Today we take a closer look at the Fifty Fathoms Chronographe Flyback Quantieme Complet, reference 5066F-1140-52B, a timepiece not encountered very often but most definitely deserving our attention. And it plays nicely with some other blue dial timepieces covered recently.
Three signature elements combined
Obviously the rich dive watch heritage of the Fifty Fathoms reaching back to 1953 is embedded in this timepiece: water resistant to 300m and equipped with the well known unidirectional sapphire bezel, the FF 5066F can be used as a professional instrument, but it offers a lot more.
More recently, in the early 1980s to be exact, Blancpain played a significant role in the revival of the mechanical watch after the quartz crisis. Symbolic for this revival was the complete calendar with moon phases, with small windows in the top half of the dial indicating the weekday and month, while the date is displayed on the outer rim of the dial with the help of a red tipped hand from the center. This classic display of all relevant calendar functions has since been a true signature element, found in many timepieces and also in the FF 5066F.
The third element is of course the Flyback chronograph, which was introduced to the modern Blancpain collection in the mid 1990s. Based on the refined chronograph caliber 1185 with column wheel and vertical clutch, which has become one of the most revered chronograph movements in the industry, the F185 added the useful Flyback functionality, which again can be found in a huge variety of Blancpain watches.
Adding some truly special aesthetics
The FF 5066F was one of the first modern Fifty Fathoms featuring a blue dial, and together with reference 5015D-1140-52 it introduced a so called Flinque dial as a differentiating feature.
This dial, supporting a large number of indications, appears very lively and sensitive to different light conditions, without ever losing its readability. It clearly stands out from what you usually encounter with a Fifty Fathoms, being more an all purpose timepiece than merely a luxurious dive watch.
The polished stainless steel case, measuring 45mm in diameter, 17.2mm in height and 50mm lug to lug, is a perfect fit to the exceptional dial and the beautiful sapphire bezel. The FF 5066F also features the patented under-lug correctors, an aesthetically refined and most comfortable way to adjust the calendar functions. To support the 300m water resistance the chronograph pusher are secured by small screw-down elements, aesthetically matching the large screw-down crown.
Through the sapphire case back you can see caliber 66BF8 with 448 parts at work, based on caliber F185 and featuring a beautiful Nautilus shaped rotor (previously known from the FF all white and the Dark Knight).
The watch is worn on a dark blue sailcloth buckle with a polished deployant clasp. If one chooses so, the FF 5066F can also be worn on a dark blue Nato strap, but this is not an order option. There is no option to fit the X-71 bracelet to this timepiece.
To close this report, here’s a short video of the Fifty Fathoms 5066F on my 17cm wrist:
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You find the Fifty Fathoms Chronographe Flyback Quantieme Complet here on the Blancpain website. An overview on all Fifty Fathoms 5015 versions can be found here in the blog.
I hope you enjoyed the report and the photos!
Cheers
Henrik