Setting some context
In order to completely appreciate this timepiece, it is important to wind the clock back to the 26th of March 2022, the day Swatch shocked the world when it released its collaboration piece with Omega, the luxury brand we all know of in the Swatch Group portfolio. These colorful watches were a first, displaying just how two brands at different ends of the spectrum can produce fun timepieces. Critiques included the build quality and in general the ‘cheap’ feel of the watch. Swatch addressed these concerns in September 2023 when once again, with the brand Blancpain, they released a set of five pieces that this time, whilst keeping the fun, colorful aesthetics and playful Swatch vibe, were fitted with the Sistem51 automatic movement. With colorways such as orange, yellow, blue and green, these watches all represented one particular ocean and had funky little nudibranchs on the rotor to represent these locations. However, with the latest release of the brand-new Ocean Storms model, featuring an all-blacked-out case and dial, this is the closest to the original Fifty Fathoms to date.
Ocean of Storms
You may be wondering, if all five oceans were covered in the first release of this collaboration, just where did Swatch base this latest watch out of. Put simply, the Ocean Of Storms finds its DNA from the moon and the Oceanus Procellarum, a large volcanic plain on the surface of the moon. The nudibranch that features on the case back takes its name from the moon due to its creamy and luminescent color.
Stealth design
Maintaining the famous bio-ceramic material, it appears that Swatch has gone to the dark side with this one featuring a black case, a black Nato strap, a black dial and even a black colorway on the movement. However, in keeping with the DNA of the watch that takes its inspiration from the moon, several white accents complement this blacked-out approach, from the strap to the indices and of course, to the famous Blancpain X Swatch logo at 12 o’clock. In addition to this, the very light orange touches on both the second hand and the depth indication provide a slight hint of the light-hearted nature of the Swatch brand. What I love the most about the use of the color orange is that this watch reminds me of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 2: Tech Gombessa, and for 375 CHF, that is no bad thing!
My opinion
I could go on about the aesthetics of the watch and tell you I cannot wait to pick one up from the store, and pair it with a white t-shirt to get that full-on yin-yang effect going on. I could talk about my opinion of the collaboration itself, but I want to focus on something else entirely. Besides, if you want to hear opinions on the partnership, be sure to check out our Team Test with one of the original pieces.
For me, what is truly important about this edition and what symbolizes a change in the philosophy at Swatch is that this new addition to the family is not limited in quantity. Although the original MoonSwatches or the Scuba Fifty Fathoms were not limited, as soon as additional variants, nicknamed the ‘mission to moonshine golds’ were released for each new moon, they were solely available to purchase for one day. This model, on the other hand, will be joining the traditional lineup, and will be available far beyond the release date of 11.01.24. It was clear that although one limited edition variant was a great marketing idea by Swatch on the original watch, by the second, third, and what feels like endless variations later, it all got a little gimmicky. The fact that Swatch did not go down the same path provides me with a glimmer of hope that Swatch has understood that these short-term cash grab limited editions could only negatively impact the brands’ images. It now seems that Swatch is planning out a more long-term and stable collection this time around. Kudos to Swatch, and respect to Blancpain for playing along and if you will excuse me, it is time to go and get my own Ocean Of Storms!
