Blancpain

indignantdenial
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A comprehensive review of the Blancpain Bathyscaphe 5000-0130-B52A

This is my review of my Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe ref. 5000-0130-B52A, which was made in about March 2023. I bought it in late December of that year. I’m going to approach this from the outside-in—examining both the fit and feel of the materials and construction before getting into the internals and the details. After all the technical, I’m going to provide my wearing and ownership experience, such as it is and has been over the past months.

Let’s start with the case. We’re dealing with a pretty beefy 43.6mm in diameter case made of black ceramic. Coupled with a lug-to-lug length of 49.5mm, this makes for a broad, modern case size—but it isn’t actually too large. For the record, I have a 16cm/6in wrist, which is more oval than round. 49.5mm is the limit for me before lugs begin to overhang, and the squared-off nature of the Bathyscaphe’s case limit the outward projection and therefore improve the fit. Its case height at 13.8mm sounds like a lot but it isn’t. I wear a Sinn EZM 13.1 which has a case height of 15mm, which does sometimes feel high, and this Blancpain is by contrast, slim-feeling. To be sure, this isn’t a dress watch and neither is it winning any thinness competitions, but you knew that: this is a diver! Still, these case dimensions are comfortable and they feel great on the wrist—I haven’t hesitated about the watches dimensions or appearance proportional to my wrist and body. The bezel is one of my favourite parts of this watch because of the insert: the Liquidmetal insert is just plain pretty and makes the bezel look, well, like liquid or glass in the light. Quick aside: Liquidmetal was developed by researchers out of Caltech. What is it? It’s an “amorphous metal alloy” which describes the fact that the metal assumes a “non-crystalline, glass-like structure.” So, no wonder it looks glass-like—the manufacturing process is similar to making glass. For more info on what this is, see the following link which provides a good explanation: Amorphous Metal  | Metallurgy for Dummies. Back to the watch! The bezel itself is made of ceramic and has some nice cut-outs to help you turn it and is 120-click. It doesn’t turn so easily underwater with just your skin, but it definitely works well with gloves. My particular variant does have some backplay, but the bezel never misaligns with a marker or half-marker, so I am okay with this. I might ask if it can be tightened during service, but otherwise I’m content with this. The crown: it’s large and also made of ceramic, but the size is really beneficial. It makes winding a breeze and quite easy to screw in or out. It also feels extremely rigid and is not prone to any wobble—and while the only wobble I’ve experienced is on a Vostok—this just makes the Bathyscaphe feel well-constructed. The ceramic is light, but it isn’t featherweight, so it doesn’t feel like you’ve got a plastic watch in your hand. Of course it neither feels like you have something metallic in hand, but definitely something in between. It is pretty scratch resistant and I haven’t gotten many scratches at all, but in changing straps I’ve been able to make a couple marks inside the lugs with the spring bars. I don’t really care, but it should just be noted that we don’t have a fully scratch-proof piece on our hands like some might want to sell you on. That’s enough about cases—let’s get to the finer details inside the case!

See just how clear the dial, bezel, and markers make themselves.

Case construction from the side (note my crown doesn't screw in logo-side up like I have it here).

The thing you’ll spend the most time with is the dial—generally the case with all watches. In that case, it’s imperative that it’s cool, nice or otherwise worth looking at. Blancpain’s aiming at a tool watch here, so legibility and simplicity are the order of the day. What you get is a black sunburst dial that shifts from very black in indirect light to a sort of grey-black in direct spotlight. It’s not actually grey, but it looks that way in direct light given the dial’s texture and propensity to play with light. The markers and hands are one of my favourite features of the dial. They’re made of white gold and quite polished, but they either border on black polish or they have a special darkening coating. They’re bright and clear in a pretty remarkable sense: it feels like looking at something in 2160p for the first time. I can’t say the same was necessarily true for my 118238, but to its credit, it at least looked like something in 1440p. In any case, the balance of sticks and dots on the dial works with the rectangle-sticks at the cardinal hours and dots everywhere else. There’s a minimal amount of text on the dial, but even then the font is small, so you haven’t got a textbook to read. The date doesn’t bother me, and if it bothers you, I hear you. I think it’s too bad there isn’t a regular production version of the Mokarran (ref. 5005-0153-NABA) variant in the standard blue, black (ceramic and steel), and grey titanium. In any case, it’s practical, the disc matches the dial, and the font between bezel and date is very closely matched. My one gripe here is the hand length. The seconds hand extends all the way out: great. The minute hand doesn’t. That sucks. I set my watches to the minute marker and can’t stand when the second hand and minute hand aren’t in the correct relationship (i.e., correct when zeroed to the marker when the second hand passes 0/60). Solution? Set the time only for the 5 minute mark where there is a marker over which the hand passes—I knew I’d have to do this going into the purchase, so I’m okay with it. Instead of a gripe, my next remark is high praise: the second hand a minute hand are slightly rolled on their ends. Now that is remarkable stuff—it reduces parallax error when reading the hands’ position and corrects their closeness to the dial due to hand-stacking. This is a mark of attention being paid. Finally, the setting action: it’s super nice. The hands obey very well your inputs through the crown, and you can very precisely adjust their position. Hacking the seconds is extremely easy and often easy to get dead-on at 0/60. There is some dead angle in the crown, but as soon as it engages with the setting works, you’re treated to the above precision. Further, the hour and minute hands are perfectly aligned on my example, which is otherwise a huge pain point for me if they’re not. So far, Blancpain has been crushing it—does that continue with the movement?

The dial's variability is pretty noticeable here.

Remarkable clarity. It's also pretty dark here; the crystal is doing all of the reflective work; you don't really see the sunburst in this light.

There's a lot of variability and scattering of light which is quite nice to look at.

The 1315 found inside has been part of Blancpain’s lineup since 2007. It’s well equipped: 3 mainspring barrels provide 120 hours of power; it pivots on 35 jewels and is adjusted in six positions. It has a free-sprung balance with a silicon balance spring to reduce both maintenance needs and to provide antimagnetic capability. The balance wheel looks very cool—its spokes are shaped in a spiral formation and the wheel is polished on its rim. The finishing on the movement as a whole is meant to be modern but of high quality and with some nods to tradition. There’s a rayon pattern on all of the bridges and the central rotor block. Blancpain also executes this movement with these surfaces finished with Côtes de Genève on other models from the Villeret lineup. I think the choice to go with a less classic and more modern look was a good one. The baseplate is finished entirely with perlage, and it is really pretty when you get a glimpse of it. The crown wheel and winding wheels are solarized, and they look very pretty too. The biggest attraction for me is the beveling. Blancpain provides some of the widest anglage I’ve seen (certainly compared to VC’s Traditionelle 82172) and it is executed with mirror polish. It’s rounded so you aren’t getting sharp interior angles or sharp exterior clefts. I don’t happen to be bothered by that fact at this price point (that’s where the 82172’s cal. 4400 AS excels; it has 3 interior angles). Still, every jewel or screw sink is polished in its circumference, and screw heads are mirrored. The architecture of the movement is just incredibly satisfying to me. There’s the segment meant for the barrels in series, which flows down nicely to the escapement. The three bridges are really nicely executed and exhibit this sort of liquid quality in the way they curve and blend into one another. The balance cock is mirror-beveled on its edges, but regrettably not so widely on the internal curve near the jewel—it isn’t left rough, however. There’s still a small amount of polish, but it’s not quite mirrored. The rotor is also finished to a very high standard: there is straight-graining on its raised border, media-blasting on the interior, and snailing on its outside. On the side, the rotor too is mirror polished and glints very brightly. What about performance? The 1315 lives up to its reputation: it is deadly accurate. On a complete timegrapher check (see at the end of the below series), the amplitude is high, and average deviation per day is +0.1s. That’s incredible, especially when one remembers Blancpain doesn’t do certifications—they don’t need to, it seems. The complete timegrapher results cite a maximum deviation of 3.7s/d. The most gain is 2.1s/d; the most loss is -1.6s/d. This is incredible accuracy from the factory and I’m glad the 1315 is living up to its reputation for being very well adjusted. As I mentioned earlier, setting the movement is a breeze. It also winds extremely pleasantly, so it’s actually worth unscrewing the crown to manually wind from time to time. Kick-ass.

Shiny bevels and beautiful glints on all sorts of surfaces.

Comprehensive view of all finishing elements: polished bevels, screws, screw and jewel sinks, quad-finished rotor, graining on the bridges...just no solarization of the winding works.

Solairzation and curved spokes on balance wheel visible here.

A last shot for gratuitous purposes.

Timegrapher results. Astounding.

The last technical element to discuss are the strap options: OEM you have three; aftermarket probably many more. You’re dealing with a 23mm lug width, so straps are large and modern. The OEM options for your Blanc-inator (thanks, [USER=237354]@CSG[/USER]) are outstanding. This reference comes with the sailcloth strap, which is textile on top and rubber on the bottom. It’s a strange feeling: the top feels soft but like real fabric, and the strap is generally quite pliable, but also pretty durable. It’s comfortable and comes equipped with a black ceramic pin buckle which is welcome: no PVD titanium or steel here. A further remark: this is not at all like Artem’s straps. I’m not here to stir controversy, but the OEM Blancpain strap is an order of magnitude superior in fit and finish—I know this because I’m comparing both right in front of me. People who liken them to each other aren’t hitting the mark because they really aren’t alike. There isn’t any delamination or stiffness with Blancpain’s product, and it feels much more premium than Artem’s. I haven't put up a photo because I haven't got good one. The math for me is pretty simple on this one: one’s an homage and the other is the real thing. As prohibitive as the real thing is, there’s a reason that’s so. The other OEM option is the NATO. It’s one of the best there is. I’ve already published my thoughts on it, but I’ll reiterate briefly here anyway. The inclusion of ceramic hardware is brilliant and makes this a standout piece. The leather gusset presents some impracticality: it prevents threading the strap through spring bars already in place, so you’ll have to place the watch on the strap and then attach the spring bars. It’s also cleared to be submerged by Swatch—I’ve put it under water and it’s come out just fine, but the dye for the leather can run. It’s supremely comfortable and of high quality, but that’s also an expectation I have when I fork out 600 USD for a strap. Not cheap, but neither is this watch, and I knew that going into all of this. I don’t know about aftermarket options, but if they become of interest I’ll look into those.

Two views of the ceramic hardware on the NATO. Notice the polished edges on the pin glinting in the light.

At last we arrive at my ownership experience. The initial ownership period was one of disbelief, largely because I spotted and got interested in this watch five years ago. I remember never thinking I'd get to own it until much later on—an expectation that was upset late last year. That’s pretty incredible. I have a lot of admiration for this watch and the service I experienced in getting it. I don’t like to drink brand Kool-Aid, and I still haven’t for Blancpain. That said, I am impressed with their product and pretty proud to own this watch. It’s unique, flies under the radar, and suits me perfectly. Definitely a keeper. There isn’t anything negative to say about it yet. Maybe it’ll go off its rocker a week before the warranty is up, or maybe not. I’m not holding my breath—I’m enjoying the hell out of my watch and frankly the pride-point of my collection. Thanks for reading!

Specs:

• Movement --> Blancpain cal. 1315. 120hr PR, 18k gold rotor and silicon balance spring.
• Case --> Ceramic (ZrO2). 43.6mm wide, 13.8mm thick, 49.5mm lug-to-lug. WR 300m/30bar.
• Bezel --> Ratcheting, 120-click uni directional 0-60min count-up. Bezel made of ceramic; insert made with Liquidmetal™.
• Crystal --> Sapphire, on front and back.
• Dial --> Black. 18k white gold lume-filled stick and dot indexes, printed white minute/hour track outboard. Lumed hour, minute hands, and central seconds hand; all made of 18k white gold. Central seconds hand has a painted red tip. Date on dial-matched date disc at 4:30.
• Strap --> Three OEM options: 1) sailcloth strap with rubber underlay and ceramic pin-buckle, 2) NATO strap with ceramic keepers and buckle with leather gusset for wear resistance, 3) full rubber diving-strap.
• Price $13 500 USD.