If you’re even remotely interested in watches, you have no doubt seen the recent pictures of the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms making the rounds on social media. With the global success of the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch collaboration, Swatch is clearly aiming to recreate some of that magic by teaming up with another sibling brand under the Swatch Group umbrella – – Blancpain. The Scuba Fifty Fathoms are playful Swatch-made versions of Blancpain’s historically important dive watch model, the Fifty Fathoms. However, will this collaboration work this time around? Can Swatch revive Blancpain, a brand that’s lost its way somewhat over the years? Or better yet, can the new Scuba Fifty be an introduction to Blancpain, a watchmaker that’s unfamiliar to most and nowhere near as beloved as Omega? Let’s discuss.
The MoonSwatch Magic
Like Swatch, Omega is a powerhouse brand, recognizable in name by even those outside the watch community. Plus, the Speedmaster Moonwatch chronograph, which is what the MoonSwatch is modeled after, is an absolute legend in the watch landscape and a grail watch for many. So the MoonSwatch collection allows access to a (brand-sanctioned) Speedmaster homage for those who couldn’t otherwise afford the original Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch.
Related: How Much Does an Omega Speedmaster Cost?
Even those who can afford an Omega Moonwatch are picking up a Swatch MoonSwatch or two – -these watches are cheap and cheerful while also being hyped and hard to get. A magic formula where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
What is the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Watch?
Blancpain, on the other hand, is far less known (even among watch collectors) and even less so in the American market. For those who don’t know, Blancpain is the world’s oldest watch brand, founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain. However, unlike the other centuries-old watch brands (Vacheron Constantin is one example) Blancpain was not in continuous operation since that time. Rather, in 1982 Jean-Claude Biver purchased the rights to Blancpain, which had been out of business since 1961.
Biver set out to resurrect Blancpain, emphasizing the company’s mechanical watches — often complicated ones — during the height of the quartz crisis. In fact, he came up with the company’s slogan: Since 1735, there has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there never will be. Biver’s anti-quartz campaign bet paid off and Blancpain was regarded as a pioneer during the post-quartz mechanical Swiss watch revival of the 1980s and 1990s. The Swatch Group purchased Blancpain in 1992.
Yet, before Blancpain’s revival, Biver’s leadership, and the acquisition by the Swatch Group, the company had already made waves in the 1950s with one particular model — the Fifty Fathoms. Unbeknownst to some, the Fifty Fathoms was the world’s first purpose-built diving watch (not the Rolex Submariner, as many believe), released in 1953, complete with now-standard details such as a timing bezel (that could lock to prevent accidental turning), lumed markings and hands, and of course, a water-resistant case. Blancpain’s diving watch was water-resistant to 50 fathoms (about 91 meters), hence the watch’s name.
More on Dive Watches:
What is a Dive Watch?
Guide to Omega Dive Watches
5 Dive Watches to Buy Now
The Fifty Fathoms diving watch remains a mainstay of the brand’s catalog, often regarded as Blancpain’s most iconic watch model. 2023 marks the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms, which was the perfect year to partner up with Swatch for the Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection.
Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms
Just like the MoonSwatch, the Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms is a collection of colorful and inexpensive versions of the otherwise expensive Blancpain-made Fifty Fathoms watches. Swatch has created five models, each dedicated to our five oceans: Arctic (beige/orange), Pacific (black/yellow), Atlantic (blue), Indian (green/black), and Antarctic (gray).
As a nod to the first Fifty Fathoms, the Swatch versions are water-resistant to 91m and every colorway includes signature FF features such as the dial layouts and bezel styles; some even include special symbols on the dials borrowed from past Blancpain references. The watches sport 42.3mm Bioceramic cases, fitted with colorful NATO straps. But most importantly, remember that statement that there never will be a quartz Blancpain watch? Well, Swatch has kept this promise by furnishing the Scuba Fifty watches with SISTEM51 automatic movements with 90 hours of power reserve. These are the very first automatic Scuba models in Swatch’s history. There are many reasons manufacturers choose to use quartz versus automatic watch movements.
The watches will go on sale on September 9, 2023, at select Swatch stores around the world, with a retail price of around $400 — significantly higher than the $260 retail price of a MoonSwatch. You can see all the Blancpain X Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms models on the Swatch website.
The Swatch Effect
Digging into the 2022 Swatch Group annual reports, there are a few statements that stood out describing the Swatch effect on Omega. Not only was there “A special mention to the MoonSwatch project that brought peak traffic to the Omega website” but the report also asserts that “In the wake of the MoonSwatch hype, the entire Omega Speedmaster collection, for example, the Moonwatch models, also profited from greatly increased interest.”
So, according to Swatch Group’s numbers, the Swatch MoonSwatch did have a positive result on the Omega Speedmaster collection. Will we see the same Swatch effect extend to Blancpain? While I don’t doubt that there will be a bump in interest in learning about the relatively unknown Blancpain brand and more specifically, the Fifty Fathoms, I’m not so sure that will translate to significantly more sales for the high-end watchmaker in the long run. Blancpain watches are some of the most expensive ones that the Swatch Group sells, so establishing new clients would be more challenging.
Furthermore, although there’s certainly hype about this release (in watch media, at least), I doubt the Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms will cause the same frenzy that the MoonSwatch did (and continues to do). Yes, there will be lines at the Swatch stores that sell them, and yes, the first few batches will sell out. But will it be a sustained success? That’s less certain.
As the aforementioned annual report states, “The MoonSwatch is popular with an extremely broad spectrum of customers of all ages and origins.” Yet, the Fifty Fathoms is not even close to as popular as the Speedmaster, so there’s already a starting disadvantage. Plus, let’s not forget that these new Swatch Blancpain homages are over 50% more expensive than the Speedmaster tributes. Are customers as likely to fork over $400 for a Swatch watch, even if it is an automatic Fifty Fathoms lookalike?
In short, I think that Swatch will revive Blancpain in the short run and have a positive effect by garnering interest in this slightly dusty, largely forgotten, old-school brand. But I don’t think we’ll see the same global phenomenon that the previous Swatch and Omega partnership caused. Plus, a true revival is up to Blancpain itself; Swatch may shine a brief spotlight on its sibling brand, but only Blancpain can carve out sustained success by making watches that people today want to buy.
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