Blancpain

Today, I had the chance to see one of the 20 watches of this LE : the Fifty Fathoms Chronograph Monaco Yacht Show.

The main originality is the contrast with the "classic" FF : this LE is totally white... except the coat of arms of Monaco nicely printed on the dial.



I'm not a great fan of  "all white" watches but in this case, the design works quite well... enhanced by the shape of the cristal and by the shinny aspect of the bezel.



The watch is big (45mm) but it doesn't seem to be that large due to the thickness of the bezel.

The layout of the dial is balanced but I would have prefered it without the date window. The finishings are excellent, the 12 and the indexes applied on the dial give a nice touch.

 
The caliber is the famous F185 based on the Frédéric Piguet 1185. The main addition is of course the flyback complication.The power reserve is 40 hours.

This LE has a see-through caseback which allows us to appreciate the work on the caliber. You will notice the decoration of the rotor.



The SS case is flawless:



On the wrist, despite its size, its thickness (15,5mm), the watch is very comfortable.





Of course, the white color makes it inappropriate as a daily watch... at least for me. It has to be considered as a "fun" addition to a collection for an use during summertime...

This LE is not my fav Blancpain but I was very happy to handle it. When the press release was issued, I found this watch a bit too much... too "fashion". I would change my mind now : it is still not my cup of tea but the excellent finishings make it  quite attractive.

Fr.Xavier

there are too many white watches on the market now, this one seems to be just one more on the list...

My 0.02 cts.

    Cheers

              Jeff

I will stay polite, and will say " nor my cup of tea ".

As a FF lover, in fact, I'm very, very disapponited to see that Blancpain doesn't respect such a Cult Watch, ( here I speak of the Simple FF, non Chrono, but It would also work for the FF Chrono ).

I don't get why Blancpain makes this watch in White, Brown, with different combos of dials,, why Blancpain " kills " a bit the original watch by doing this.

Is the watch ugly, or not well finished?

No.

Worst, this is a total Non Sense for me.

A Watch for a Yacht Show?

Bob Maloubier woukld have laught a lot from his grave...

Best.

Nicolas

The FF was a single watch when it was created : it is now a very comprehensive collection with complicated watches. It is not the same purpose, not the same strategy.

Fr.Xavier

Blancpain tried in its communication to make a link between the release of this watch in 2007, and the original...

And yes, when you compare some Vintage FF, like the Lip Blancpain FF, for example, and the watch released in 2007, you have some strong links between both of them.

So, a Chrono version is OK.

But a Tourbillon???

Let's say that the Tourbi is an " horologinal " ( original + Horological .. )) ) adaptation of the FF.

But now, a White, a Brown, a pale Blue ( if I'm not wrong ...), and what else???

Seriously, I regret seeing such things, such developments.

It makes the original watch a bit weak, IMO.

But this is just my personal opinion.

Best.

Nicolas

Blancpain has been making MYS models for a number of years. It is an honor for them to be chosen to make this watch.

Thanks, Mike.

Here is a picture, a very difficult watch to shoot.



Fr.Xavier

Thanks but.....maybe for a woman.

I remember seeing pics of it in white last year, i assumed it was a ladies model....(?)

I do agree with the above comments that colorways & ltd editions dilute or weaken the original, this goes across the board: ROO's to JLC divers IMHO

the best thing about it is the Monaco logo, but Hublot already did this.

Either way thanks for posting!!....because i love to see everything thats out there

Cheers!

im also a woman,  the size is a bit big, 43 would be more suitable for my wrist, but i would not mind wearing it                                                                          the thing i truly love about this watch ( im sure im not alone) is the fantastic bezel..

I must admit that there is something about this look that I find intriguing. On the other hand, I can't think of any situation, place, etc. where I could possibly wear it.
As for the arguments about diluting the Fifty Fathoms brand, I agree... but the same could be said about the Royal Oak, Panerai Radiomir and Lumnor, Big Bang, etc.

Best,
Mitch

I just love this one. Oh no, I would never buy it, or the Leopard decorated Rolex Daytona. This doesn't disqualify neither the FF nor the Daytona IMO. I don't get this fashion stuff like the many of us, but then again; if this keeps them making the other great stuff, I won't be bothered. Oh, and if this is a womans watch; bring on those drag queens with them big hairy wrists (LOL).

Cheers,

Starman

I prefer the "pure" FF, as a "old school" boy as I am...

This kind of models no sings me... not bad watch, indeed, but I prefer the "original" and "the one"...

By the way, thanks for sharing with us, F. Xavier.

Un fuerte abrazo amigo.

Emilio

Personally I prefer my standard black chrono FF that is just great.

I guess that you could wear the white one during the summer but there are so many other great sporty watches to choose from beforehand.

It would probably look real good at a gay parade (in all due respect to my gay friends).

Maybe the next version will come in pink or fushia. Actually when you come to think of it the number of color variations is unlimited, which really opens up a world of opportunities to Blancpain.  Maybe one day you will be able to order your FF in any color you want.

Basically I fear that Blancpain might just have stumble onto a bold new concept "Tuning" for watches.

George

sorry to say, but 'horrible' is another way of putting it.

but not my cuppa I'\m afraid.