Blancpain unveils its first-ever ceramic bracelets for the Bathyscaphe on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (live pics)
Jamie Weiss- In a significant development for the Le Brassus brand, Blancpain has just released its first-ever full ceramic bracelets, outfitting the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe in three different ceramic colours across three different complications, with the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de Lune a particular highlight.
- Blancpain has introduced a uniquely robust design for their ceramic bracelets, which feature premium brushed finishes, dark ceramic hues and large titanium screws that reduce ceramic-on-ceramic rare.
- Australian journalists (including myself) were the first in the world to try these watches and bracelets on for ourselves; a rare opportunity.
Blancpain as a brand has a real dual character. On the one hand, the brand is best known these days for its Fifty Fathoms: a refined but ultimately utilitarian tool watch. On the other hand, however, the rest of Blancpain’s oeuvre mostly consists of refined, classical dress watches. It’s a brand that’s both formal and informal – or rather, black tie and wetsuit.
The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe also has a dual character. Ostensibly a more modern and even more utilitarian take on the Fifty Fathoms formula, the Bathyscaphe collection is also home to some of Blancpain’s more colourful and daresay whimsical dive watches. If the OG Fifty Fathoms is a wetsuit, they’re a pair of board shorts. Very nice board shorts, mind.
This is where my mixed metaphor starts to collapse a little. The newest additions to the Bathyscaphe range are, quite literally, even more colourful takes on a Blancpain dive watch, and move further away from being out-and-out diving tools – yet at the same time, are technical in their construction and execution.
So let’s cut to the chase. As the title of this article implies, the main event with these new Bathyscaphes is that they feature Blancpain’s first-ever full ceramic bracelets. Blancpain has previously experimented with ceramic cases, particularly in the Bathyscaphe collection, but this is the first time we’ve seen full ceramic bracelets from the brand. I had the chance to get hands-on with these ceramic bracelets on a trip with Blancpain to the Great Barrier Reef (stay tuned for more on that), and I can honestly say they’re the best ceramic bracelets I’ve ever worn.
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First of all, they’re beautifully finished, with a highly pronounced brushed finish that feels very premium. Most ceramic bracelets tend to be either extremely glossy – which can sometimes feel a bit cheap – or matte, which I personally find less comfortable on my skin. The brushed finish of these Blancpain bracelets, however, is a great point of difference.
They’re also the most substantial ceramic bracelets I’ve ever worn. That’s down to the way they’re constructed: each link fixed using robust titanium screws, which are exposed on the sides of the links. Blancpain explains that these large screws help reduce ceramic-on-ceramic wear, and moderate the flexibility of the bracelet, providing a beautiful drape on the wrist while achieving a higher level of durability than other bracelets.
The other advantage of this construction is that it helps the bracelet feel extremely balanced. While they don’t wear larger than their dimensions suggest, the Bathyscaphe is not exactly small at 43.6mm in diameter and 14.1mm thick. These new bracelets, however, beautifully complement the weight of the watch head. Nor is the clasp, a butterfly clasp that’s nearly invisible on the wrist, disproportionately heavy or obtrusive.
One criticism many consumers have of ceramic watches is that they can feel very insubstantial. While I wouldn’t call these new ceramic Bathyscaphes heavy, on the bracelet, they feel beefy in a way ceramic watches rarely do. Perhaps a better term would be confidence-inspiring. Combined with that lovely brushed finish, these Blancpain ceramic watch bracelets feel unbelievably premium, befitting of a higher-tier brand like Blancpain.
All in all, the new collection encompasses six watches. Three colours of ceramic are available, namely blue, black and green; across three different Bathyscaphe models, the standard time-and-date, the Chronographe Flyback and the Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de Lune. In typically complicated Swatch Group fashion, all three complications are available in black, but you can only get a Quantième Complet or Chronographe Flyback in green, and the Quantième Complet is your only choice if you want a blue ceramic case. Additionally, the Quantième Complet references are also available on either a sailcloth or NATO strap, like some other Fifty Fathoms models.
Anyway… I’d also like to call out the quality of the shades chosen for these ceramic models. We’ve seen blue ceramic from Blancpain before, but black and green make their debut with these releases. Black is black – it’s uncontroversially handsome – but the green, for me, is the pick of the litter. It’s extremely dark, like kelp, and again looks very premium. The blue ceramic is similarly dark, yet they play very nicely with the beautiful sunburst dials found on these Bathyscaphes. The Quantième Complet models also feature colour-matched moonphase wheels, which is a nice touch.
Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de Lune Ceramic
Just as I think the green ceramic is the standout for me, the Quantième Complet is my favourite of the Bathyscaphe variants and has been for a while. If we’re talking about dual characters, this complication in the Bathyscaphe has that in spades. Here you have a traditional complete calendar, brimming with classic Blancpain style, yet found in a rough-and-ready dive watch. A ceramic dive watch, no less. That’s the playfulness I was getting at earlier. There’s something gloriously impractical about it that I find very compelling.
These complex Bathyscaphes are powered by the manufacture Calibre 6654.P, which is also found in some Villeret models. As a complete calendar, it features a date hand; date and month windows; and a fairly large, classical moonphase display at 6 o’clock. A 72-hour power reserve means it’s also weekend-proof.
Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback Ceramic
We’ve seen ceramic Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flybacks before with grey, black and blue ceramic cases in the range – but not in green ceramic until now, and previous blue ceramic references had either grey dials and blue cases or vice versa. Yes, Blancpain can be a little bit labyrinthine with these things: the important thing to focus on is the bracelets!
These watches are powered by the manufacture Calibre F385, which features a vertical clutch and column wheel, beats at 5Hz, and has a 50-hour power reserve. It retains the same 300-metre depth rating as the Quantième Complet and three-handed Bathyscaphes, despite the fact it doesn’t have screw-down chronograph pushers.
Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe
This is the same Bathyscaphe we know and love, just now available on a full ceramic bracelet. Under the hood beats the manufacture Calibre 1315, which boasts an impressive 120-hour power reserve thanks to a twin-barrel setup. Like the other movements in this collection, it features an rhodium-plated 18k gold rotor and a silicon hairspring.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Ceramic Collection pricing & availability
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback and Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de Lune in ceramic are all available now. Price: US$18,400 (Quantième Complet on NATO/sailcloth), US$21,300 (three-hander on bracelet), US$26,000 (Quantième Complet or Flyback Chronograph on bracelet)
| Brand | Blancpain |
| Model | Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de Lune |
| Reference Number | 5000 0130 (Bathyscaphe) 5200 0130, 5200 0153 (Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback) 5054 0130, 5054 0140, 5054 0153 (Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet Phases de Lune) |
| Case Dimensions | 43.6mm (D) x 14.1mm (T) |
| Case Material | Blue, black or green ceramic |
| Water Resistance | 300 metres, screw-down crown |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Sunburst blue,black or green |
| Strap | Colour-matched ceramic bracelet, butterfly clasp Colour-matched sailcloth strap with titanium pin buckle Colour-matched NATO strap |
| Movement | Calibre 1315, in-house, automatic (Bathyscaphe) Calibre F385, in-house, automatic (Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback) Calibre 6654.P, in-house, automatic (Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet) |
| Power Reserve | 120 hours (Bathyscaphe) 50 hours (Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback) 72 hours (Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet) |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date (Bathyscaphe) Hours, minutes, small seconds, flyback chronograph (Chronographe Flyback) Hours, minutes, seconds, complete calendar, moonphase (Quantième Complet) |
| Availability | Now |
| Price | US$18,400 (Quantième Complet on NATO/sailcloth) US$21,300 (Bathyscaphe on bracelet) US$26,000 (Quantième Complet on bracelet) US$26,000 (Chronographe Flyback on bracelet) |