42mm Branpine 50 Fathoms in Steel

As the world of watches begins to settle into a quiet postwatch and a mysterious pace, Blancpain shakes things up by introducing a 42mm 50 Fathom version into steel.

Recently I was able to spend time with a 42mm Blancpain 50 Fathom in titanium. Currently, the brand is introducing a new stainless steel version of the iconic 50 Fathom Divers. The introduction of the steel version makes a lot of sense, as the 42mm model was previously only available in titanium or gold.

50 Fathoms of Steel Branpine

The watch has a diameter of 42.3mm and has a case thickness of 14.3mm. It features a 300m water-resistant rating, black sunburst dial and dome-shaped sapphire bezel insert. This 50 Fathom has an automatic caliber 1315 that offers a 120-hour power reserve. This beautiful movement can be seen using a gold rotor that has been blacked through the display caseback. The specifications appear to be identical to the titanium version I reviewed, except for the expected weight and feel due to material changes.

I like a lot about the 42mm 50 Fathom of steel. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the titanium version. For many people, the challenge of Branpine’s 50 Fathom Line is the pricing segment in which it lives. Its spiritual competitor is the Rolex Submariner, but these watches live in various price segments, with technical and watchmaking elements that separate them.

Titanium version reviewed earlier this year

The importance of 50 Fathoms in Blanpine

For those new to this story, Blanpine’s 50 Fathoms were one of the original diving watches, as you know today’s genre. Introduced in 1953, it marked a new era of scuba diving at both commercial and recreational levels. The use of Aqualungs has allowed people to explore the world’s oceans, oceans and lakes, allowing scientists and explorers to document new findings.

Diving watches played an important role in providing time elapsed to calculate oxygen use, and helped to avoid decompression sickness, which was later called “wrenched.” The Blancpine 50 Fathom is undoubtedly the cornerstone of the history and development of the latest tool watches. If you want to know more, RJ has written a detailed history of 50 Fathoms here. I recommend going and reading.

The idea of ​​conclusion

The prices for the new 42mm steel 50 Fathom range from 14,000 Euro/15,500 Euro on NATO straps to 16,200 Euro/18,000 Euro/18,000 Euro/18,000 Euro for steel bracelets. For those of us who love Blanpine and its history, as we understand today, it’s appealing to have a diving watch from a brand that is one of the original pioneers of diving watches. Without a doubt, this steel plate of 42mm 50 Fathoms will please the crowd. I’m leaning towards steel on top of titanium just because I’m used to wearing steel diving watches. With this unique relationship with titanium, there are almost certainly others.

However, Blancpain needs to innovate further with the 50 Fathom line if you want to reach more viewers. One way to do this is to consider a smaller version. But what do you think, Fratelli? Let us know what you think about this release in the comments.

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