Back in 2023 Blancpain celebrated its 70th anniversary with a 3-act special collection of watches that consisted of the Act 1, Act 2 Tech Gombessa and Act 3 MIL-SPEC. While each of those watches stand out for different reasons, the most memorable and interesting of the trio is the Act 2, a leviathan of a dive watch at 47mm but one that was designed to actually serve as a professional tool used by scientists during research projects. Two years later, Blancpain have taken that same professional ‘Tech’ concept and reworked it into a permanent collection with the debut of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech.
Out of the gate let’s talk size. The new Fifty Fathoms Tech remains a large watch, but it has been downsized compared to that special edition Gombessa model. The new collection measures 45mm x 14.1mm with a water resistance rating of 300m. It’s made from Grade 23 titanium, which is one of the more advanced and rarer grades to see used in watchmaking. Its main advantage over the more common watchmaking grades is its thermal resistance, which is not as relevant for a watch compared to a piece of industrial machinery for example, but it’s still nice to know your watch is a touch more durable in very specific scenarios.
It also features a helium escape valve at 10 o’clock, giving it that more technical appearance. An escape valve is a device mostly relevant for saturation diving, where a watch spends a long time in a helium rich environment. As the helium enters the watch, it can cause issues during decompression as it expands, potentially damaging the case and crystal. An escape valve, as the name suggests, allows the gas to harmlessly escape as it expands. Rounding out the case is the uni-directional diving bezel with ceramic insert.
Aesthetically, the watch follows the established styles of the Fifty Fathoms with a 12/3/6/9 arrangement of Arabic numerals interspersed with rectangular hour markers, all coated with lume. There’s also a date function tucked away between 4 and 5. The display uses a high contrast combination of cream markings and an Absolute Black dial that absorbs 97% of light. It differs dramatically from the 2023 Gombessa that featured entirely orange markings, though the new watch pays tribute to that design with its orange seconds hand.
It’s slightly bizarre that two giants of the Swatch Group, Blancpain and Omega, would release orange seconds hands variants of their iconic dive watches less than a week apart from each other. Omega having just launched the Seamaster Diver 300M Orange. You’d think a major group like Swatch would coordinate launches like this a touch better to avoid potential comparisons, competition and media overlap. Though they are at least in very different price brackets, the Omega at around £6k and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech at £19,300.
A large part of that price comes from the movement, which is the calibre 1315A, an automatic movement with a robust 120-hour power reserve. It’s visible through the exhibition caseback where you can see the finishing. It’s a balance between utilitarian and refined with fine brushing across the rotor and mainplate. While you’re looking at the underside of the watch you can also see the new interchangeable strap system that allows you to swap between the various integrated rubber straps in a choice of orange, white or black.
Despite that, I think the price will prove an extremely prohibitive barrier to entry. Though that’s arguably an issue across the breadth of Blancpain rather than specific to the Fifty Fathoms Tech. When your main competitors are the Omega Diver 300M and Rolex Submariner and your retail price is more than double theirs, you have to really, really, really love the watch in order to buy one. While I like the Fifty Fathoms Tech, it looks cool and the style is one of my favourite dive watches, I can’t stretch to love.
Price and Specs:
More details at Blancpain.
