Review Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback Green

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Autumn 2020 brought a new addition to the magic of the Bathyscaphe – a green dial interpretation. The legendary Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback received a new dial colour named Tropical Green. We have a look today at this good looking piece.

Blancpain and the Earth’s oceans are related: through Ocean Commitment and through the people dedicating their lives to study, save and preserve the oceans. Today’s article continues the series of reviews dedicated to the watch brands with profound commitment and involvement in saving the oceans. We are the first generation to dramatically witness the effects of the climatic changes. We are the last one that can still do something to save as much as possible. If you watch David’s Attenborough documentaries you can find out with terrible sadness how much of in a bad situation some ecosystems are. The ocean and its marine life is extremely affected. Overfishing, pollution and irresponsible tourism destroy even more every day. Now is the time to act – it is already very late but we can hope it is not too late.

Please read about Blancpain’s efforts here:

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Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback Green

Blancpain and its Fifty Fathoms is legendary in the world of diver watches. And as any legend that evolves from the original with the addition of new and new interpretations (like any fairytale), the watch evolved with the times, bringing new variations and complications. The version reviewed today is an ultra-modern black ceramic beast with a superb green-themed sun-rayed dial and a super-desirable complication – the flyback chrono.

Ceramic, black ceramic…

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback Green we review today is coming in a high-tech black ceramic case. The watch comes very well situated in the size interval of tool watches – 43.6mm diameter and 15.25mm thickness. The case received an overall brush that fits visually the sharp-angled case design. The top and bottom are covered with a corresponding ceramic caseback and bezel featuring sapphire crystals. The uni-directional rotating bezel holds a green ceramic insert with Liquidmetal® markers.

The right side of the case is reserved for the crown and pushers. The first one comes with a well-designed grip and an embossed Blancpain logo as decoration. The chronograph’s pushers are generously sized mushroom-type with excellent haptic feedback.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback Green comes fitted with a fabric NATO or Sail-canvas strap that evidentiates the tool watch characteristics. The combo, ceramic and light strap, leads to comfortable and easy to adjust wear.

The green marine monster soul

The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback is a gorgeous marine creature – so the new tropical green colour fits exquisitely. Starting with the green ceramic bezel insert with Liquidmetal® numerals and marker plus the luminous 12 o’clock dot and ending with the clean layout, the watch’s front view is splendid.

The upper side of the dial is reserved for the brand’s logo and name, followed by the italic name of the collection, all printed in white against a sunburst background. The ceramic appliques are filled with luminous material for a good low light legibility that I can confirm.

The median area is reserved for the chronographic function: central seconds with 1/10th of a second measurement, a 9 o’clock subdial with progressive recessions design counting 12 hours and a 3 o’clock subdial with the same type of progressive depth circular pattern responsible for the 30-minutes counter.

This breakdown of areas with printed markers on the outer register and printed numerals on the median pattern creates not only a pleasant visual effect but also ease the legibility. The subdials are distinct and well observable from the first look.

The lower side of the dial displays the running seconds with a delicately printed register that also delimits the complication from the rest of the dial. Between 4 and 5 o’clock can be found a rectangular window with a stepped design reveals the date. The white print on a green background followes the dial’s theme and colour scheme.

Blancpain uses the same hands’ style like on all the Bathyscaphe models: tipped baton-style hours and minutes hands and lollipop running seconds. For the chronograph are reserved simple baton hands, although the seconds’ hand received a red varnished tip.

Flying back to you

On the backside of the watch, we can see under the screwed caseback the Calibre F385. This automatic movement is an ultra-modern 36,000vph/5Hz beater with a silicon balance spring. The flyback chronograph is a column wheel, vertical clutch type. These characteristics stand out: 1/10 sec time measurement, antimagnetic, finesse and robustness.

On the visual side, we notice a modern approach to decorations. The greyish theme is occasionally broken by the jewels. The bridges are adorned with a waved sunburst and polished chamfers. The mainplate reveals a nice hand-made perlage.

A heavy note to the monochromatic back view is given by the NAC treatment found on the 18k gold rotor weight. The rotor features a nice sandblasting and positive engraving with the name and logo of the brand.

Diving back to you…

The sports characteristics are strong and the watch is a bold presence on the wrist. As a guy with an 18-18.5cm (7-7.2inch) wrist, I tend to wear watches with 41mm diameter or smaller but this slightly larger ceramic case made me a good impression. The skilful execution of modern materials and exceptional design makes the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback a great contender for a daily watch even for those with not such an active life (a.k.a desk divers). Blancpain really did a good job with this one: exceptional materials in a nice shape, a pleasant colour scheme and a beautiful moment with remarkable features.

I would also like to salute Blancpain for their Ocean Commitment initiative, the thank them for using part of their resources for a better future. The watch from Blancpain not only brings quality and joy for the collectors but also contribute to various activities dedicated to saving the oceans and marine life. Well done Blancpain!

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback Technical Specifications and Price

References

5200-0153-NABA – Fabric NATO strap with pin buckle
5200-0153-B52A – Sail-canvas strap with pin buckle

Features

Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph
date and small seconds
green dial
unidirectional satin-brushed black ceramic bezel with green ceramic insert and Liquidmetal® hour-markers
self-winding

Movement