Swatch-ed At Birth

Swatch has unveiled yet another inspired collaboration with Blancpain. Does the Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection break new ground?

- SUFFIAN HAKIM

ON SATURDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER, Swatch stores at Ion Orchard and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands began selling the new Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection. Commemorating 70 years since the first Fifty Fathoms was conceived, there will be five colourways, each inspired by the five oceans of the Earth, in the collection: Arctic (orange), Pacific (yellow), Atlantic (blue), Indian (green) and Antarctic (grey). These watches will be presented to buyers in special diving cases upon purchase at the stores.

Each watch retails for S$565. For context, today, a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms costs at least S$15,000, with some expressions going for above S$30,000.

Swatch’s collaborations with haute horology Maisons have always done well. Think back to last year’s MoonSwatch, Swatch’s interpretation of Omega’s Speedmaster Moonwatch. Its release saw snaking queues outside Swatch stores, with avid – and in many cases, manic – collectors queueing outside the Ion Orchard store as early as 5.30a.m. It wasn’t just in Singapore. Chaotic scenes were also seen at Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates. Meanwhile, stores ran out of watches in megacities such as Kuala Lumpur and malls in Pennsylvania, U.S. As we’ve seen in the news, the collaboration with Blancpain has been met with similar enthusiasm.

We therefore have to ask ourselves: Is the Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms worth the hype and the insane queues?

Yes. It’s not compromising on performance.