On June 16 Blancpain introduced two very attractive siblings to the successful Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantieme Complet reference 5054 in satin brushed titanium and satin brushed red gold. Let’s get up close and personal with these two 2022 novelties in the sailcloth strap variant.
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The casual sports watch you can dive with
Introduced in 2018, the Bathyscaphe Quantieme Complet has added a new dimension to the Blancpain dive watch segment. Reference 5054 combines two signature Blancpain configurations: a fully functional and 30 atm water resistant dive watch now featured a complete calendar with moon phases.
Of course nobody needs a complete calendar to time a dive. That however was never the point of this timepiece: reference 5054 is meant to be an all day and all purpose sports watch, and it proved to be very successful at that.
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Two new iterations
Titanium and and the combination of red gold with a blue dial are two dominant choices when you look at the Blancpain novelties in the last years. The two new Bathyscaphe Quantieme Complet models are the latest proof to that statement and they no doubt look very good.
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Both versions are shown on sailcloth strap with tang buckle. Alternatively both timepieces can be purchased on Nato strap, the titanium 5054 also offers the option of a grade 23 titanium bracelet.
The movement of both new timepieces is the one we know from the stainless steel 5054: caliber 6654 is based on the well known 1151, albeit running at 4Hz with a power reserve of 72 hours.
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The corrector pins for the calendar functions are again found in the case flanks, the patented under-lug-correctors known from the Villeret Quantieme Complet models would not support the necessary high water resistance of a dive watch.
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The titanium version
This beauty goes by reference 5054-1210-G52A and is characterized by its stealth look in various shades of grey.
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The case measures 43mm in diameter, 13,45mm in height and 49mm lug to lug. The satin brushed finish is executed flawlessly, and now this look is mirrored by the brushed ceramic bezel insert with Liquidmetal inlays. This type of has been introduced last year for the first time with the Bathyscaphe ref 5000 in titanium.
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The color of titanium case and the new bezel create a new environment for the grey sunburst finish dial. Although Blancpain calls the dial color anthracite, the difference to the meteor grey dial of the stainless steel 5054 however is subtle if at all noticeable – if there’s a difference at all.
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But the dial’s expression has changed quite a bit in this new configuration. This is also due to the moon phase disc, which is not blue but dark grey, and the grey discs for day and month.
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It is a very convincing aesthetic appearance, in my view the titanium 5054 makes this configuration even more attractive to everyone who’s interested in a sporty under-the-radar every day timepiece. It shows a lot of presence on the wrist, without being too extrovert.
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The red gold version
In comparison to the titanium timepiece, this new Bathyscaphe 5054-3640-O52A is clearly the extrovert sibling. The satin brushed red gold case is not a shy option in itself, in combination with this beautiful blue sunburst dial and the blue ceramic bezel insert with Ceragold inlays it becomes a real looker.
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Interestingly enough Blancpain has not chosen the Bathyscaphe typical Sedna gold but a traditional red gold alloy. And for the dial, my impression is the Blue known from other Bathyscaphe models creates the impression of being a slightly darker tone, possibly due to the busy dial configuration compared with the lean appearance of the three hand Bathyscaphe 5000-3640.
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The moon phase disc is executed in the traditional blue, the discs for day and month are either very dark blue or even black. Together with the gold hands the face of the timepiece is an immediate eye-catcher, luxurious and colorful.
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On the wrist the red gold 5054 does not get unnoticed by any chance. It sits comfortably on my rather small wrist, and the matte blue sailcloth strap compliments the face of the watch in a subtle way.
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Conclusions
With these two new iterations Blancpain have moved the well known Bathyscaphe Quantieme Complet into two opposite „extremes“. There’s the stealthy titanium version, refined in all details but very tone in tone. And than there’s its colorful and extrovert sibling, showing a totally different character.
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I think the titanium 5054 will quickly become a bestseller in the Blancpain portfolio, the red gold blue dial version will also create a lot of interest. There’s one „downside“, though: making your choice between the various models and their iterations in the Fifty Fathoms family again becomes increasingly difficult.
You find the two new Bathyscaphe Quantieme Complet here on the Blancpain website. The the stainless steel version on the (discontinued) X-70 bracelet can be found here, a hands-on report with the titanium Bathyscaphe 5000 here in the blog. The constantly updated overview on all Blancpain novelties is available here.
I hope you enjoyed this essay and the photos.
Cheers
Henrik