BLANCPAIN Fifty Fathoms (search)

From Blancpain As part of its 275th year celebration, Blancpain plans to assemble a special exhibition of vintage Fifty Fathoms watches.

Unfortunately, Blancpain did not retain examples of many of the wide range of Fifty Fathoms models which were produced in the half century since the introduction of the first timepiece in 1953. Therefore, Blancpain is reaching out to collectors to lend their vintage Fifty Fathoms watches for use in the Exhibition.

For those watches which are accepted for the exhibition, Blancpain will reward the owner in many ways:



A Blancpain 'Swiss Kubik' winding box '275th Anniversary' limited edition. An entry into a photo contest of their Fifty Fathoms to win a new Fifty Fathoms 'Tribute', which was presented and launched at the 2010 Basel Fair.



An Official Certificate of Authenticity to be prepared by Blancpain for the watch. An invitation to attend a private celebratory dinner to be held in Paris.

In exchange for these benefits, the owners of accepted watches will loan Blancpain the watch for a period of three months for use in the Exhibition. Some watches will travel to China for another exhibition.

In addition, the owners will consent to allow Blancpain to photograph the watch and have unlimited use of the photographs.

Submission of an application to have your vintage Fifty Fathoms watch considered for acceptance is simple. You only have to send the following information to caroline.moser@blancpain.com - Deadline is October 20th:

A total of two digital photographs (front and back of each watch that you are submitting for consideration). Maximum size: 500 KB / picture. Any information in your possession concerning the model (purchase date, technical information, guarantees, etc.). Your name, address, phone number and email address.

Blancpain reserves the right to exercise its full discretion in considering the submissions and making its choices for acceptance.

The owners whose watch is accepted will be informed personally. Blancpain will arrange at its expense for shipment to Blancpain and back to the owner and insurance of the watch for the Exhibition.

We are looking forward receiving your Fifty Fathoms pictures . . .

FAVRE-LEUBA (sad news)

By TLex FAVRE-LEUBA have gone into administration; this is the sad news that I learnt earlier today regarding the Swiss brand who in 2003 began working on a new collection to re-launch the Favre-Leuba name and who in 2008 celebrated their 290th year of watch making with the introduction of the BATHY V.2 mechanical depth gauge.

To be honest I have pretty much known this was the case for the last few months, but it was actually confirmed to me today during a telephone conversation with Martin Wepfer of Mathys Schmid Partner in Basel, now administrators for Favre Leuba. Mr. Wepfer told me that all the company’s activities have been frozen.

So what of the BATHY V.2 and the BATHY Chrono Triple Timezone? There might well be an interested party / parties, who would buy the brand and its assets; this was gleaned from the same conversation with Mr. Wepfer. Hope then that this wonderful brand and their divers may once again be resurrected.

CORUM Admiral's Cup DEEP HULL 48 (diver)

©OceanicTime

ETERNA Super KonTiki LE 1973 (volcanic island)

By TLex A few shots I took of the gorgeous new ETERNA Super KonTiki LE 1973 whilst on a volcanic island somewhere in the South China Sea. The dark exposure covering a multitude of sins; needless to say highly polished cases cause the odd unwanted reflection or two. Stay tuned for a full review . . .





























©OceanicTime

MOMO DESIGN Dive Master Automatico

By TLex Could there be a little brand emulation going one here? Possibly. The Dive Master is the latest diver (and the only true diver) to come out of the Momo Design studios, it joins the Competition Diver Chronograph (50m) and a familiar looking 100m Quartz Chronograph which supports my earlier comment. ;)



The Dive Master's stainless steel case whilst a little generic, is of a fair size (48mm). It's available in either satin or PVD. The watch's most prominent feature, its open dial, which is available in four different colors; black, gray, yellow or white. The black dial is also presented with either orange or green numerals and markers.



Open dials are not unheard of on divers (think Zenith Defy and of course diving tourbillons), but are still a fairly rare sight; they're a cool feature, too. I think there's much to be said for being able to see the marvel that is the inner-workings of a mechanical diver especially when depth ratings are usually sacrificed to allow for exhibition casebacks. In this case the Swiss Made ETA 2824-2 can be viewed through the opening on the Dive Master's dial.



The Dive Master is finished with a smart textured, black rubber strap and stainless steel buckle with detailing on its sides.




MOVEMENT Swiss Made ETA 2824-2
CASE Stainless Steel 316-L with Screw-down crown
GLASS Antiglare Sapphire crystal
STRAP Composite Rubber (TVSIP)
WATER-RES. 1000m / 00 ATM
SIZE 48mm x16mm

HELSON Sharkmaster (production models)

By TLex These are the actual cases, dials, hands, bracelets, clasps etc. as will be on the finished Sharkmaster dive watch. Production is well underway, but with a slight delay of 2 weeks owing to the delivery of the rubber straps which will be included with each watch. The attention to detail and the way in which HELSON have recreated this watch has been nothing short of phenomenal!

BLANCPAIN Fifty Fathoms 'Tribute to Fifty Fathoms (no radiations)

By TLex The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms as we know it today (launched in 2007) pays tribute to the original Fifty Fathoms watch that was first developed in 1953. These early models more specifically the Aqualung model or 'BUND no RAD' watches were issued to the German and Polish Military (from the 1950s up to the 70s) used radioactive material on their dials.

In order to reassure those who bought the civilian models that theirs were safe and weren't using radioactive material Blancpain placed the 'NO RADIATIONS' icon on their dials.




The 'NO RAD' icon on the 2010 Tribute to Fifty Fathoms is a cool little enhancement to what many would say is already the prefect dive watch and one that should be left well alone, however for me it reinforces the amazing pedigree and heritage that the Fifty Fathoms has, it adds a further point of interest and a sporty splash of color, I really like it. One further change that the Tribute version has over the regular 'FF' comes from its increased minute markers, which now run complete round the bezel.

Only 500 pieces of this version will be released. The 2010 Tribute to Fifty Fathoms utilizes the same 1325 calibre as the 2007 model.

Alessandro Baldieri PALOMBARI

By TLex From home designer to the stars to self proclaimed King of Fashion Watches. Alessandro Baldieri may not be the obvious choice for newcomer into the dive watch arena, but his latest creation the Palombari, which takes its inspiration from a deep sea divers helmet, and which's Italian name means deep sea diver may well have ambitions of its own as king, king of fashion divers . . .



The Palombari, an original design in itself is a refreshing departure from Alessandro Baldieri's Sea Monster line, which is based on a more generic dive watch design, albeit enhanced with pretty dials and bezels. The Palombari's massive 53mm case will come in three finishes; stainless steel, PVD (black) and for the adventurous - 20 micron thick gold with copper pushers. The case features a 120 click unidirectional bezel and is water-resistant to 200 meters. It has a screwdown exhibition caseback through which its Japanese made automatic movement, the Miyota 8247 can be viewed.



Functions include; hours, mins, secs (sub dial) and 24 hours GMT. There's also a second (inner) rotatable bezel that can be used to cycle through the various cities. The inner bezel is operated by means of a second screwdown crown. The watch's glass both front and back is made from the very latest in Mineral Crystal technology (I'll try and get an update on exactly what that is, but if its K1 or similar then it should be pretty tough). At its thickest point the crystal measures 4.9mm. The dial markers and hands have been applied with lume, again I'm not sure exactly what kind or how much, though.


©Alessandro Baldieri / OceanicTime

While the Palombari isn't your archetypal utilitarian diving instrument and is still first and foremost a fashion diver, it does look to be a robust, well built dive watch that could easily be taken for a dive or two under the sea even if only to look cool in your wetsuit; the design is interesting, too and with 26mm lugs which allow for endless strap combos this should make a fun piece to own.



Only 100 pieces of each case finish will be made with a possibility of a further 50 pieces with a degraded bronze case finish at a later date. The watches will be available from November. Costs form 850Euros (SS) - 875 (PVD). For more on Alessandro Baldieri click on the icon (above) or visit ABWatches in the UK.

NFW ViperFish (prototypes)

By TLex A after months and months of a news blackout on the progress of the highly anticipated NFW ViperFish, George Fox finally puts us out of our misery and shares these prototype teasers. That's the new Miyota 9015 you can see through the exhibition caseback with an NFW custom rotor.



After his evaluation of these latest prototypes GF will decide which models will be put into production and things will go ahead with ETA late November to December and with any luck you'll have your new NFW ViperFish for the Holidays . . .