Blancpain is known for two things: making some of the most refined and dressy watches on the planet, and rather counterintuitively, highly technical and utilitarian dive watches. In a refreshing twist, these two diametrically opposed worlds come together on their latest watch.
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet – a bit of a mouthful, we know – takes Blancpain’s most minimalist, function-forward dive watch, the Bathyscaphe, and blesses it with one of watchmaking’s most genteel and maximalist complications: a moon-phase display.
Indeed, the Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet features a full traditional complete calendar, with a third date hand plus day and month indicators at 12 o’clock. Despite this, it’s also true to its dive watch roots, with a water resistance rating of 300m, generous smatterings of Super-LumiNova and a unidirectional dive bezel.
It’s a real contradiction of a watch. Hell, it’s even available in titanium – a metal rarely used for traditional calendar watches. (It’s also available in red gold and stainless steel.) It’s the perfect representation of Blancpain as a brand and a rather compelling alternative to the sometimes stuffy traditional complete calendar watch. It’s also a lot tougher, too, which makes it far more wearable.
We’re big fans of how the moon-phase wheel has been executed. It’s a somewhat minimalist take on the classic smiling moon graphic that remains playful and traditional while not coming off as cheesy or incongruous.
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The Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet watch in red gold is available with a blue NATO or sailcloth strap, with the latter option also offering a choice between a pin buckle and a folding clasp. The titanium model has the same options as well as the additional option of a titanium bracelet. Again, the idea of a traditional calendar watch on a NATO strap… It’s a bit cheeky.
Prices for the steel start at AU$20,400, the titanium at AU$21,900 and the red gold at AU$41,400 (all on NATO). Find out more about the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Quantième Complet range at Blancpain’s online boutique here.
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