Today I experiment with a new style of blog essay and I hope you enjoy it as much as my other style blog posts. In this essay I capture a friend’s private collection of modern Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe timepieces and the thematic approach of the collector. Let’s dive into these magnificent seven, showcasing a bit of the variety the Bathyscaphe line offers.

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The collection started with two Bathyscaphe watches at the same time: the Chronographe Flyback Ocean Commitment I and the Sedna Gold ref 5000. Since the 43-43.5mm size of the Bathyscaphe works exceptionally well on the collector’s wrist, this was just a beginning of the journey.

In addition to the two starting pieces the collection now includes the limited to 50 black ceramic Mokarran, the black ceramic green dial Chronographe Flyback, the very rare ceramized titanium Bathyscaphe from 2013, the 2021 titanium Bathyscaphe 5000 with anthracite dial and the limited to 25 Bathyscaphe Sylt in titanium with green dial and bezel.

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One aspect of the collection is that stainless steel Bathyscaphe models are intentionally disregarded because this material just doesn’t work for the owner. But with ceramic, gold and titanium the Bathyscaphe line offers plenty of options.

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Originally the Bathyscaphe was created as a smaller, civilian version of the iconic Fifty Fathoms in the late 1950s. With the relaunch of the model line in 2013 alongside the Fifty Fathoms 60th anniversary Blancpain followed the original idea of a daily all purpose watch you can dive with.

This collection is primarily focused on references 5000 and 5200. So far no calendar versions of the Bathyscaphe have found their way into the collection, but this may change going forward as the collection may expand.

A prominent feature of the Bathyscaphe watches is the display case, allowing for an unobstructed view of calibers 1315 and F385. It’s a tradition of Blancpain to celebrate special editions with a unique rotor and also have the rotor color matching the case material.

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Besides the different materials, the colors black, grey, green and blue add to the variety within the collection. With each piece the design has been carefully chosen so that the various elements of the watch work in harmony.

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This collection showcases perfectly that each of the basically similar watches has its own unique character and expression. A variety of strap choices helps to support that point, the quest to find the perfect strap for each timepiece is part of the passion with any collector.

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Most recently Blancpain has focused on titanium as the case material of choice. But we shall keep in mind that right from the start of the Bathyscaphe line in 2013 a titanium watch has been part of the lineup, in this case the rare ceramized titanium 5000-12C30.

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Another recent design choice is the color green. With the 2020 Bathyscaphe Mokarran and the Bathyscaphe Chronographe Ceramic in the same year this color appeared for the first time in the Blancpain collection. In 2021 a limited to 100 pieces stainless steel Bathyscaphe was launched exclusively in the Chinese market, and just one month ago the limited to 25 pieces Bathyscaphe Sylt in titanium was launched as another new option.

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I would like to thank my dear friend for allowing me to share his collection with you. All photos have been made by him, and it should be acknowledged that capturing 7 watches in one photo is a really difficult task.

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If you like to explore the individual timepieces further, you find my essays on the Ocean Commitment editions here, the Sedna Gold Bathyscaphe here, the Mokarran here, the black ceramic green dial Chronographe here, the ceramized titanium Bathyscaphe here, the anthracite dial titanium version here and the Bathyscaphe Sylt Edition here in the blog.

You also find the entire Bathyscaphe lineup here on the Blancpain website.

I hope you enjoyed this essay!

Cheers

Henrik