With the five new Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms watches, Swatch Group doubles down on the MoonSwatch concept that first introduced an iconic Swatch Group brand design at 1/20th of its regular price. Many debated whether or not it would bring the demise and deluxurification of the steel luxury watch it was built to mimic in bioceramic but Swatch answers that question today by expanding its Swiss luxury watch-inspired portfolio with the all-new Blancpain X Swatch (or simply Swatch Blancpain, if you like).

Here are the basics: The Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms watches cost $400, and none of the pieces will be limited in their production, so there really is no need to pay hefty premiums at the time of the launch. The Swatch Fifty Fathoms watches will be available on September 9, 2023, in select Swatch stores. One of the criticisms Swatch had to face with regard to the debut of the MoonSwatch on March 26, 2022 was its shockingly limited availability, not just in terms of the number of watches stocked by its stores but also the low number of Swatch stores allowed to participate in the launch. Sadly, this is another “concept” Swatch appears to be doubling down by making these watches only available in just select few Swatch stores in select countries.

Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms Watches Technical Details

Official Name: Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms (alternatively Swatch X Blancpain or Swatch Blancpain)
Models: Arctic Ocean SO35N100 in orange, Pacific Ocean SO35P100 in yellow, Atlantic Ocean SO35A100 in blue, Indian Ocean SO35I100 in green, Antarctic Ocean SO35S100 in grey
Price: $400
Dimensions: 42.3mm wide, 14.4mm thick, 48.0mm lug-to-lug
Water resistance: Fifty fathoms which is 91m/300ft/9bar
Movement: Swatch Sistem51 mechanical movement, 3Hz, 90-hour power reserve
Launch availability: Select Swatch boutiques on September 9, global roll-out later
Long-term availability: Swatch stresses that none of the Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms is a limited edition

The Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms watches come in five variations dedicated to five oceans of the world, each with a distinctly different color palette. The Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms Arctic Ocean SO35N100 is orange and beige, the Pacific Ocean SO35P100 is yellow and black, the Atlantic Ocean SO35A100 is blue and gray, the Indian Ocean SO35I100 is green and orange, and the Antarctic Ocean SO35S100 is gray and blue.

All watches bear the hallmarks of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms design, especially in its modernized and enlarged form that will be familiar to you from this or this limited edition. This entails a domed bezel, a highly legible dial with a mix of Arabic numeral and triangular indices, characteristic sword-shaped hands, long and nicely curved lugs, and short but pronounced crown guards. Swatch managed to mimic the proportions of the original (but modern) Fifty Fathoms beautifully in Bioceramic and it is true that this much-loved design radiates with a fresh vibe when dressed in the bold colors made possible by bioceramic.

That said, don’t get your hopes up over these Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms feeling anything like a luxurious Blancpain: You don’t need to be a dyed-in-the-wool watch enthusiast to be able to feel just how plasticky bioceramic is to the touch. Likewise, the transparent elements are not high-end scratch-resistant sapphire but are made from a “bio-sourced material treated with an anti-scratch coating.” The Achilles heel of the MoonSwatch — actually one among a number of compromised elements of that watch — was its front glass that could get scratched very easily, with many owners reporting it already being scratched when new in the box.

The Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms is powered by the Swatch Sistem 51, a mechanical movement with automatic winding. The Sistem51 offers a weekend-lasting (and then some) 90 hours of power reserve and combines that with a somewhat sluggish 3Hz operating frequency. The oscillating weight and other visible surfaces of all five movements are decorated with a print linked to each model’s respective ocean along with an image of a nudibranch, a colorful marine gastropod. The print makes for a powerful effect and renders the machine-made and rather basic-looking Sistem51 movement a joy to look at in these cheap(-er) Fifty Fathoms watches.

As was the case with the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch, Swatch did not shy away from plastering the name of its iconic luxury brand all over this cheap bioceramic alternative. The dial boldly says “Blancpain Fifty Fathoms x Swatch,” the crown is co-branded with the Blancpain and Swatch logos, and the caseback also says Fifty Fathoms, just for good measure. One area where Swatch has back-pedaled is in the branding of the strap: The MoonSwatch used to very prominently display the Omega logo on its strap, posing to the world as an Omega watch — something we know to have upset at least some Omega owners out there. By contrast, the Swatch Fifty Fathoms watches say “Swatch” on the hardware of the colorful NATO-style straps that come with the watches, and it is only in the buckle that the word Fifty Fathoms appears — for the third and last time on the watch.

Swatch has gone the extra mile and cherry-picked some of the cooler Fifty Fathoms editions of the past including the “NO-RAD” (or “No Radiations”) dial for the Arctic model, used to indicate a radium-free dial on Fifty Fathoms watches of old, and the “SCUBA” dial on the Antarctic version. The latter features a round “sensor” above 6 o’clock that changes color to indicate moisture inside of the case. The bezel on all Swatch Fifty Fathoms watches features luminescent numerals for a cool effect but you can expect some versions to glow more brightly than others depending on the color of the glow-in-the-dark paint used.

This is our quick look at the five new Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms that will be available in just a select few stores on September 9, 2023, and later in more Swatch stores around the world. The Blancpain X Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms watches are priced at $400. You can learn more at the Swatch website.