Can You Fathom?
Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon 8 Jours is a diver’s watch that epitomises the encounter between horological complexity and high performance
DO YOU REALLY NEED A TOURBILLON in a diver’s watch? No. That said, the annals of fine watchmaking have evolved beyond the functional to the artisanal and Blancpain’s latest Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon 8 Jours is a diver’s watch that epitomises this growing passion for horological complexity to satiate our hunger for emotive aesthetics as well as the need for high performance.
The Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon 8 Jours is a symbiosis of Blancpain’s savoir-faire in the realm of diver’s watches and its expertise in horological complications. The tourbillon, referred to as “flying” because it has no upper bridge to drive its cage, dances at 12 o’clock amid a refined blue dial graced with a sunburst finish. Its technical complexity is matched with the expertise required to create a deep diving 300 metre tool watch.
Contrasting with its elegance with functional aesthetics like the sporty style of the hour-markers, hands and bezel, the 45mm tourbillon equipped Fifty Fathoms is a bold contradiction of opposites, expertly demonstrating how in the hands of a true master, art can indeed be robust. Available in two materials: grade 23 titanium and red gold, both satin-finished, the Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon 8 Jours expresses the duality of Blancpain’s prowess: titanium, notable for its lightness ‒ ensuring excellent wearer comfort ‒ as well as its resistance to shocks, pressure and corrosion. While red gold offers a more conventional setting for the tourbillon, radiating an aura of timeless nobility and classic luxury.
The self- winding Calibre 25C fnished with a Côtes de Genève motif and circular graining expresses the industry’s noblest watchmaking traditions, perpetuating the legacy of the Fifty Fathoms, which represented a milestone at the time by setting the standard for diver’s watches, but today continues the Le Brassus manufacture’s penchant for horological excellence.