Being a BP fan is falling in love with the back catalog/history and then spending each year being disappointed that corporate doesn't release the watch the literally every BP fan wants (40.5mm, no engraving on the side, no date option) as the basic 50 Fathoms model.
How this hasn't happened yet is baffling and of course Blancpain did do it but special editions but a no date and date option to please both sides of the fence would do incredible but I'm definitely not a fan of the current Blancpain s and no faux patina but the price should compete with the Submariner
@@lonewolfemcquade8133 To be fair, Blancpain has a fraction of the production capacity as Rolex. Selling desirable pieces as LEs might be the only way they prevent multi-year-long wait lists.
It’s crazy. 43mm is way to big my wrists. If that awesome desert edition watch of 500 was 39-40.5mm they would have sold out immediately and you couldn’t find one for sale!
After calling 60 “young” Christian is definitely my favorite “20 something old soul”. I’m the one that spent his 60th birthday in Barcelona wearing my “new” omega from 1950. Thanks again Christian!
We all love Rolex, omega, etc. Simply place a Blancpain fifty fathoms in your right hand any other in left, place them close together and look close at the entire watch, then loop them. The fifty fathoms will be far superior in ever way. The first dive watch and the king of all divers.
I have a Bathyscaphe Flyback Chrono Diver. I traded a 41 Sub for it at the peak of the market and made some money. I wanted a cool, tough, luxury stealth watch. I have it on bracelet (looks like a tank tread), and the sail cloth strap and BP nato. This video has gotten me fired up about it again. Thanks!
Blancpain is a high horology brand that is at least one tier above Rolecks, which is essentially a mass produced, tool watch company (well recognized, yes, but overhyped). The level of Fifty Fathoms’ finishing, movement specs, history and class can never be beaten by the sub. Even the Bathyscaphe is better watch than the subs.
Such a versatile jacket? Such a versatile Michael!!! Little sidebars showing your extensive knowledge of other topics, like clothes and textiles, adds so much depth to these older episodes! I’m now going back through your video roll to watch any videos I’ve missed over the years with Michael! Kudos!
I love my Blancpain FF Bathyscaphe ceramic in blue! It runs for 6 days (specs say 5 days) and is one of my most precise watches too l, better than my Rolex. It's a spectacular watch.
BP is tragically mismanaged, especially the Fifty Fathoms. I was at an AD a few weeks ago and absolutely nothing in the BP case appealed to me. I was thinking maybe it appeals to an older buyer? Keep in mind I'm GenX saying that, so I'm not all that young. Thanks for bringing up this topic. If only BP seemed to care.
Blancpain - brilliant watches made by a company more interested in watchmaking than marketing. For enthusiasts, by enthusiasts.The FF is the ultimate diver - a Patek level watch, for secondary Rolex money. If they dropped the price/quality of their watches, they'd encroach on Omega - it's Omega's job to mass-produce and compete with Rolex. Blancpain sits in that high-end JLC to Patek level. As for the 45mm FF, it wears small - more like a 43mm.
Blanpain, Rolex, and Zodiac were the original dive watches as we know them. It's interesting that back then the Zodiac was about the same price as Rolex. Same with Blanpain. How things have changed! Squale made cases for BP. Those are cool affordable watches with loads of heritage. Glycine came out with the original GMT. Another affordable, quality watch with tons of history.
Rolex has cultivated an insane following. So much that even people that hate Rolex will click a video with the name in the title. I personally love their watches. Priced out of anything above OP/Air King range though 😢
Blancpain FF won the US Navy trials where the Submariner was found to fail the reliability standard! And I will buy one, I love it. But agree with your take on the fact that they could take on Rolex directly but don’t, and that’s a shame. I disagree that BP needs investment in the technology department because they are one of the best movement makers in the Swatch catalogue. Omega used Blancpain to help develop the insane new movement on the Speedmaster Chime. Omega is no slouch in the movement world, but they needed BP to get that complicated.
Another great video. I like BP FF. I think they need to 1/ follow the Breitling Superocean and Longines Heritage Diver playbooks. Market aggressively, offer in a wider variety of colour, strap, and material combos and whilst Breitling and Longines models play in the sub 5k space, position this as the coolest, retro, but obtainable dive watch sun 10k. The connoisseur’s choice. 2/ Then a year or so later, add a limited edition retro Chronograph version (think Rolex Daytona Beach era) and drop the mic. Boom!
Great discussion. Those LE Blancpains were certainly available & gettable when released. And they all sold…but you just never see them in the wild. Or maybe I run in a crowd that’s too basic…😂
Blancpain has been on my radar for years because of the awesome styling, heritage, and stealth mentioned here. But no, I could buy one tomorrow and every day I choose not to because it doesn’t do enough for me in any dimension moreso than many other watches I might get. But hey, maybe when I’m 60.
I actually sold my vintage Rolex Day-Date (18038 from 1980) about two months ago and bought a brand new Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms with the blue dial and bezel in titanium. It is a stunning looking watch I just love the domed bezel and glass on it and the lume is just nuts, at 45mm it is a big watch but it sits so well on the wrist and wears a lot smaller than a 45mm watch. Since I bought it I have not worn any other watch from my collection i warmly recommend it, and the best thing with it is that you dont see them every day.
Blancpain = the finest sports watches in the world. I absolutely love my 50F Grande Date. Frankly it's a slight to Blancpain to even compare them to Rolex. That's Omega territory. BP plays in a higher league.
I loved this analysis and couldn’t agree more. Have lusted after a fifty fathoms for years. Can’t pull the trigger because of size, can’t be bothered to play games with a limited edition. So much potential that they are just squandering. Who is in charge over there? He/she should be fired immediately.
Christian, people who are legitimately classy don't have to constantly remind people that they are classy, have money, etc... You have great taste in watches and are very knowledgeable, so I continue to watch, but the relentless comments about having money are becoming insufferable.
It would have been great to have a more exhaustive discussion on the BP brand - not just FF. They have such amazing pieces, including the Villerets and Bathyscaphes (which you clearly need to review in more detail).
Blancpain is a great brand, had they not been out of business for some period of time and revived by Biver and Swatch Group, they've have been the oldest watch maker.. (That honor goes to Vacheron Constantin 1755)...
No one ever went to take a look at a Fifty Fathoms and some of the other Blancpains? Wrong. It was frankly the brand that drew me into the whole passion for watches back in the 80s and 90s.
All these points for me are reasons to buy Blancpain! For your jacket the perfect watch would be the Blancpain bathyscaphe limited desert edition! KILLER!
The only brand that can beat Rolex is OMEGA. BlancPain is nothing compared to Omega brand. Omega knows how to beat Rolex and their latest offerings show their intention. Not to mention they have been tightening up the supply, like Rolex did.
Great content about Blancpain! I really like the jacket Christian is wearing but have you looked at a Vintage Patagonia Aztec Blanket Lined Canvas before? They came out about the same time Yellowstone became a National Park. LOL
Blancpain is obviously not even selling as many Fifty Fathoms as they can make. You can easily buy a brand new 45mm Fifty Fathoms for about the same price as RR for a Submariner on the secondary market (like you used to be able to do with the Submariner 7-8 years ago). So some Blancpain dealers are obviously selling well below retail. As for bracelets, the Blancpain X71 puts the Rolex Oyster to shame in terms of quality, but especially for a dive watch is let down by having a butterfly clasp, with no adjustment. But it is an excellent looking bracelet, and on the titanium Fifty Fathoms you can actually remove a link or two to adjust the size faster than you can move a Oyster from one micro adjustment to another-but they need to look at the SeaQ bracelet and make one like that for the Fifty Fathoms. They also need a 40-42mm that is just in the catalog-that one would sell like crazy. And they have the 40mm design already, and now the 42mm (which was the size of the 1953 one) just released in limited edition and sold out in about a minute. And the stupid thing is, I’m sure Blancpain is aware that all the smaller, limited edition ones sell at 50-100% premiums on the secondary market. By the way, the 38mm Bathyscaph Hodinkee is also a killer watch, though with a ceramic bezel. Another that is far better than the catalog version. limited.hodinkee.com/blancpain/
Kind of a spontaneous mention of a Huckberry jacket with all the production details absolutely accidentally known by Michael. Doesn't look like paid advertising at all.
No BP MILSPEC in the review? Its the only recent limited edition with added functionality of a moisture indicator. One caveat to all the recent limited editions, including all the BPs you mentioned and the MILSPEC...no hacking in the movement. Kinda disappointing for a dive / tool watch.
Simply untrue. The Fifty Fathoms was actually launched in 1955 not in 1953 as is often claimed by Blancpain. In old Swiss Horological Journal editions, there was no mention of a dive watch made by Blancpain, or Rayville S.A. as the company was called in 1953. The first time Rayville S.A. was listed was when they had a small corner display at the Basil Watch Fair in 1955. This was the actual launch of the Fifty Fathoms and there was nothing innovative about it. It was one of many me-too products that followed the introduction of the Rolex Submariner in 1954.
If by “beat” you mean timing, as in beat it to market, fair enough. However, if you include “defeat” in the definition of “beat”, like in a head-to-head competition, Omega famously beat Rolex (the Cosmograph/Daytona anyway) in the 1965 NASA procurement for a watch flight certified for all manned space missions and transformed the Speedmaster into the Moonwatch. I know you guys and all your subscribers know why the Speedmaster is called the Moonwatch. Just to go inside baseball for a minute, the extensive test criteria included temperature, pure oxygen atmosphere, shock, humidity, acceleration, decompression, high pressure, vibration and acoustic noise. During the procurement testing, the Rolex stopped running twice during the humidity test and then failed during the first high temperature test, resulting in its elimination from further testing. I’m not anti-Rolex btw - both my wife and I own Rolex and love them. As an aside, thank you Christian for saying a 60-year old is still young - you made my day!
The comments about the stealth nature of a WG or Plat Rolex -- dead on. And really, that weight on your wrist is a constant reminder. We do it for us, not others.
I once enjoyed watching your videos, somehow that changed. Rolex, Clicks, Rolex, Clicks…..if that’s what you’re looking for, keep on going get the masses an loose those who don’t like that way 🤷🏻♂️
You say no one watching this will buy a fifty fathoms and maybe you’re right (or maybe someone else in the comments has already made you wrong here) but I have long loved the 44mm blue titanium model and plan to upgrade my Seamaster to that down the line. Maybe when I get to that point, I’ll have other watch ideas to spend the money on. But for most of my watch journey I’ve thought that would be a rad daily wear (though, admittedly, I’ve always thought the same about the GMT Master II because I’d actually use that complication so maybe Rolex will win me as well)
Guys, doesn’t matter that the facts are; its a better watch than a Sub. They’re still just a tool watch, and therefore too expensive . These things get to Sub prices plus 10%, all the reasons to buy one click into place.
Would have helped to see one on a wrist. I find the photo ugly, and not in a charming ugly way. Often things don't photograph well so maybe my mind's just not making the leap. As you say, the bezel is three dimensional and reminds one of bakelite. That sounds great, but I'm not feeling the vibe from a still image.
I want to love Blancpain. Their history means nothing to me though, as the current day BP is just investors who bought a name and are recycling it. I do like their designs though in 40mm, but their insistence on offering them only as small run LE's is a huge turn-off to me. At retail they are a very limited value prop (no bracelet and painted dial for 50% more than a Sub???), then at aftermarket prices there is absolutely zero incentive to buy. Unfortunately I don't anticipate their business model to change, which is sad.
