A New FIFTY FATHOMS

There is a great divide. How else to de scribe the sport watch category? There are many under the banner of sport that offer high watchmaking attributes such as fine movement finishes, sophisticated movement construction including free sprung balances, beautifully turned out dials and hands, and gleaming cases. All marks of prestige but with critical sport elements missing: robust construction, long power reserves, magnetic ­ resistance, and high performance. Then there are others which do herald ruggedness and other sport performance characteristics but come up short on movement finishing, dial and case refinement, and overall elegance. Truly two different worlds claiming to be the same thing. 

Is there a timepiece that transcends this evident divide? That offers both: the ­ sophistication and refinement of high watchmaking while at the same time admitting of no compromises in its mission of delivering true sport performance. 

Enter the Fifty Fathoms with focus upon the newly introduced 42 mm versions. Since 2007 when the modern Fifty had its full debut, the diameter has been 45 mm across all models. The new 42 mm size for the reference 5010 offers a smaller alternative that sacrifices nothing in its diving mission. 

Examine first its sport credentials. The original Fifty Fathoms was born after Blancpain’s then CEO, Jean-Jacques ­ Fiechter, who was a passionate diver, ran out of air during a dive off the south coast of France. Only with an emergency ascent was he able to save his life. What followed was both an epiphany that divers needed a timing instrument, and brilliant creativity married with his underwater experience in creating a watch that would fully respond to the needs of divers. His inspirations and patented inventions were embodied in the Fifty Fathoms that he ­created. Keep in mind that essentially all of the core watchmaking designs that we know today had their origins 200 years ago in pocket watches. Those scripts were all well known. Not so for a diving watch. There were no precedents to guide ­Fiechter. First, he had to imagine the problems and then search for solutions. His insights and vision were so profound that the core de- signs of the Fifty came to define diving watches for the entire watch world at the time and still hold full sway today: a rotating bezel for dive timing protected against inadvertent rotation, effective seals for ­ water resistance, bright large numerals ­ set against a dark background for easy legibility underwater, a robust automatic winding movement, and protection against magnetism. 

All of these features and functions are found across the full Fifty Fathoms range, and, of course, in the new 42 mm Fifty. That said, seventy years have brought transformative changes while still leaving untouched the core concepts and the style of the original. The rotating bezel is now unidirectional so that it cannot be rotated in a direction that would deceive the diver into thinking that he had been underwater a shorter time than was actually the case. The bezel material is sapphire, second only to diamond in hardness, and thus scratch resistant, an important virtue for use in the rough and tumble diving environment. Whereas the 1950s model achieved magnetic protection of the most vulnerable component, the metallic hairspring, by enveloping the movement with a soft iron inner case, the 5010 has a silicon hairspring which is essentially non-magnetic. 

In order to provide superior resistance to running rate changes caused by shocks, the 5010, in common with all modern Blancpain movements, features inertial regulation controlled by gold regulation screws which, unlike older less expensive raquette regulation systems, will not change position with vigorous use, ensuring stable timekeeping. A long power reserve is also an essential for a high performance sport timepiece. The 5010 is based upon Blancpain’s caliber 1315 movement. It boasts three mainspring barrels connected in series yielding a 5 day power reserve. Importantly, the three barrels have been configured with mainsprings engineered in different strengths in order to flatten the torque delivered to the balance/escapement. The result optimizes the watch’s timing performance over different states of wind (full vs. nearly unwound). 

Straps and a bracelet have not been overlooked in the sport mission of the 5010. Four options are offered: a NATO strap fashioned from recycled fishing nets; a rubber tropical strap; a sailcloth strap; and, finally, a titanium bracelet (more on titanium in a moment). All four are suitable for underwater use. 

Turn now to the haute horlogerie side of the 5010’s personality, beginning with the movement. Fine finishing is the hallmark of prestige watchmaking. The caliber 1315 of the 5010 abounds with the sophistication of gleaming carefully applied anglage, extra-large jewels set within finely ­ polished chamfers, a perfectly realized soleil finish on the flat surfaces of the bridges, a solid gold winding rotor with the raised “Blancpain” and “Fifty Fathoms” signatures and a contrasting NAC coating below, and a snail pattern finish on the winding train. Thanks to the silicon hairspring’s magnetic resistance which makes an iron inner case unnecessary, the 5010 is fitted with a clear case back that provides a view of the movement. The silicon hairspring opens the door to an extra level of refinement in the performance of the movement that goes beyond the resistance to magnetism. Silicon is lighter than traditional metallic hairsprings which improves the chronometry of the watch under circumstances where there are changes in its vertical position, as the lighter weight reduces the gravitational effects upon rate. In addition, the response of silicon to changes in the mainspring force as the barrel unwinds is more even than alternative metals, once again improving chronometry. 

Two dials are offered, black and blue. Both have a lightly applied texture and three dimensional indexes: Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6, and 9 and triangles every five minutes, each with a sculpted border. For the titanium version the border is realized in white gold; for the gold version, in red gold. With everyday wear in mind, there is a date window at 4:30. 

In addition to offering a size alternative to its larger predecessor, the 5010 brings new material and color choices for the Blancpain connoisseur. Over the past few years, Blancpain has been broadening its titanium sport watch offerings, most notably with the recent Bathyscaphes, the Act 2 Tech Gombessa, the X Fathoms, the 500 Fathoms, and one model of the 5015. That progression has been accelerated to become mainstream, as Grade 23 titanium becomes one of two case material choices for the 5010. Grade 23 titanium is based upon Grade 5 titanium. Some refer to Grade 5 as “medical grade”, as its non-allergenic properties make it the best for such medical applications as joint replacements. Grade 23, denominated as Extra Low Inclusions (“ELI”), is placed above Grade 5. The difference is purity, with Grade 23 being of a higher degree as it has a reduced percentage of oxygen. Reducing the amount of oxygen improves the fracture toughness of the metal. It becomes the top choice for its superior strength, light weight, corrosion resistance, and toughness. It is this improved performance that led Blancpain to select Grade 23 for the 5010. One can debate whether the Grade 23 titanium case speaks to the sport side of the 5010’s personality or the high watch- making side. Its strength, lightness, and corrosion resistance argue for sport. Its sophisticated finishes—examine the crisp hand-crafted junction between the lugs and case side—speak to haute horlogerie. Grade 23 titanium is also the material choice for the metallic bracelet, whose ­ every link has been hand finished. Now there are no less than eight different variants of titanium models in the 5010 line: a blue dial with either sailcloth, tropical or NATO straps or a titanium bracelet; and a black dial with the same four options of straps or bracelet. 

Extra sport-chic is found with the red gold models of the 5010. There are two versions: red gold with a black dial and bezel, and red gold with a blue dial and bezel. 

When the Fifty Fathoms was originally ­ developed in the 1950s, it was a diving instru­ment created with no compromises to its mission. The modern Fifties likewise are no compromises timepieces, both as diving companions and as examples of sophisticated, elegant high watchmaking daily wearers.