Blancpain Fills a Niche with Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm in Polished Stainless Steel

Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms, first introduced in 1953, is indisputably one of the most influential and iconic timepieces of the 20th century, basically laying out the blueprint for what we now recognize today as the modern divers’ watch. Also indisputable is the fact that the Fifty Fathoms is a watch that is anything but understated in its proportions — the Automatique at the core of the modern collection, relaunched in 2008, sports a massive 45mm case, and even the vintage-inspired and allegedly more modestly sized Bathyscaphe models, which joined the collection in 2013, hover around 43mm in their male-targeted iterations.

In 2024, Blancpain responded to a market-wide trend toward smaller case sizes — albeit without compromising the bold character of its flagship sport-luxury model — by releasing a new version of the Fifty Fathoms Automatique in a middle-of-the-road 42mm version. Curiously, the first two models in this size were in rose gold and titanium; the inclusion of a steel model seemed to be a no-brainer that was conspicuous by its absence in that first wave of 42mm models. Today, however, Blancpain has finally delivered the Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm in stainless steel — adding it to the regular collection as well as giving the model a distinctive flair.

The stainless steel case of the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique, which measures precisely 42.3mm in diameter and 14.3mm thick, sports a gleaming, predominantly polished finish, distinguishing it in appearance from the matte, brushed finish of the titanium version. Its shiny surfaces catch light at various angles, imparting an air of sophistication to the Fifty Fathoms’ classically tool-oriented features. Among these features is a sunray-finished black dial with large, luminous Arabic numerals and wedge-shaped indexes for the hours, and a set of luminous-treated skyscraper-shaped hands. A date window is tucked discreetly between 4 and 5 o’clock.

Surrounding the dial is a unidirectional rotating bezel — an innovation pioneered by the first Fifty Fathoms, now standard on dive watches — fitted with a domed, black sapphire insert for the dive scale. The case, which includes a screw-down crown with a raised-relief Blancpain emblem, resists water pressure to 300 meters — far beyond the 50 fathoms (i.e., just under 100 meters) that inspired the name of the 1953 original.

Despite this extra-robust water resistance, the case accommodates a clear sapphire window in the back, which provides a view of the in-house, self-winding movement inside, Caliber 1315. Standard throughout much of Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms families, particularly the core three-handed models, the movement is notable for its robust power reserve of 120 hours, or five days, stored in three series-coupled barrels, and for its use of antimagnetic silicon for its balance spring. The movement comprises a total of 227 components, including its rotor, made of 18k gold with an NAC treatment. 

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 42mm in polished steel is presented on a stainless steel bracelet, whose glossy finishing serves as a handsome extension of the case, or on a “Tropic” rubber strap, offered with either a pin buckle or a deployant clasp closure.