Blancpain has made its boldest statement to date in this, its 290th anniversary year, with two Fifty Fathoms Automatique timepieces designed specifically for women: one in a pale pink colourway, the other with a grey mother of pearl dial.
Both come in a new 38mm case, which required significant design tweaks to maintain the same balanced, harmonious silhouette of its 42mm or 45mm big brothers.
“These watches meet the growing demand for sporty, yet elegant timepieces perfectly tailored to slimmer wrists. They stand as a testament to our watchmaking heritage and to the women who, through their art and courage, reveal the wonders of the underwater world,” says Marc Hayek, Blancpain president and CEO.
Dials of pearl dial have a dégradé effect that darkens it from a light silver to a dark smoky grey at the perimeter and come in an 18ct red gold case with a black ceramic unidirectional bezel.
Reaction to the watches has been mixed. Commentators on social media immediately welcomed the new 38mm case size, although it appeared to be more popular with men than women, particularly for the black model.
The pink piece, more obviously targeted at women, was praised for delivering Blancpain’s precision to a lady’s dive watch, but was accused of looking more like another Swatch collaboration watch.
They are worn on a grey rubber strap.
There is more of a bright summer vibe to the pink piece, which is designed to appeal to a younger watch lover.
A paler mother of pearl dial is paired with a brushed titanium case, pink bezel and white fabric strap with pink stripes.
Both models are powered by Blancpain’s automatic calibre 1153 with 100-hour power reserve. Its 18ct decorated rotor is exposed by an sapphire crystal case back.
The grey piece in red gold costs between CHF 26,100 and CHF 29,000 while the pink model in titanium is priced at CHF 15,500 on the strap or CHF 18,200 with a titanium bracelet.
