Hey, remember last year when OMEGA and Swatch broke the internet with the MoonSwatch collab? The one where they released an affordable limited-edition watch for each of the nine planets (including Pluto!) and also the Sun and Moon? Well, Swatch is back at it again — this time with Blancpain. The new series taps the Swiss luxury brand’s iconic dive watch, the Fifty Fathoms, to bring all five oceans to your wrist.
Just like the MoonSwatch, the new Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection uses Swatch’s Bioceramic material for its cases, using ⅔ standard ceramic and ⅓ plant-based ceramic from castor seeds. Ceramic is known for its scratch-resistant properties, but we can also surmise that this helps cut costs for these timepieces, since they’re a fraction of the price of a regular Fifty Fathoms diver.
As for the watches themselves, you’re in for a real treat. Each of the five timepieces is themed after one of the five oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic. For instance, the Pacific variant is colored with a beautiful goldish case inspired by the Chromodoris Kuiteri fish, whereas the Indian variant takes after the seafoam green color of the coral reefs found there and the Atlantic watch is all blue to echo the stormy seas. The two pieces that are the most different are the Arctic and Antarctic watches. Rather than the date window, the red-and-beige Arctic variant sports a “NO RADIATIONS” symbol at the bottom, which harkens back to the first-ever dive watch from the ‘60s. The Antarctic watch has a similar detail, but in the way of a bicolor water contact indicator to detect the presence of water.
Each of the watches is 42.3mm in diameter with 91m water resistance, has matching striped NATO straps, and is powered by Swatch’s Sistem51 automatic movement with a whopping 90 hours of power reserve. What’s more is each timepiece features an open caseback with detailing that takes after its respective influence (e.g., the Nembrotha Kubaryana fish for the Indian Ocean watch). These Scuba Fifty Fathoms watches are non-limited editions and will be priced at $400 when they debut later this week.
