Hands-On with the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Day Date 70’

While vintage re-issues are nothing new, they weren’t the sole focus for Blancpain at Baselworld 2018. This decidedly retro novelty is inspired by Blancpain’s 1970s divers and offers a modern re-imagination of what a vintage diver should be.
 

The first thing you’ll notice on this piece is the dial. A starburst dial that begins in the center with a light gray and expands to a rich brown towards the outer edges of the case. While the dial looks incredibly retro at first glance, the brand has notably shied away from using aged / fauxtina lume, which in this writer’s opinion was a good move. Sized at 43mm in stainless steel with super sharp lugs and a satin-finished case. The black ceramic bezel is unidirectional and features a sixty-minute counter for those long dives.
 

Water resistance is set at 300 meters or nearly 1,000 ft. Underwater readability is boosted by the use of SuperLuminova on the bezel, dial, and hands.

I’ll admit, with even a novice level understanding of the rigors of diving, I fully recognize that a man (or woman!) diver rarely needs functionality beyond time keeping and perhaps keeping track of their oxygen consumption while underwater. However, on the Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Day Date 70’, the brand has added a Day-Date complication to its caliber 1315 movement. In my opinion, they could’ve gone time only on this piece, but I’m not going to let this be a barrier of entry for admiring this watch. The day and date are tastefully displayed at 3 o’clock.