Honeymoon Report: Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe

Several days ago I posted a review of my newly acquired Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe reference 5000-1110-B52A watch. This post is a followup ‘Honeymoon’ report after having worn the watch everyday for the past ten days.

The watch wears comfortably well with the black/gray sailcloth strap. I had initially intended to get this watch with the factory NATO strap, but as I mentioned in my review, I got the version with sailcloth strap due to the price I was able to get on reference 5000-1110-B52A. After acquiring the Bathyscaphe with the sailcloth strap, I then intended to purchase both the black/grey and green NATO straps from Blancpain as additional options.

But my honeymoon with the sailcloth strap has caused me to reconsider the Blancpain NATO straps. I have found that the sailcloth strap helps keep the 43mm case sane when wearing it with long sleeve shirts and suit jackets. The NATO strap will definitely keep the watch higher off the arm, and will make it look far more casual than it already is.

Even though the Bathyscaphe is a sport watch (dive watch), I think it is still fashionable for business attire with the sailcloth. But I have no problem wearing a NATO with business attire, while many people will shy away from this.

What I also like about the sailcloth strap is that it doesn’t obscure the exhibition case back like a NATO strap would when the watch is off the wrist.

As far as size is concerned, the 43mm is very close to the top end of how big I would go on a watch for business use. Fortunately, the 43mm Bathyscaphe still wears conservatively on my 7″ wrist.

During the honeymoon period, I also came to appreciate the crown size. It’s not huge like crowns you’ll find on IWC Schaffhausen pilot watches, but it is bigger than the crowns found on my existing OMEGA and Rolex watches. It feels very comfortable when I’m operating the crown and it is aesthetically fitting for the 43mm watch case.

On the subject of appearance, this watch feels more beautiful now than when I first tried one on. Photos don’t do this watch justice and I’ll admit that I didn’t think too much of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe when I saw the post-Baselworld reports back in 2013 where this watch was announced. But when you see it in person, the watch is absolutely gorgeous as a dive watch can be.

The entire face of the watch is fantastic to gaze upon. The meteor grey dial is entrancing and is framed exquisitely by the black ceramic and Liquidmetal bezel. Not to mention the white gold hour markers stand out from the dial superbly. The width of the bezel isn’t very large at all, especially when you look at the bezel of a Rolex Submariner or GMT-Master II. This fact in combination with the large real estate of the dial and small, subtle font gives this watch a very clean look. This clean appearance also makes for an extremely readable watch.

When wearing it out in public amongst other watch enthusiasts, I’ve received several acknowledgements of the Bathyscaphe. Those who know watches know the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms line of watches and appreciate the lineage of the Fifty Fathoms.

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe is definitely a keeper.

For those of you pondering a Rolex Submariner (ceramic) or the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, it’s a tough choice. While you would expect me to be biased, I honestly can’t outright tell you to buy the Bathyscaphe over the Submariner. If you don’t own a Rolex and are choosing between the Submariner and the Bathyscaphe, I would tell you go with the Submariner. But if you already own a Rolex, especially a GMT-Master II (like I do), I would tell you go with the Bathyscaphe.