiful fashion. And the distortion from a lateral view is in my opinion highly enjoyable.

.

The Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary offers a view on caliber 1154 through a sapphire glass embedded in the screw down case back. The case back construction and the metal ring is again a direct reference to the vintage ancestor, here with engravings that specify the occasion for the watch, the individual number and the historic Blancpain signature.

.

The caliber number 1154 discloses it is based on the well-known 1150, still operating with a frequency of 3Hz and providing 4 days of power reserve. But there are some tweaks to it: the caliber was enlarged to fit the case size and the decoration is unique to this new Fifty Fathoms: very basic, technical, but exquisite. The finishing is made by hand and actually more demanding than mere Geneva stripes. The rotor, also reminiscent of the vintage timepiece, is of course also finished by hand.

.

The Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary comes on a striped Nato strap made from recycled fishing nets. The colors of the strap work perfectly with the timepiece and support this unique look which is a blend of vintage toolwatch and a luxurious precious metal timepiece. The 9ct bronze gold tang buckle is inspired by the more simple buckles from the 1950s and fits the look of reference 5091 perfectly.

.

And there’s the presentation box which is a beautifully made underwater camera body like it was used in the early 1950s. It is a rebuild of the Rolleimarin, a case for the two eyed Rollei, developed by Hans Hass. This box is in itself a work of art and emphasizes the close connection between Blancpain’s unrivaled heritage of dive watches and underwater photography as a key aspect of the Ocean Commitment initiative.

.

Conclusions

We had to wait for a long time to finally see a faithful reincarnation of the vintage Fifty Fathoms from Blancpain. The release of the Air Command AC01 in 2019 gave me hope it would happen eventually, and what better occasion than the 70th anniversary of the iconic dive watch could there be?

.

The Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary is a fantastic timepiece, there’s no doubt about it. The choice of bronze gold comes unexpected but makes it even more special. It is offering a „new“ aesthetic code for a modern Blancpain, it has a perfect size true to the original Fifty Fathoms and is overall a beautiful reminder of the dive watch heritage. So couldn’t possibly ask for more… or could you?

I think keeping the distance ring between bezel and crystal would have made the watch even more beautiful and also more faithful to its inspiration. As a minor point I would have also liked to see the vintage Fifty Fathoms Font (like on the FF 50th Anniversary) next to the vintage Blancpain signature on the dial. But that’s nitpicking, really… the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3 is amazing as it is.

.

Together with Acts 1 and 2 this lineup of celebratory timepieces makes perfect sense: a new size for the modern day Fifty Fathoms, a new dive instrument and a faithful tribute to the vintage Fifty Fathoms Milspec. If you then add the Swatch collaboration, 2023 has been an impressive (and sometimes surprising) anniversary year.

.

Act 3 is again a limited edition, this time there are 555 pieces available. Some criticise this strategy of limited editions, in the case of Act 1 and Act 3 I disagree with that sentiment. Both timepieces are special, both are meant to be collectors pieces.

But I also need to mention the price tag on reference 5901: depending on currency and VAT environment the price reaches clearly beyond 30,000 €/$. That is a very ambitious price for a watch with a cal 1150 based movement, despite the special 9ct bronze gold case. Let’s face it: the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3 is substantially more expensive than a 18ct Sedna gold Bathyscaphe with caliber 1315. The exclusivity, the spectacular box and the anniversary aspect probably warrant the price, though.

.

You find the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3 here on the Blancpain website. A hands-on report on Act 2, the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa, can be found here, my honeymoon essay on the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 1 here in the blog.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and the photos. All photos are taken under artificial light, unfortunately I had no chance to get up close with the watch in daylight (yet).

Cheers

Henrik