Swatch Unveils Diving Watch Collaboration With Blancpain
PARIS — After days of feverish speculation, Swatch unveiled its new hookup on Thursday, this time with high-end watchmaking sister brand Blancpain.
Dubbed the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathom, the collection pays homage to the luxury brand’s Fifty Fathom diving watch range, first released in 1953 and designed by the company’s then-chief executive officer Jean-Jacques Fiechter, a keen diver.
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The original timepiece, seen on the likes of French ocean explorer Jean-Jacques Cousteau and a sought-after model, is said to be the first modern dive-watch and owes its name to the 91-meter depth of its water resistance.
Priced at $400, the Swatch version uses the company’s Bioceramic material, a hybrid of ceramic and bio-sourced material derived from castor oil, and is based on the brand’s Sistem51 mechanical movement.
Like its MoonSwatch predecessor in the tieup with Omega, the Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathom will only be available from selected physical stores starting Saturday, with purchases capped at one item per consumer per day while quantities last.
After the 2022 release of its MoonSwatch hookup with Omega, also owned by the Swiss group, Swatch said the collaboration “underscores the importance of physical stores,” as collectors lining around the block to get their hands on the items.
Resale prices surged online and with Omega’s Speedmaster Moonwatch also benefiting from the collaboration’s halo effect. Subsequent releases, timed around the full moon, featured elements coated in “moonshine gold,” an exclusive gold alloy said to be inspired by the satellite’s light and developed in 2019 for Omega.
The MoonSwatch’s success continued to be unabated, according to the company’s 2023 first-half results released in July.
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