The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Valentine’s Day 2023 (Hands-On)

Valentine’s Day is a marketing opportunity for many watch brands and the perfect occasion to launch special editions. Blancpain has been producing Valentine’s Day models for more than two decades, with watches decked out in diamonds and red accents, like these Villeret or Ladybird models. This year, Blancpain turns to another collection to celebrate the most romantic day of the year. Marking a first for the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe collection, Blancpain has singled out a 38mm diver for a romantic makeover with a prevalence of white and pink tones and a red heart marking the seconds.

Bathyscaphe

The Bathyscaphe of 1956 is the civilian offspring of Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms, the watch that was adopted by military diving corps and regarded as the blueprint for modern dive watches. Named after August Piccard’s deep-water diving vessel, Blancpain added a date complication to make it more practical for daily wear. Although initially designed for separate clientele, the two lines eventually merged into one collection.

Resuscitated in 2013, the Bathyscaphe appeared with straightforward time-and-date functions and adopted complications, including an Annual Calendar, a Complete Calendar, and a sophisticated flyback chronograph movement. Bridging the best of both worlds, the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe can surface from depths of up to 300 metres and still look elegant enough for dressier onshore occasions. The 38mm version of the Bathyscaphe joined the line-up in 2017 and is limited to time-and-date functions.

The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Valentine’s Day 2023 is dressed in red, white with pink accents. The 38mm stainless steel case has a thickness of 10.77mm and is satin-brushed for a uniform, matte look. The unidirectional rotating diver’s bezel features a white ceramic inlay with silvery-grey Liquidmetal markings. Matching the bezel, the dial is white with applied metallic pink indices at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock. As a bona fide diver with 300m water-resistance, legibility is a must, and the indices, hour dots and hands are all filled with lume. In keeping with the romantic spirit of the occasion, the central seconds hand features a red heart-shaped counterweight (also filled with lume), a light pink minute track and the name Bathyscaphe inscribed on the dial in pink. The date window, tucked in between the hour plots at 4 and 5 o’clock, is relatively discreet with a white background. Pursuing the white colour theme, the watch is presented on a white sail canvas strap with a pin buckle.

Calibre 1150

The watch is powered by Blancpain’s automatic calibre 1150. This high-grade, trustworthy, thin movement (height of just 3.25mm) with a silicon hairspring operates at 3Hz and has two barrels giving it a robust power reserve of 100 hours. It is finely decorated with traditional finishes and a heart inscribed on the 18k gold rotor.

Availability & Price

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Valentine’s Day 2023 is a limited edition of 99 watches and retails for EUR 9,700. For more inforamtion, please visit Blancpain.com.