Blancpain

amanico
[JLC Moderator]
400157

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Review of a rare bird, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 50th Anniversary

Let me introduce you my last purchase, which was a nice and surprising arrival, as I hunted this piece for some 5 long years,now....

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, 50th Anniversary!



This watch was launched in 2003, in a LE of 3 series of 50 watches, the Series 1 for the Asian Market, the II for the European Market, and the III for the USA, within the reference 2200A-1130-71.

1/ The Roots:

The main purpose was to put the light on the 1st Diving Watch created by Blancpain for a Military use, a watch requested by a certain ..Robert Maloubier, Captain of the French Marine.

Here, a pic of the 1st model, created in 1953:



( Credit Puc: Our Good Dr Strong ).

Then, till the 60es, we had several models, sometimes created for LIP....

In the beginning of the 60ies, Blancpain made one of my very favourite FF, the Mil Spec, as for Military Specifications, for the US Army.

Like this one:



Or these 2 beauties:



( Credit pics:....The Usual Supect...LOL).

One day, I will end my Blancpain collection with a Mil spec, as it's a dream watch for me...

It has all, the strenght, the beauty, the balance, all that is required in a good military watch!

Then, from around 65 till 75, Blancpain created a diffrent dial for a lightly diffrent FF, the " No Rad " Dial...

This symbol was put on the dial to make a distinction between Military FF, which used tritium, so a radio active luminescent material, and the no radiocative ones, reseeved to the Civil Market...

Well, Civil, not always, as this one was made and used by the German Army...



And if I not wrong, some identical watches, maybe with the date, were made for the Poland Army...

Late 90ies, came the Modern FF, a simple watch, sometimes with a GMT function, with a Bezel ala Rolex Yacht Master, and the FF concept in 2000, with some black rubber parts...

All these watches lead us to the one I badly hunted, the 50th Anniversary, in 2003.

2/ The 50th Anniversary:



First of all, the packaging...Original, complete and gorgeous!

The box is ...big, even bigger than a Panerai LE one:



Nowq, let's have a look inside...



The thing that looks like a Torch is used as for a box for the watch, original and nice, isn't it?



Here, a pic of the torch, alone...



Here, with the tool supplied to make the change of the strap/Bracelet easier...



So you have all you need to change the bracelet / strap: Screw Drivers, screws, pins...all!

Then, let's see the most important, the watch, of course...



Blancpain chose a 40,3mm Case in SS, which is coherent, due to the dimensions of the original model ( being precised that the Vintage FFs came in different sizes: 35, 37, 41 and 42mm )

The FF 50th Anniversary is reasonnabily thick: 14mm, and the whole watch is nicely balanced.





It is a weird FF, as Fifty Fathoms are 91,45 meters Water Resistant, and this Anniversary is 300 meters Water resistant...LOL

The bezel is made in sapphire, which is, AFAIK, a first...and is unidirectional.

As you can see in the pics, the bezel has a nice curved shape, and the sapphire prevents form the scratches...Good idea!

You will also see that the bezel is very close to the original model from 1953, which is an excellent thing, as it is my favourite one...

And what to say about the dial???

The presentation is very close to the original from 1953, with these rectangular indexes, and the typical " 3 ", " 6 ", " 9 ", " 12 " tinted in a yellow green luminova which reminds the color of the Radium of the Vintage Military models...





A better look on the applied numbers...



The glass is bombed and is very close to the look of the Vintage FF,too.It's quite thick, and, due to its shape, gives to the watch a very pleasant distorded aspect.

The movement is a Cal 1151, in fact a F. PIGUET, reworked by Blancpain, with a diameter of 26,2mm, for 3,25mm height.

It's an automatic movement, which has a 100 Hours Power Reserve, composed of 210 components, and 28 jewels.

No sapphire case back, to provide an excellent water resistance.

On the solid case back, are written the Nr in the LE, and some other things...So, that's why I regret these too many writings on the dial...



And to end with the datas of this FF Anniversary, I have to add that the watch is supplied with a SS bracelet, as shown on the pics, and a long Rubber strap, conceived to be put on the Diving Suit, and secured by a simple buckle.











3/ Some personnal thoughts on this FF 50th Anniversary:

Well, since I hunted this watch so badly, you may imagine that I'm biased and that I was convinced since the 1 second I took it in my hands...

...And you're right! LOL

The question is not to wonder if this is a beautiful watch, as..it is, but if it is a re edition, or more an Hommage to the 1953 Vintage.



I's say that it is more an Hommage than a re edition, as the 50th Anniverary enhances some of the qualities of the Vintage, is much better finished, more water resistant, and even more elegant.

The dial has a cleaner look, with this amazing Grey Anthracite color which adds a lot of depht, quite " soleillé ".

Here this is not evident,



Here you can see it, with much more light...





I'd say that this is a sophisticated Diving Watch, sophisitication enhanced by the luxury aspect of its sapphire bezel, which also plays with light...from a light grey to a deep black...

This is just fascinating!

But this watch has also a very strong, powerful look, and that is the blend of this soophistication and this strenght that makes all for it!





And for once, the SS bracelet is very nice.

I normally prefer the straps, but on this watch, as for the rolex ( Oyster ), I love this bracelet, elegant, well designed too, and sporty.



Wearing such a watch is a real, big, fantastic pleasure...The size is perfect, the thickness too, the comfort is great...And I'd even say that it's more pleasant to wear it than the new 2007 re edition, with its 45 mm, and its improved thickness.









It looks like a big Rolex Sub!

As we speak of Rolex, this is a funny coincidence..1953 was the year of the birth of the Sub, 2003 was the Year of the Anniversary Green Bezel Sub!

Exactly the same than for the BP FF!

Here, the Green Bezel:





There, an improved version of the Original sub, The Red 1680:







Stunning coincidence, isn't it?

As to give a conclusion to this review, I'd like to make a quick comaprison between this FF 50th Anniversary and one of the Vintage FF, the only one I own, for the moment, before getting the ultimate one, the Mil Spec...



For me, the Vintage FF is a true tool watch, which is not anymore the case with this " anniversary "...

Have a look on the dial, with the macros I took, look at the hands, ...Do you see their approximative finish?



Nlow, let's compare these 2 models together...







So, the Vintage is quite as always, a bit more sexy, as it has lot of charm with its patined dial, and itsapproximative finish, and the Re Edition is a bit colder, cleaner too, and perfectly finished.

The only negative point is about the writings on the dial...too much!

I would like to thank a lot 2 friends, here..One, the one who helped me to hunt this watch, and the second is Stefan Ciejka, a very good friend, expert on Military and Diving Watches, who was involved in the re edition of this FF...

Hope you'll have pleasure to read this review!

Best to All.

Nicolas
This message has been edited by amanico on 2008-06-07 08:47:23 This message has been edited by SJX on 2008-06-29 05:44:09