Hands-on with the Fifty Fathoms Tribute to MilSpec

Sep 08, 2017,01:07 AM
 

Thanks to the Blancpain Boutique in Munich I had a chance to welcome one of the first Tribute to MilSpec for a one day photo session πŸ€—


Let me share some impressions and photos, which hopefully ease the pain for those of us (me included) waiting to finally get their own MilSpec to put it on the wrist πŸ˜‰





Let me start with some static shots of the watch:















Now, those shots do not tell the full story, since the 40mm size in connection with the impressive sapphire bezel means the dial is comparatively small, so, will it look too small on the wrist?




Actually, for those of us with up to 18cm wrist size it will most probably look just gorgeous πŸ˜‹

With a wrist size of more than 17cm you may consider to go for the long version of the sailcloth strap, though. The standard one on this watch is rather short. 

Here are a couple of more wrsitshots from various angles:















Mind that the close up perspective makes the watch seem larger than it actually is, here's a shot that gives a better impression on my 16.5cm wrist:





Now, have my high expectations of this timepiece been met? I had seen the proto in April, so almost half a year later I was curious to how I would feel handling it in a more normal environment...





Yes, the date is probably preventing it from being a perfectly beautiful watch, with the date it just is a wonderfully beautiful watch πŸ€“

The size is great, the dial with its very subtle sunray finish is amazing, the hands are nice (although the seconds hand seems to miss some optical counterbalance), the entire execution of this timepiece is flawless and full of the attention to detail Blancpain is known and appreciated for. Well, beyond the date... πŸ˜‚

Let me close with a couple of  "my" type of pictures, no report can go without those ☺️



















I sincerely hope you enjoyed this photo journey!

Cheers
Henrik


More posts: Fifty FathomsMilspec

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Your pictures are much better than the press ones. I don't think it is small. In fact, I find the size is perfect.

 
 By: amanico : September 8th, 2017-03:25
The dial is gorgeous. Ok, there is the date... But this dial and the whole watch are superb. Thanks for this pictorial report! Best, Nicolas

Amazing photos, as usual.

 
 By: zabreg1 Mr White : September 8th, 2017-03:48
The watch is really great, IMO. And I love the size as well (fits on my girly wrists).

Glad you are enjoying it.

 
 By: zabreg1 Mr White : September 8th, 2017-06:10
But please, keep the photos coming.

Even more photos??? 😱 [nt]

 
 By: shortys home : September 8th, 2017-07:09

You are really good at making my waiting time worse ....

 
 By: nafetS : September 8th, 2017-04:04
by constantly reminding me of this watch with great pictures. ;-)

Wow man, you took awesome pictures

 
 By: Maltie : September 8th, 2017-11:27
Now I want to take the Thalys to Paris to get mine right away

You're like good wine. You get better with time πŸ˜‰

 
 By: Alkiro1 : September 8th, 2017-13:02
I glimpsed the X-Fathoms on one of your shot. Did you take a side by side shot with the MilSpec? Best wishes Alkiro

Thank you my friend 😎 ... and yes, you find a side by side...

 
 By: shortys home : September 8th, 2017-13:06
... further down in my X-Fathoms teaser post, and I think I have got one more I'll share with the X-Fathoms report one week from now πŸ‘ Cheers Henrik

What the heck! Why wait... here's your side by side shot, my friend πŸ˜‰

 
 By: shortys home : September 8th, 2017-13:21
It's the new category 'legshot' πŸ˜‚ Now, the relations are distorted because of the height of the X-Fathoms, but it still is quite a bit larger πŸ˜‰ Cheers Henrik ...  

😳😳😳 No, you're kidding!

 
 By: Alkiro1 : September 8th, 2017-14:19
Best wishes Alkiro

The good and the ugly [nt]

 
 By: fifty fathoms : September 10th, 2017-01:01

Where's the bad? πŸ˜‰

 
 By: Alkiro1 : September 10th, 2017-12:18
Best wishes Alkiro

No bad at all [nt]

 
 By: fifty fathoms : November 13th, 2017-09:03

LOL 😊

 
 By: Alkiro1 : November 13th, 2017-09:42
Best wishes Alkiro

Amazing watch and pictures

 
 By: Karlisnet : September 8th, 2017-13:19
To the top of my wish list!

Thanks a lot! [nt]

 
 By: shortys home : September 8th, 2017-13:22

Beautiful FF.

 
 By: VMM : September 8th, 2017-18:06
Always liked the look but I guess the size on this one is what really makes me like it. Great pics, thanks for sharing. Vte

My pleasure πŸ˜‡ [nt]

 
 By: shortys home : September 8th, 2017-23:43

Thanks a lot...

 
 By: yonsson : September 8th, 2017-23:33
Great photos! But now I'm scared the sailcloth will be too short for my 18cm wrist.

Thanks! And stay relaxed...

 
 By: shortys home : September 8th, 2017-23:45
... with 18 cm you may be exactly on the edge with the regular one. If you want the strap to have some tail and actually make use of the second strap keeper, the longer version may be the better option. On the regular strap you just remove the loose keepe... 

Hmmmm

 
 By: yonsson : September 9th, 2017-00:10
As long as it fits. I'll probably swap it for a nato anyway, I never liked the 23mm sailcloth.

For me it was love at first sight with this watch.

 
 By: Freccero : September 9th, 2017-03:37
They maintained the nice vintage look and charm but they updated a bit the overall layout. Furthermore your photos are amazing and really make justice both to dimensions and dial. Best.

πŸ˜ŽπŸ‘ŒπŸ»πŸ™

 
 By: Freccero : September 9th, 2017-10:02
Best.

I noticed something.

 
 By: ripper444 : September 9th, 2017-06:28
in these pictures the strap is being held in by spring bars and it the hex screws found on the fifty Fathoms?

That's actually awesome

 
 By: ripper444 : September 9th, 2017-12:12
I was thinking of changing my hex screws to a spring bar. Wonder if the lugs are the same as I would just source a set of the ones off the mil spec

I see!

 
 By: ripper444 : September 10th, 2017-07:22
Thanks. Very nice watch either way

Hi Henrik

 
 By: fifty fathoms : September 10th, 2017-01:04
Wonderful photos as usual. As I told you for me the tribute to Milspec is the most desirable of the modern Fifty Fathoms. Best regards Stephan

Thank you, Stephan! Yes, it has a lot of aspects that make it a favourite...

 
 By: shortys home : September 10th, 2017-01:17
... the one thing I truly miss with the Tribute to MilSpec is the fabulous calibre 1315. Don't get me wrong, the updated 1151 isn't too shabby either, but it's clearly not the same level. With the 45mm models being a bit too large, I still hope for Blancp... 

It should be just fine, Will πŸ‘

 
 By: shortys home : September 19th, 2017-13:25
Your wrist is a bit larger than mine, on the photos the watch is adjusted to 17cm, so you can get a sense of how it will look on yours. And the Tribute to MilSpec is very comfortable on the wrist. I personally think it will look a little larger on the Nat... 

Does the orange/white disk

 
 By: Darron : September 21st, 2017-19:14
Have any function? Or Symbolizes no radiation? I noticed it has a "lip" feature around the perimeter . Great pictures by the way...like always!

Nice! The FF with the sapphire bezel must pretty cool from a robustness perspective

 
 By: Darron : September 21st, 2017-23:36
I know it's not a new design element for FF

What means NAC ?

 
 By: haart : November 13th, 2017-07:59
i have read that the rotor of the movement is in massive gold with NAC Platinum coated. What means NAC ? I have never heard that...

A quick google search answers your question... πŸ˜‰

 
 By: shortys home : November 13th, 2017-09:53
NAC is the abbreviation for Nano Amorphous Coating. When you want to dig deeper: details delivered by - again - google πŸ‘πŸ» Cheers Henrik

OK

 
 By: haart : November 13th, 2017-10:34
but why is that necessary in a watch rotor ? Are there any advantages compared to a normal gold rotor or other materials ? Or is it only the optical aspect ?

Well, it’s not a solid but a display back...

 
 By: shortys home : November 13th, 2017-22:50
... and I suspect that the design is the sole reason for the coating. Cheers Henrik ...  

Beautiful shots ! Did anyone of the purist bought this watch ?

 
 By: Horology75 : March 4th, 2018-20:17
Would like for hear owners review of this