Blancpain has been supporting the Monaco Association against Muscular Dystrophy (AMM) since its creation in 2001 and reiterates this year its commitment to the 8th edition of Only Watch. On this occasion, the brand presents a unique piece, inspired by the new Fifty Fathoms Barakuda model.
The new Fifty Fathoms Barakuda for Only Watch faithfully reinterprets the aesthetic codes of the timepiece from the late 1960s, while making the most of the technical innovations stemming from Blancpain’s longstanding watchmaking experience. Its black dial is punctuated by broad white hourmarkers in Super-LumiNova® with blue luminescence, like the hands and bezel. The pencil-shaped hands are white-lacquered and the seconds hand is rimmed with light blue, while the date – a key element of the original model – returns to its favourite position in a prominent window. Blancpain has teamed these vintage attributes with its emblematic unidirectional bezel featuring here light blue graduations, along with a scratch-resistant domed sapphire insert – an innovation unveiled by the brand in 2003. The steel case of this unique piece, water-resistant to 300 metres, has a diameter of 40 mm, a size reserved for Fifty Fathoms timepieces in limited series. It houses the 1151 self-winding movement equipped with two barrels, whose sporty usage in this model naturally does not dispense it from high-end finishes. These latter may be admired through the sapphire caseback revealing an oscillating weight engraved for the occasion with the inscription “Only Watch” as well as the Blancpain logo. This rotor has the particularity to present a cut-out shape, in reference to some of the collection’s antique watches. This now atypical geometry formerly served to enhance the suppleness of the oscillating weight in order to protect the movement from potential impacts.
Paired with a tropical rubber strap identical to that of the historical models, the Fifty Fathoms Barakuda for Only Watch embodies a combination of vintage design and advanced technicality.
