The Blancpain x Swatch Collaboration Is Nothing But A Scam

After the MoonSwatch (let’s not even get started) was released, everyone knew, that at some point, a Blancpain Swatch would be released. Now, of course, Blancpain is known among watch enthusiasts for high-complication timepieces, and the Fifty Fathoms diver, which is considered by many to be the first dive watch in the world. On that note, Blancpain have collaborated with Swatch to release the Blancpain x Swatch Fifty Fathoms to commemorate the 70th anniversary of this legendary watch. Personally, I was looking forward to this release, and was even contemplating picking one up – and why wouldn’t you? At $400 USD it is, in essence, a way to buy into the Blancpain brand (especially if you consider that an automatic movement has been used) with an original design at a fraction of the price of the real deal.

Unfortunately for me, that’s only where the problems begin to start.

There is ZERO finishing

Now, I am not saying that I deserve a Lange 1 if I pay $400. In fact, I will say the opposite – it is perfectly fine if a watch has any finishing imperfections on a macro level at this price point. There is only so much you can get if you pay this much for a premium mechanical watch. But having said this, Blancpain is known to be a watchmaking powerhouse with ridiculously good finishing, with critics and aficionados saying that the Fifty Fathoms even surpasses Omega’s Seamaster 300M and even the iconic Rolex Submariner in terms of finishing. Of course, we are not getting a full-on Fifty Fathoms for $400, but apart from a satin plasticky finish (because Bioceramic, obviously), there’s really not much that’s offered in terms of case finishing. This is Blancpain we are collaborating with for god’s sake! There should at least have been alternative brushing, polishing and satin finishes throughout the case. What makes this look even more stupid is that if you look at a Tissot PRX (if you didn’t know, Tissot is owned by Swatch) in quartz (which retails for about the same), I am sure that the difference in finishing is night and day.

It’s not that great underwater, either.

Okay, fine. Now I am not going to be one of those guys who says that “dive-style” watches, like a Seiko 5 are terrible watches because they look like they’re ISO certified when they actually aren’t. I will also admit that while I do take my Orient Kamasu in the water (I almost drowned in a huge lake while wearing it, and used the timing bezel to time how long I can hold my breath for before I need to call a lifeguard), I am NOT most people. So, in that regard, I will agree to the fact that I cannot be snobbish about the water resistance. But here’s the thing – if this watch’s competitors do offer the performance and capability of the $10,000 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, why can’t it at least offer half that? I mean, 150 meters of water resistance isn’t that hard, and if Swatch took the case from Blancpain, then this clearly should not be a problem. Now, this watch is not pitched as a professional diver, and even if it was, most people wouldn’t use it. Here’ s an analogy – the Blancpain x Swatch collaboration is exactly what would happen if Toyota contributes with Daihatsu to make a baby Land Cruiser that can’t offroad. Going back to comparing this watch with a Tissot PRX in quartz, the PRX also has better water resistance for roughly the same amount of money. In fact, my Orient Kamasu costs half of what this costs, and that thing has double the water resistance that this watch has.

It’s a disposable toy – and it sure does look like one.

Okay. Now, I am not against ceramic watches or “bioceramic” watches, but I don’t think you should be paying $400 for a watch that’s effectively made of plastic. That aside, this watch has the Sistem51 movement. And as we all know, there’s nothing wrong with a Sistem51 except for the fact that it’s disposable. In essence, you’re getting a plastic watch that cannot be serviced if broken, and the only way to get it if you really love it so much is to just buy a new one. And this frustrates me, because you do not have the one thing that mechanical watches are known for – the fact that they do not last a lifetime. Because this watch will not.

What disappoints me even more is the fact that I can get a Swatch Sistem51 in steel for less than this watch. No, I’m not joking. And if you go on Jomashop, then you can get Swatches and Tissots in steel with the Sistem51 movement. The fact that the Sistem51 is not serviceable in itself is a let-down, but the fact that you have to ditch 316L stainless steel for what is effectively plastic is what truly angers me. And sure, this does look like a fun watch, but don’t lie – this looks like a kid’s watch, and you can’t necessarily say the same about (some configurations of) the Moonswatch.

I would go as far as saying that you might as well just do a Pablo Escobar where you go to a bank and change four $100 bills into 400 $1 bills and just burn them in a campfire to keep your family warm in the middle of the desert than buy this watch.

My Final Thoughts

Well, I get why this watch is released and I really hope that this collaboration helps people become more aware of the heritage behind Blancpain and their Fifty Fathoms. However, my excitement upon this release suddenly turned into sheer disappointment, simply because this release was exactly what I want, but not how I wanted it. I am, however, incredibly glad that this is not a quartz watch, because Blancpain proudly says:

“There has never been a quartz Blancpain watch. And there will never be.”

All said and done, what this goes to show is that while the watch is incredibly disappointing and highly overpriced, it still pays homage to the legacy of Blancpain. And to do that at this price point is something that only the Swatch group can do. If one looks at this as a watch then it is indeed terrible. But if one looks at this as Swatch’s love letter to Blancpain, then it is absolutely beautiful.

And if that doesn’t make the Blancpain x Swatch collaboration a good watch, then I really don’t know what does.