Comments:
Environmentally friendly?
This one might not have a strap made out of old fishing nets, but it is serviceable and should keep ticking in 50 years
pricing aside (I assume these vintage pieces can be very expensive) 🤔 I would still take the Blancpain x Swatch (or any new Blancpain) 👏
I don't want to live in the past and wear a worn watch, even less with military associations. But beside my preferences, Blancpain needed a boost and the swatch collaboration is a great way to attract a younger audience!
100% agree (boost to attract a younger audience) …
… I am just too much hardcore vintage, celebrating patina, classic watchmaking, history. But hey: I earned my first money (to later start buying vintage) during the 1990ies Swatch hype with buying, selling and auctioning my Swatches.
Cheers, HSTE
Cheers, HSTE
1968 Fifty Fathoms not plastic
The swatch version is actually ok. The newer FF case is not something I ever warmed too. It feels like a bloated version of the originals, but then again that can be said about a lot of modern designs. Still much prefer my ‘68.
Great wrist shot
The massive lugs and crown guard really give the modern watch a different flavour. I think we'll see a return to smaller cases and more delicate profiles as many people who started into the hobby with massive watches now have a trained eye for quality.
And the price of entry?
I’m not usually one to comment on such things - really, I’m not - but this comparison is utterly ridiculous. A $50-60k piece (or $1000 for every fathom) vs a cool/fun (IMO) collaboration that us “normies” can actually buy and enjoy? Oh, the horror. Sheesh.
Lost my cool.
Way out of line. Not like me at all. My apologies. Speaking of “sheesh”…
Somewhat true
I'd like to travel back to the early 1990s and grab a vintage Fifty Fathoms with my allowance money. The Swatch x Blancpain has given the designers a chance to play a bit more than would be permissible inside the Blancpain brand. They might not have the provenance of the original good, but there's much to enjoy, with an open mind.
Wonder how the Fifty Fathoms line will evolve in the 2020s and 2030s. Small changes in the lug profile will have an outsized impact on the watch's character.
Now this is Blancpain! 👍
I think the one good thing about the Swatch version is that it is making me see the real Blancpain with new eyes.
I guess this is a constructive view. I am not …
… criticizing what they do (other than I think producing non repairable watches is not ecologically clever) it is just not „mine“. But it might help pushing the wonderful Blancpain classical watchmaking.
Cheers, HSTE
Cheers, HSTE