The Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Ranked - From Best to Worst
To say that the Swatch x Omega ‘Moonswatch’ broke the watch nerd’s internet (and many storefront windows) would be an understatement. Although, last month, the brand tried its hand at a luxury collaboration yet again - This time with Blancpain - The brand most known for its Fifty Fathoms Dive Watch collection. The Fifty Fathoms is kind of a quintessential “If you know you know” collector’s piece, as its claim to fame is that it was the first automatic dive watch (arguable) and that the watch itself has never had a quartz movement utilized in it. This presents a bit of a challenge for Swatch, as its previous collaboration features their quartz movements. So for this latest collaboration, Swatch uses their Sistem51 movement, albeit a hyped-up decorated version of it to power the Scuba Fifty Fathoms so the brand can keep that record, even if the watch is only associated with their name. Further, you’ll notice there is no black model, unlike the Moonswatch models that make a very similar-looking Speedmaster to the original. It seems Blancpain didn’t want anyone mistaking the Scuba Fifty Fathoms for a regular Fifty Fathoms.
We can pretty definitively say that the Scuba Fifty Fathoms wasn’t necessarily as popular as the Moonswatch, perhaps because Blancpain isn’t necessarily a universally recognized brand with the marketing budget of a mid-sized country, but the watch itself is nice looking and features Swatch’s ‘Bioceramic’ case, which is essentially a hardened plastic and a unique colorway driven by a sea creature prominently featured on the movement. The release was relatively unexpected, with a pretty tight lip right up until the end where it was leaked. The perception was a little confusing at first, but I think it’s mostly become more positive now that all the dust has settled. What’s left is 5 separate models of the Fifty Fathoms in playful and fun colorways with nato straps. Since the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms itself is black in most of its releases, I found the Swatch releases to breathe a little more life into the model while making the (ahem) Plastic version of it a little more accessible to those who’d otherwise be uninterested in a $28,000 steel or titanium diver. In fact, the price for the Scuba Fifty Fathoms is just $400 USD.
So today, we thought we’d take a look at the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms and rate our favorites. Each watch features a literal ocean theme, with all five of them having a unique personality, and we have definitely seen a few becoming fan favorites. So let’s rank the watch starting with our favorite first.
Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Arctic Ocean
Hands down, the Arctic Ocean wins in my book, if not for the attention to detail alone. For starters, an extremely rare version of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms is the “No Rad” version released in the 60’s as the first dive watch without Radiation - Which was quite a hot topic during the era. In a time when radiated paint was being used on dials, Blancpain prided themselves in releasing the first dive watch without Radium, hence the “No Rad” name synonymous with the Fifty Fathoms. This was marked by a large circle on the dial with a red symbol and an “X” through it - Complete with the words “No Radiation” printed underneath.
Swatch takes a nod to the model with Arctic Ocean Scuba Fifty Fathoms. It’s an interesting colorway that you don’t often see in watchmaking, and when you do it’s quite striking. The sand-colored dial is a gradient style reminiscent of a Fume dial, and its ‘Dendronotus Frondosus’ Red color named after a sea slug most commonly found in the Arctic Ocean is quite unique. Plus, the lack of a date window feels cleaner. Flipping the watch over, you’ll find the decorated movement featuring the ocean life on the back. Overall, the decoration is clean and adds a lot of visual interest to the theme. They match this colorway with the nato strap (as with all the models) and the result is a coherent mix of fun and serious. And of course, featured prominently on the dial is a giant trefoil symbol with the words “No Radiation” underneath. It’s overall a perfect encapsulation of the Fifty Fathoms in a more playful light, and we love it.
2. Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Antarctic Ocean
Coming in close second, and from the other side of the planet with the Antarctic Ocean Scuba Fifty Fathoms. The watch is fairly monochromatic save for a tinge of blue on the handsets and in the matching nato strap. The watch matches the ice-y theme of the Antarctic Ocean, prominently featuring a number of whites and grays in its overall color scheme, and also features no date (I’m sensing a theme here).
However, the star of the show isn’t a “No Radiation” marker, but instead a moisture indicator at 6 o’clock. The bi-color indicator was a prominent feature of a number of Military watches at the time, but most famously used on the Fifty Fathoms. Able to detect moisture, the indicator would change colors upon detection, telling the wearer that the watch could be compromised. Today, the Fifty Fathoms featuring this indicator is extremely rare, and fetch values many multiples above the retail of the watch at the time.
Flipping the watch over, the sea creature Blancpain and Swatch decided on for the theme is a ‘Tritoniella Belli’, another unique Sea Slug known for its iceberg-like form. Quite fitting for a watch who’s theme comes from the South Pole.
3. Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Pacific Ocean
We’ve seen a bit of a return to form when it comes to Yellow in watches, especially with the release of Hodinkee x Ed Sheeran’s electric yellow G-Shock. When a lot of the vintage divers took to Orange to contrast the blues of water (looking at you Doxa for starting that trend), a number of brands took to yellow accents - Which you’ll see on a lot of the indicators for the Fifty Fathoms. The Scuba Fifty Fathoms Pacific Ocean looks to that influence and the result is a bit unique in the lineup.
Overall, the watch is clean with its yellow and black color scheme. I feel that paired with the gradient dial and white tones, with a yellow-tipped second hand the watch feels a bit like a racing watch. I think the colorway, while unique and visually interesting might be better suited for a racing-themed chronograph over a Fifty Fathoms Diver. The theme for the watch is the ‘Chromodoris Kuiteri’, another sea slug with black and white color schemes, though that creature is mostly orange - A color that might have been a little bit more suited than the laser-yellow used here. Perhaps they didn’t want to get too close to the Arctic Ocean, and the watch doesn’t look bad, It just doesn’t feel like a diver to me - Reserving that in my 3rd slot.
4. Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Atlantic Ocean
The Blancpain x Fifty Fathoms Scuba Fifty Fathoms Atlantic Ocean comes in fourth because it, quite frankly, is the closest to an existing Blancpain we have. And while there’s nothing really wrong with it, it isn’t exactly a risk-taker either. Unlike the Pacific Ocean model, at least the brands were looking to create something a little more unique. With the Atlantic, it just feels a little safe.
The blue color comes from the ‘Glaucus Atlanticus’ or “Blue Dragon” sea creature, which is actually quite striking. The deep blues look good on a watch, and the gradient dial is clean, but I feel it just doesn’t really capture the theme it’s going for. There was a great opportunity here to add some whites and make something really unique, but instead, Blancpain and Swatch went the safe route and made a more generic-looking diver. Perhaps this was the watch in the collection they tried to just go for some universal appeal, but for me anyway, it just falls a little flat. The movement is beautiful though.
5. Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms Indian Ocean
Finally, we have the Scuba Fifty Fathoms Indian Ocean - A green and orange colorway. First, I’ll preface this by saying I understand that green evokes a lot of feelings in the watch industry. A quick Google search will yield dozens of articles about green replacing blue for watch dials and color schemes. For the Indian Ocean model though, I feel like it just doesn’t work. I think the brand would have done well with a more hunter green to better match the ‘Nembrotha Kubaryana’ it’s going for. Instead, the bright green and orange are a bit more jarring and I feel like it clashes. And as someone who tends to like matching watches with outfits, it’s hard to have a vision for this one. Overall, I don’t fault anyone for liking it, it’s just not for me.
So there we have it folks, my definitive ranking of the “BlancSwatch”, or “SwatchPain”, or… whatever this is going to end up nicknamed (“Swifty Fathoms”? No?). We’ve seen our share of flippers for the Scuba Fifty Fathoms, but they’re becoming more available as time goes on. In fact, Craig was able to pick one up at the retail location in NYC just last week. It’ll be interesting to see what the next collaboration will be. A lot of predictions are on Breguet since it’s the same house, and they’ve already done a Racing watch with Omega (Land), and now a Dive watch with Blancpain (Sea), so the prediction would be a pilot watch - So maybe the Type XX?
Anyways, how do you guys rank the Blancpain x Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms? And what do you think is next? Let us know in the comments below. Or check out our other rankings of the Omega MoonSwatch here.