One Watch: the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe

A Dialed Down Fifty Fathoms

A little gallery and some words on this beautiful object.

The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe on a navy NATO strap - complete with Zinc sunscreen patina from applying to my son on a recent Palm Springs trip.

In the doldrums of COVID I pulled the trigger on this amazing timepiece. I’ve had Seiko 5 dive watches, Apple watches, and a much worn and beloved J. Crew Timex Andros (lost in Las Vegas of all places), but the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms (monstrously sized, but purpose built for diving) always loomed large in my imagination.

The predecessors - the Apple Watch and a variety of dive watches (Seiko 5 dive watches even support a robust modding community, including the Seiko “55 Fathoms” which replaces the dial with one resembling Blancpain’s)

I can thank this advertisement they used to run in mid 2000s GQ for grabbing me initially. This one is from 2017, so I can’t be sure if the original Fifty Fathoms was featured in the ads of my youth or whether it was always the Bathyscaphe.

Did the mid-2000s version of this ad ever feature the normal Fifty Fathoms? An open question for me about memory and subliminal influences

I wasn’t consciously aware of the Bathyscaphe until I started to consider buying my dream Fifty Fathoms as my “I’ve made it watch” when I was promoted to partner at my firm. Where the standard Fifty Fathoms is maximalist in its details, the Bathyscaphe turns down the numerals, bezel, indices, hands and case size (43mm here to the Fifty Fathoms 45mm) in way that is pleasing and interesting.

Not quite a daily driver, but one I wear as often as possible

For comparison purposes: the much bolder and well known Fifty Fathoms

It’s an extravagant piece, which is why I love the NATO strap for this watch. It’s unexpected (it also comes standard with a beautiful sailcloth strap as pictured on the normal Fifty Fathoms above) and gives it the informal, knock-around character that I’ve loved in my Seikos, Timex and other cheaper dive watches I’ve owned. I wear this watch year round (when work, cycling, parenting and other considerations don’t conspire to have me in my Apple watch). The NATO comes on and stays on for spring and summer: in the pool in Palm Springs, with a sportcoat to business lunches, even with tuxedos and suits for film festivals and weddings. Fall and winter the sailcloth strap returns to restore a little sanity to the proceedings.

Near its natural environment - like most who love these watches, I’m no diver

There are people out there with amazing watch collections and they are always looking to acquire more. You’d think one would be done once getting all the icons in hand: a few Rolex Submariners, a JLC Reverso, a Daytona, an Omega Speedmaster, etc. As I explain to friends who ask, I’m the opposite of a collector. I have one nice watch I can admire and I can leave it at that. There are certainly other watches fitting other categories where I could imagine an acquisition (a dress watch with moonphases for example), but the simplicity muscle benefits from exercise.

The author and his watch, 2021