Mach
3532
Initial Impressions of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech - Ocean Commitment IV . . .
On Tuesday, February 25, I received an email invitation for Fifty Fathoms VIP clients to visit the NYC Boutique to see their new upcoming novelty, the Blancpain Ocean Commitment IV. With my heavy travel schedule and status, it’s quite easy to give myself an excuse to visit NYC, which I will always take advantage of!❤️
In a previous post, I mentioned the boutique would be moving from 5th Avenue to East 57th St:
I had an appointment for Friday, March 7. We discussed that I would have to be flexible. It could be at the new boutique or it may be in the corporate office if the new boutique was not officially opened.
My SA contacted me that the boutique should be open and to plan on visiting the new boutique. After landing at LGA, I had to visit Culture Espresso:
Then, I had time to visit some other boutiques and ADs before my scheduled appointment. At the Breguet Boutique, I was warned that they were still pending permits and may not be open yet. Sure enough, I head on over and nothing is on display in the windows:
Fortunately, I could see my SA in there. After waving him down, he let me in:
Once again, nothing on display. Unlike the 5th Avenue boutique, everything will be on the first floor:
When I received the email, I was originally speculating that this release would be a blue dial / bezel in the new 42.3mm case. There were no details on date of release or specifications in the email. But since the previous Ocean Commitment was blue, I started to think it may actually be green, which is why I selected that specific shirt to wear for the presentation:
I posted what I saw on LinkedIn and member Uppersouth recognized from the rotor that this novelty would be a Tech Gombessa:
Wednesday night, I saw this on Revolution (they were a bit pre-mature and had to remove it temporarily):
I’m not going to lie, but I was quite surprised and disappointed to see this. Then again, I had to remind myself that it’s simply unrealistic to assume that I’m going to like every new release. So, I tried to keep an open mind when I saw the new Ocean Commitment IV:
In actuality, it’s not that bad at all. I actually can appreciate what Blancpain did here. In the Revolution link, I missed that they reduced the case size from 47mm to 45mm. It wears more like 43mm.
At an event, I previously handled their 70th Anniversary Act 2 - Tech Gombessa:
I prefer the conventional bezel on the Ocean Commitment:
Apologies Nico (hope all is well), but there is a hole in the dial for the date. The black dial with blue accents is quite nice in the flesh:
On the wrist, once again, I feel it wears smaller. My biggest issue is with the rubber strap. It doesn’t conform to my wrist, which reminds me of the mesh bracelet on my 60th Anniversary James Bond Seamaster:
Speaking of Omega, the helium escape valve may be a source on contention for some. But similar to the date, it doesn’t bother me. My biggest issue is the central lugs. I would prefer conventional lugs:
One of my suggestions to my SA was to provide a quick release feature in the future and different strap options, especially a sailcloth strap, a tropic strap, or even a bracelet. And as Uppersouth previously mentioned, the Tech Gombess platform can provide multiple options for future novelties, as they demonstrated here.
Looking at the engine room (apologies - I don’t like to remove stickers unless the piece is mine), she’s powered by their Calibre 1315A with the BOC logo on the rotor:
Some comparison shots:
Overall, I would argue this novelty changed my view of the Tech Gombessa platform. Was it enough to make me ‘pull the trigger?’ That would be a “no.” But, perhaps a future iteration may join my collection with some additional refinements.🤷
Apologies for the photo quality. It was quite difficult to take photos due to the typical boutique lighting conditions. Have a great weekend!🥂
Initial Impressions of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech - Ocean Commitment IV . . .
On Tuesday, February 25, I received an email invitation for Fifty Fathoms VIP clients to visit the NYC Boutique to see their new upcoming novelty, the Blancpain Ocean Commitment IV. With my heavy travel schedule and status, it’s quite easy to give myself ...
Thanks for the insight
The perspective from a current owner is always more interesting in my humble opinion. I have to say I found the release a bit underwhelming and I am not sure who this model is meant for, although as usual I suspect it will do just fine sales wise despite ...
I hear you, my friend!
I didn’t even mention price. Granted, I have no definitive proof, but I believe we are all in for a rude awakening with W&W ‘25. I think a lot of us with be using expletives when we see asking prices of the upcoming novelties! “What the . . .!”🤬 ...
Thanks for bringing us along Mark!
Nothing like confirming a timepiece in the flesh to decide how we really feel about it. And as a bonus, we get to have fun along the way. Enjoy your trip! 🍻
...a good thing...
By differentiating and adding a Tech series being 100% true to what is great and preferable for divers, I would argue Blancpain are doing themselves a great favor, allowing them to develop the Automatiques in a different direction, more to the preferences...
Ah, great to see some collectors pleased with this release!
I’ve observed quite a mix of opinions on this novelty. Although I was initially disappointed and skeptical, I could potentially see a future iteration in my collection. Cheers, my friend!🥂
Pleased indeed :)
Fully understand your initial restraint, you were expecting something else I gather. I believe the tech series has to be viewed from a slightly different perspective compared with the Automatiques, although being entirely different, these would in my opin...
Originally, I was genuinely surprised by this release…
Like many others, I was expecting the BOC to debut in their newer 42.3mm case, perhaps with a blue or green bezel and dial combination. As for the case material, I imagined a range of possibilities—stainless steel, titanium, ceramic, or even something une...
Oasis
Bill and his culprits have most certainly made a corner of the Internet an oasis which is unique. I am not aware of anything like it for any interest, hobby, lifestyle or technology even close in combining competence, affection, generosity, diversity, tol...
Great review Mach!
This one really looks like a piece of diving kit and less a daily wearer. Regardless, I am glad to see BP doing something different.
Once again, great catch the other day, my friend!
If they listen to you and utilize this platform in various case sizes, Blancpain may convert more and more of the skeptics over time! HAGWE!🥂
Thanks for this interesting review.
I like your FF much better than this OC IV. But it's a pleasure to discover a novelty with first hands on impression. Thank you for sharing. Best, Emmanuel
Cheers, my friend!
Collectors may be surprised by its wearability. But if given a choice, I prefer the ‘conventional’ FF! HAGWE!🥂
The comparison shot with your FF says it all.
This new variant would be way too big for me.
You may be surprised, Gerard . . .
The manner in which the rubber strap flairs out annoyed me. But perhaps with a sailcloth strap, it may work.🤷 Have a great week ahead, sir!🥂
Many thanks for your detailed and personal review of the BOC IV.
I second that the size is a bit too large for those who are not going to bring it down into the sea (though you still carries it quite well actually) The layout is certainly a genuine diver tool watch instead of a luxury sports watch. The configuration of...
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Henry!
I think this platform will require a slow, warming-up process before a broader collector base fully embraces it. Have a great week ahead!🥂
Love it, thanks for the review! It shaves over 1mm off the height of the regular 45mm FF and in titanium I bet this wears great.
I too assumed this was going to be a blue 42mm release so seeing this was a fun surprise. Hopefully we'll see a regular production release in this case in the future though I'm not sure what that would look like given the OC release is already black, the ...
I would give them a call, Andrew!
Not only can you confirm if they’re open, but they may still have this BOC available so you can appreciate it in the flesh. Worth a try!🤞 HAGWE!🥂
