Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 5000 1110 B52A Review

In the realm of luxury watches, even the most avid watch users are surprised by a brand they previously hadn’t experienced. Blancpain is one such brand known to be a cut above all the other luxury watch brands. Several critics have also concluded that Blancpain is a higher-end watch brand than Rolex.

Apart from being a symbol of luxury, Blancpain is also the oldest watchmaking company that has been active to date. Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques, Blancpain is the only watchmaking company from that time still producing watches.

Since 1992, Blancpain has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group, one of the major reasons why the brand has stayed strong until now. Known for its Fifty Fathoms diving watch introduced in 1953, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 5000-1110-B52A is also a part of the same Fifty Fathoms collection.

The Exterior

One of the most prominent features of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 5000-1110-B52A is its aesthetically pleasing design. The watch case is made of brushed stainless steel. In combination with this brushed steel case, the timepiece’s uni-directional rotating bezel is also made of brushed steel but filled with black ceramic. Not only does this material give the watch the much-needed sleekness for a luxury watch, but it is also highly scratch-resistant, protecting the watch’s structural integrity.

Another unique feature of this watch’s bezel is that its indexes are made with Liquidmetal, which bonds perfectly with the ceramic allowing for a smooth finish. To further give a stylistic boost to the watch's exterior, Blancpain has also made the indexes of the bezel luminous filled with a raised dot at the 12 o’clock position. The watch strap is black and made of sail-canvas material with a pin buckle clasp. Combined with the rest of the case design, the watch's texture and colorwork in perfect synergy.

Like any high-end luxury watch, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 5000-1110-B52A is also designed with a front and back placement of a sapphire crystal. Since it has a transparent back, which makes the movement system visible, the sapphire crystal's scratch-resistant properties protect the watch's complete structural integrity.

The Interior

When it comes to the aesthetics of a watch, the case design must work well with the watch's dial. Blancpain doesn’t forget this critical aspect as the dial has a metallic gray color and a fine sun-ray finish. This color scheme works perfectly with the casing and strap of the watch.

To add to the dial's beauty, Blancpain has designed it with polished steel indexes, dot and hour markers, hour and minute hands, and the central seconds’ hand. These components have a luminous fill, while the second hand is also designed with a red tip. This not only makes the dial of the watch stand out, but it also makes it easier to check the time in the dark. Combined with a perfectly placed date window between the 4 and 5 o'clock positions, this watch's dial has been perfectly designed.

The Performance

Even a luxury watch can never be truly considered a top-tier watch if its performance isn’t up to par. All high-end watchmakers, including Blancpain, recognize this as they put immense focus on the watch's specifications. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 5000-1110-B52A is equipped with a Blancpain Caliber 1315 movement system with a frequency of 28,800 vph and offers a massive power reserve of 120 hours. Not only is the power reserve it offers double than most luxury watches, the precision and accuracy of the watch are also incomparable.

To further make the movement system more functional, Blancpain has fitted the movement system with a non-magnetic silicon balance-spring. Apart from offering magnetic resistance that helps maintain the movement system's accuracy, silicon is exceptionally resistant to corrosion, wear, and natural aging. This means that the life of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe 5000-1110-B52A’s movement system is considerably long.

In this age of watchmaking, some features are standard to any high-quality watches. One of these features is water-resistance as it is essential to prevent the watch from breaking due to an unfortunate event. While some watchmakers offer the bare minimum water-resistance of 50 meters, Blancpain goes the extra mile to give you a water-resistance of 300 meters.