Blancpain

Hi, I'm new to Blancpain watches.  Was drawn into the Villeret series, purchased an Ultra-Slim hand wind last year.  Was able to pick up up a titanium Bathyscaphe this weekend from a great AD in Scottsdale, AZ (drove 6 hours).  I heard that the titanium version has been discontinued.  I am wondering if anyone else heard about this.

I have my doubts, though, as this was was introduced at the Basel fair, this year...

Best,

Nicolas

This message has been edited by amanico on 2013-12-09 22:49:39

… but I could not confirm it (yet).

The ceramised titanium has been discontinued for the moment in favor of a more traditional "satin-brushed" finish, though when the new pieces begin to hit the market I couldn't tell you.  I also couldn't tell you why the cermaised titanium ceased production, however I think it's safe to assume that there were issues with its manufacture that made it less cost-effective than Blancpain wanted, given the price point that they set for the watch.

The new titanium models will bear the product number 5000-1230, whereas the ceramised titanium models bore the designation 5000-12C30.

Regards,
Adam

One can only hope that they reintroduce the material in the future, as it really does have an interesting appearance. Mind you, I haven't had the opportunity to test just how scratch-resistant it is (thank god), but I can say that my watch case and strap hardware (loops and buckle) are still in 100% as-new condition after about a month on the wrist.

I will be attending a Blancpain event here in NYC next week, where hopefully I'll be able to get some clarification on the matter.  If so, I will report back ASAP.

Regards,
Adam

Thank you all, I guess I lucked out getting one of these gems.  Trying to get the Fifty Fathoms no radiation limited edition next...

Will the Ceramised Titanium version become a real collectors item as a result of this? Asssuming some escaped into the wild.

No. 27 reporting for duty: This message has been edited by craniotes on 2013-12-12 20:38:52

Will the change away from ceramised titanium to brushed titanium narrow the desirability gap between the two models.? I really feel the ceramised version had a unique selling point in its durability. I can definitely see one of these on my wrist in the near future but I am not too sure which one. I would like to see some better photos of the brushed titanium version.

Hi, I heard from a swatch group representative that the model was discontinued due to a manufacturing defect. Marc Hayek himself was testing the watch and it scratched, something which should have not happened during the test. The whole production was halted and apparently only fifty or so pieces were produced.

I guess it's super limited to 50 pcs, but it is a defect...wow. This message has been edited by dumachel on 2014-01-14 22:44:39

...and the reason for this has everything to do with the difficultly of manufacture and cost of the ceramised cases, and not defects.  Remember, this piece slots below the FF Sport, so having a unit cost that's higher wouldn't exactly fly with a numbers-oriented concern like Swatch Group. 

The JLC Deepsea SS has a MSRP of $11,00. The JLC Deepsea Cermet has MSRP of $18,000. The JLC Cermet process is obviously different than Blancpain's ceramized Ti but look at how much more expenisve the JLC Cermet is than SS.

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