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On the 5th September 2023 news broke on the latest Swatch collaboration, the Blancpain X Swatch Scuba 50 Fathoms, or as i call it the (sistem) 51 Fathoms dive watch. This was supported by images of Blancpain and Swatch store displays featuring the brands and a locked yellow hardcase.
2 days later on the 7th September the first official images of the watches were released and the watch world went crazy.
Locked away in his home office one collector made it his mission to get one. That crazy individual was me.
I jumped on the hype train hard and headded towards the front of the train, absorbing all the info i could.
The Plan
The plan was to have a nap early evening and get over to the new Manchester store by midnight of the day before and wait in line to get one. The Manchester swatch store has only recently opened and was listed as a one of the few distribution sites in the UK. My wife has had some success just a week ago adding two more moon swatches to my collection which at this time totalled five pieces.
The Reality
I couldnt sleep so early in the day so tossing and turning i looked at the alarm clock and it said 8pm. i packed a bag, made some snacks and prepared to drive over early, staying awake all night to have the best possible chance to get one of these covetted pieces.
an hours drive later i parked at the trafford centre and headded to the Swatch store to take an advanced look at the watches.
Angels sang in my head as i basked in the glow of the overhead LED lighting which made the display case sparkle. The watches looked great in person and i quickly made a short list of my favourite Blancpain x Swatch pieces hich in order of preference were: Antarctic (white), Arctic (orange), Atlantic (blue), Indian (green). Speaking to the sales assistance i enquired as to where i should queue and what the process was only to hear. “There is no queue. Any queues will be disbanded. If you queue you will not get a watch.”
Needless to sayi was stunned. A quick check of other UK swatch stores on social media showed queues stretching down the block. At Manchester it was different, likely due to the store being inside a shopping mall. 10 minutes later i spoke to a roving security guard outside who echoed the message. I asked what i should do and he shrugged. I figured as i was here already i’d stick around and wait the night out.
Speaking to security the roumor was that the Swatch store manager would be here by 6.30 and would be sorting out the queue some time after that.
The first few hours went quickly with the help of some netflix series and a mobile phone. It helped that because of the ongoing heatwave that temperatures were around 18 degrees and the weather dry.
It seems the security guards had created a perimeter around what was to become the exerior entrance to the swatch store, turning around the small groups of people who quickly rushed into this space hoping to be the first in line. As the night went on this perimemter slowly expanded as groups of people camped out in the various outdoor eating areas were encouraged to seek shelter elsewhere.
Eventually we were pushed into the 2 closest car parks which was where i first noticed large gangs of organised watch flippers.
I took the time to speak to as many people as possible, from young men who came to every launch with the hope of making a quick buck to collectors who, like me, wanted a taste of something fresh in their collection. The ratio being about 95% flippers to 5% collectors.
Throughout the night splinter groups of flippers continued to try and get a foothold insde the perimeter but were eventually routed out. This was because of a complete lack of communication between Swatch/The Trafford Centre and buyers. What became apparent was that as 6.30am rapidly approached the groups of buyers in each car park became quite tense. Our collective fear being that we would have to run to the door to get a good position in the queue. As a result people started collecting at the entrance to each car park.
Luckily the Swatch store manager had a plan. He approached each group and explained that at 6.30 everyone was to calmly walt to the entrance and form a long line. From this line he would select people at random. Thes people would be able to line up inside and would get a watch. Again the caveat being that any running, rushing or pushing would mean you would not get a watch. For those who were selected no sob story, reason or pleading would change his selection. On starters orders, 630 came and security said GO! We calmly walked and joined the group from the other car park in front of the door.
Looking around the group is was clear that there were large groups of flippers as each group was clearly commanded by a single person and each commander was confirming what was to happen if someone in their group was selected, answering questions from their team and confirming what watches were priority buys.
Show Time
The selection process was a complete lottery. The Swatch store manager walking up and down, stopping then picking people from the front, back and middle at random. He clearly knew people who frequently attended launches (flippers) and included some from these groups which seemed fair as they too had camped out all night in the hopes to get a Blancpain X Swatch watch (or 10).
I was selected! (obviously)
The Queue
We were moved inside every 2 people selected and formed a line behind the swatch popup store. 50% of the line was within barriers, the other 50% a makeshift line outside. This is where things went off the rails.
As we had been waiting all night people obviously needed the toilet. This lead to many people entering and leaving the line. What was noticeable was that individuals from flipping groups appeared to jump queue to be near their colleagues.
I queued just outside the barriers. I noticed several guys back up to the line and inseet themselves ahead of me. Outraged i caught the eye of the nearest security guy and pointed this out. He approached the individual and questoned him. I have to say the members of these flipper groups are brazen and bold! The store manager was called and with the assistance of a lovely lady from Swatch head office, they checked some promotional photographs theyd taken and promptly routed out not only the 4 or 5 chaps that had pushed in in front of us, but also many more. With a clean queue and the 10am store opening approaching spirits were high and everyone in a good mood. Flipper groups were coordinating again confirming which watches they wanted and starting to create ebay listings.
We had no idea of stock levels but being in the middle of the queue i knew that i wouldnt get the Antarctic watch and that the Atlantic would sell out fastest as these were clearly the favourites of the flippers. At 10am the line started slowly moving. This was mainly due to there being only 1 till in the store.
By this time, having been stood up since around 5.30am, and from 6.30 being stood still, my legs were killin me. Others were equally fateagued. Some resorted to foldable chains and one genius had a small foldable stool which lighter and less cumbersome. Take that as a tip for any future wannabe queuers!
At around 11.30am my turn finally came. The assistant remembered me from the night before and said she was so happy that i’d made the cut. I was asked which one i wanted to which i replied “What’s left”. Surprisinly the Indian, Arctic and Pacific were still available. A quick re-look at the display and a sad farewell to the Antartic, i opted for the Arctic watch which to my surprise came in a higher quality box and with a free watch case. While there i decided to add an other Moon Swatch to my collection and picked up the Sun.
Some lunch at Wetherspoons and a well needed drink later i made my way home, the proud owber of a Blancpain X Swatch Scuba 50 Fathoms which in my head ive shortened to the 51 fathoms, the 51 being taken from the Sistem51 movement used inside which i think is cuter.
If i had any advice for Swatch it would be to start ticketing people in the queue. This would stop individuals from being able to push in. this could be as simple as taking everyones name and mobile number (which can be destroyed onece used so no GDPR issues), and would mean no long standing in line, instead a simple seating area would be provided with individuals being called when its their turn. Trust me, no one is going to wander far!
Blancpain X Swatch Review
SPECIFICATION
- Brand: Blancpain X Swatch
- Model: Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms
- Price: £340
- Material: Bioceramic (60% ceramic, 40% caster oil based)
- Movement: Sistem51 mechanical/automatic winding with a 90-hour power reserve
- Complications: Hours, minutes, seconds. Date on 3 models only
- Dial: Fume style grey, white, blue, green or beige
- Case width: 42.3mm
- Case depth: 14.4mm
UNBOXING
Like the Moon Swatch the Blancpain X Swatch box has a wrap around branded sleeve. Unlike the Moon Swatch which has a butterfly opening box inside, the Blancpain X Swatch has a thick cardboard case with a removable lid.
To my surprise, inside was a zippered watch case housing the watch its self. The watch being held in place with a thin foam cushion.
Its clear to see why this watch was priced a little higher than the Moon Swatch for this alone.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Like the Antarctic, my Arctic watch doesnt have a date window and is modelled on one of Bancpain’s vintage designs. the other 3 having a date window at 4-o-clock if you like that sort of thing.
CASE
The Blancpain X Swatch watch isnt as large as you think. Many people claim that the 42in case diameter makes this watch unwearable however i personally find it well sized. The case has a nice texture to it. which carries over to the crown. Infamously the watch is made from bioceramic which is a mix of 60% ceramic and 30% plastic. This makes nay-sayers refer to this as a plastic watch. While i can conceed that it is a light watch i think calling it plastic is a just a watch snobs way of putting down what is an innovation. I’m obviously a fan!
CROWN
The crown is signed wih a JB -x- Swatch and is controvertially not screw down. Unconventionally the crown winds in the opposite way to most watches. Im not sure if this is accurate to the original or if its a quirk of the Sistem51? It has deep knurling and is framed with crown guards which i hope will provide some level of protection.
CASE BACK
The case back is snap on. This should mean that unlike other sistem51 watches, this blancpain should be serviceable, otherwise why make it like this. As a display case back, there is a large sapphire glass window allowing the movement to be shown off.
MOVEMENT
Swatch’s Sistem51 movement is famously fully assembled by robots. Unlike the quartz Moon Swatch which used a battery and had a seconds hand that ticked every second, the Blancpain X Swatch watch has mechanical manual/automatic wound movement, allowing the seconds hand to smoothly sweep around the dial. This is often seen as a sign of a higher grade watches. The Sistem51 movement has a laser printed design featuring an image of the sea slug that inspired the watches colour. For me the print is a little overwhelming and stops you from being able to appreciate the engineering that goes into this movement. From a marketing point of view the use of the term “laser print” makes me think this was produced by an office copier. Maybe something for the Swatch team to think about when marketing future products.
BEZEL
The 120 click bezel is one of the areas that my Blancpain X Swatch really shines. Theres a little overhang, making the watch easy to grip. The bezel is a glass bubble style insert which is just like that found on the original Blancpain 50 Fathoms. Its click action is responsive if a little loud which is likely due to the material used. There is no back play, but as usual a little plat forwards when jiggled. This gives me confidence in the engineering thats gone into this watch. Behind the glass bubble markers are printed in high contrast and lumed in super-luminova.
DIAL
In daylight the dial makes great use of orange accents which frame each of the stick sumer-luminova markers. They printed the Swatch, Blancpain and 50 Fathoms logos in white which, in my opinion, was a mistake. Id rather have this printed in a darker colour to make it more legible in daylight. Centre of the dial is the No-Rad symbol which was used by Blancpain in 1965 to highlight that the watch did not use radioactive radium lume. Like markers, the hands are lumed and framed in orange. The seconds hand is plain and lumed with an arrow at its tip.
STRAP
Swatch decided to use recucled fishing nexts to produce the nato straps used on this collablration. These straps are LONG, making even the chubbiest wrist able to fold over the end which is then tucked back under a keeper. The keepers and buckle are plastic with the buckle being signed Blancpain.
For occasional wear this is fine however my long standing bugbeat with any nato strap is they cause the case to sit proud of the wrist. Unfortunately due to this straps length and design, you can not wear this nato in the slim configuration. So for me personally a replacement strap will be needed to keep this watch wearing slim.
Update: Eagle eyed Travis Ogden has spotted that the spring bars require a 22mm allen key to be removed.
LUME
Super-luminova is awesome. even in moderate shade it shines brightly on the bezel, markers and hands. I’d go so far as saying its as good as any Seiko.
OPERATION
As mentioned previously, a quirk of this watch is the need to wind it the opposite way to most other watches. The wind is smooth if a little stiff and there is a feint rasping sound which is no different to other watches at this price point.
A jiggle of the wrist lets you listen to the sound of the rotor. This is faint and similar to that again found on watches at this price point.
Setting the time highlights one of the shortcuts made for the Arctic and Antarctic watches in that there is a ghost position due to these watches not using the date complication. Again this is common of watches at this price point.
The lugs are drilled allowing for straps to be changed easily without fear of damaging the lugs.
VALUE FOR MONEY
Reading forums and social media, a major complaint about this watch is the price. I’m obviously biased having forked out the £340 for one.
Objectively, if you take the Moon Swatch as a base line, its clear to see where the Blancpain X Swatch adds significant value.
Theres the upgrade from an arguably cheap quartz movement to a mechanical automatic movement, increased case size and materials, saphire glass, the inclusion of a watch case, heavy use of super-luminova, recycled nato strap. For me, all of this justifies the price increase compared to the previous collab.
24 Hours With The Blancpain X Swatch Watch
Ive been wearing the watch for the past 24 hours and its weathered a little housework, been splashed by sink water, taken to the cinema.
For now its still on the nato strap which is light and comfortable.
The watch its self is also light and after a few hours like any other watch you forget you’re wearing it. So it being light isnt an issue and any complaints again pure watch snobbery.
I am loving the colour of this piece and as i pointed out on instagram and being a red-head, it generally goes with my sense of fashion.
My 7 year old saw it and asked that when i die, can he have my watch collection! So i’m guessing thats a massive thumbs up and makes it cool… I guess ive upped my Rizz game (man, i am so down with the kids)
A NOTE ON FLIPPING
It was really sad to see many collectors not being able to get their hands on a Blancpain X Swatch watch because of flippers. Within the queue flippers were already offering to buy watches for £700, and after you made a puechase people were being approached to sell. I’d guess Swatch really dont care about this and its all seen as ambient marketing which further fuels demand. What would be cool would be a Rolex sytle serial number system which could be tracked back to buyers and future purchases requiring ID that could weed out repeat offenders.
EPILOGUE
If you’re looking to buy a Blancpain X Swatch Scuba 50 Fathoms of 51 Fathoms as im calling it, then dont worry. The store manager says more will be available weekly. What’s more, you can buy a Blancpain and a Moon Swatch at the same time! So the next time you’re near a store, try your luck.
For the record it took me 9 months to get my first Moon Swatch and even then the first 5 were purchased by my wife. Moon Swatch number 6 was the first ive bought in person!