A deep dive into the most iconic timepieces to date

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The Millennium Movement: The In-House Rolex Daytona

The Secret to the Cartier Tank's Success

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30 Years Of The Royal Oak Offshore: A Retrospective

Rolex And A Trinity of Anniversaries: What Do You Expect To See?

The Rolex Day-Date

Swatch Group’s eponymous purveyor of fun-filled, affordable watchmaking has long had a knack for sending the right message - as the brand’s most recent team-up with Omega reminds us…
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Earlier this March, Mark Ritson, award-winning columnist and professor of marketing, wrote an enthusiastic endorsement of the recent MoonSwatch launch - lauding it for helping Swatch generate “enormous salience, traffic, editorial and a welcome boost of premiumness thanks to its proximity to Omega”.&nbsp; 
 
In the months since, journalists and insiders have speculated about what sort of effect, going forward, the collaboration between two of Swatch Group’s biggest brands might have on the vaunted Speedmaster; but what makes Ritson’s analysis so incisive is how he considered this exercise in crossover branding largely through the prism of Swatch. The takeaway? No matter how things shake out for Omega, its egalitarian sister brand has clinched a major victory. “[Swatch] makes good-value, long-lasting, fun watches and not enough people know that,” says Ritson. Thanks to the feeding frenzy surrounding the MoonSwatch, it’s a safe bet consumers are again paying close attention. 
 
The success of this collaboration - part of a select few in the watch industry which have managed to tap what T. Blackett dubbed the ‘science of alliance’ - raises further discussions about Swatch’s modern history. Having been more or less responsible for promulgating the concept of ‘watches as fashion’, the MoonSwatch definitely isn’t Swatch’s first foray into bringing horological culture to the masses. Before diving into the minutiae of what makes this such an enviable case study for marketers everywhere, we thought it best to start at the beginning: before Swatch and its ineffable brand of wearable culture had yet to dominate the globe.

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<img alt="Moonswatch Omega" data-caption="Photo: Perkin Yu/ Wristcheck" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7e912fbc-caa0-4c0e-86e3-c87348371be2" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/192/Edit%2520The%2520Story%2520of%2520Swatch.png" width="1568" />
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<h3>Fantastic Plastic: The Creation of Swatch&nbsp;</h3>

With the wisdom of hindsight, it’s amusing to think that the initial Swiss solution to the Quartz Crisis was to double down on high-end quartz. Though they were impressive engineering feats, early attempts to make a quartz luxury watch (e.g. Beta 21) proved commercially lukewarm; and it wasn’t until SMH, precursor to Swatch Group, was formed that a strategy to democratize this technology hove into view.

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<img alt="hayek" data-caption="Photo: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/nicolas-hayek--a-look-back/15320606&quot;&gt;SWI swissinfo.ch&lt;/a&gt;/ RDB" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e08d196c-a48f-4148-be30-213c318aa9a4" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/192/Edit%2520The%2520Story%2520of%2520Swatch.jpg" width="1568" />
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Following a dramatic dive in exports between 1977-1983 - caused by the rocketing popularity of electronic Japanese watches - Swiss brands were scrambling to save themselves from extinction. Among the biggest of these were SSIH, owners of Omega and Tissot; and ASUAG, parent to movement manufacturing giant ETA. In 1983, the two companies completed one of the biggest mergers in the industry’s history, orchestrated by Mr. Nicolas Hayek - by trade, an engineering consultant who would eventually become Swatch Group’s Chairman.

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<img alt="Swatch first sketch" data-caption="The initial drawing of the Swatch &quot;Vulgaris&quot; casing, circa&amp;nbsp;March, 1980 Photo: Sotheby's" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e2b06854-86b8-452b-8a85-4c19056c367a" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/192/Edit%2520The%2520Story%2520of%2520Swatch%2520%25281%2529.png" width="1568" />
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As it turns out, the alliance Hayek brokered had a Lazarian effect. Not least because in acquiring ASUAG, SMH gained access to technologies pioneered by Dr. Ernst Thomke - an individual Swatch fans regard as a household name. During his tenure as ETA’s CEO, Thomke had already been investing heavily in the development of injection moulds: a manufacturing process that made it possible to produce watch cases out of monobloc plastic, on an industrial scale. It didn’t take long for Hayek to recognize this technology’s potential. Early versions of the now-iconic Swatch contained a mere 51 parts, immediately improving upon the lead times and material cost previously associated with Swiss-made quartz. 
 
Thanks to their simple self-contained construction, these could be made in record numbers. For a 9-year period beginning in 1983 (when Swatch was officially established) the company manufactured 100 million units - a frankly staggering quantity that helped close the gap with Japanese electronics behemoths like Casio and Citizen.&nbsp;

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<h3>A Whole Mood: Popular Culture, America, and the Rise of ‘Fashion Watches’</h3>

By the mid-1980s, Hayek and the SMH brain trust had successfully paved the way for Swatch’s burgeoning brand. Ad campaigns with taglines like “crazy new wave” and “Granita di Frutta” caught the interest of teens, with many able - for the first time - to buy an affordable Swiss-made timepiece. Unlike ‘serious’ brands within SMH, Swatch also chose to eschew trade-show publicity: instead, launching new products every season (in a manner redolent of the fashion industry).&nbsp;

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<img alt="advertisements" data-caption="Photo: @&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/staytunedtoswatch/&quot;&gt;staytunedtoswatch&lt;/a&gt;" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fe465e46-80be-4f6f-8e24-dc39d92df0e5" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/192/Edit%2520The%2520Story%2520of%2520Swatch%2520%25284%2529.png" width="1568" />
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Swatch’s alignment with all things à la mode in pop culture became especially apparent under the leadership of Max Imgruth. Hayek’s mirror image, Imgruth had originally been a marketing consultant at SSIH during the company’s pre-merger days. In 1983, he was chosen to spearhead Swatch’s business in the US - taking the company from, in just two short years, from sales of $3 million to $135 million. When asked by American journalists to explain how he’d managed to deliver this miracle, Imgruth’s answer was deceptively simple. “What we’re marketing is much more of a lifestyle,” he said, “[it’s] an idea, rather than something that just ticks”.&nbsp; 
 
An important part of Imgruth’s strategy was to pitch Swatch to market segments traditionally considered a non-starter for luxury watch brands. That necessarily included the aforementioned teen demographic, who, as Felix Scholz, Co-Host of <a href="https://www.otpodcast.com.au/">OT: The Podcast</a> can personally attest to, latched on all around the globe. “I was a child for the 1980s and much of the 1990s. I can’t speak to a specific ‘moment’ when Swatch entered the zeitgeist, but what I do recall was just how cool [the brand] was,” says Scholz. “My brother had a large wall clock and would buy multiple Swatch watches every year. Rather than having a single partnership that stands out, what I’ve always been most impressed by is the breadth of the offering. From the Olympics to Vivienne Westwood, Swatch’s cultural reach is immense.”&nbsp;

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<img alt="story if swatch" data-caption="The Damien Hirst x Swatch Spot Mickey &amp;amp; Mirror Spot Mickey limited-edition timepieces were launched in 2018 in celebration of Mickey Mouse's 90th birthday Photo: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/made-in-britain/swatch-swatch-x-damien-hirst-spot-mickey-mirror&quot;&gt;Sotheby's&lt;/a&gt;" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="f99dc635-4685-4bb6-a9af-152ca63e8d87" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/1010/Edit The Story of Swatch (1)_0.gif" width="1568" />
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In a move that would later be replicated worldwide, Imgruth also made a concerted effort to advertise Swatch’s wares to female customers aged 12-24. Swatches were pitched with the same trendy aura as a pair of Reebok sneakers or Levi’s denim. Crucially, each campaign’s tone of voice was friendly and informal: with themes of matrimony, motherhood and physical objectification largely absent from the advertisements of this era.&nbsp; 
 
The reality is that, when it comes to inspiration, Swatches are among the most eclectic objects ever to spring forth from the watch industry. Whether inadvertently or by design, their injection-moulded cases and open dials make for an ideal canvas on which cultural events of our lifetime are recorded: explaining why they’ve been the medium of choice for dozens of 'artist specials’ since 1985.&nbsp; 
 
Focal points in this collecting niche include the 140-piece Kiki Picasso run and Italian sculptor Mimmo Paladino’s ‘Oigol Oro’ design. Unfettered by the constraints placed upon traditional watch brands, Swatch even tried its hand at a series of horological lunchables - designed by Austrian painter Alfred Hofkunst. Inspired by pop art of the late 1980s, Hofkunst’s creations have won applause from a range of (often surprising) quarters. Tom Chng, high-powered co-founder of Singapore Watch Club, is one such unlikely proponent. “The 1991 ‘One More Time’ set is, to me, the stand-out,” says Chng. “Originally unveiled at specialty grocers, it’s an insanely wacky way to conceptualize, execute and distribute wristwatches. Along with Hofkunst, [Swatch] succeeded in making something fun that stands as a democratization of time.”

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<img alt="kiki picasso" data-caption="Pictured is the Kiki Picasso&amp;nbsp;Swatch along with a poster that was distributed during the launch in 1985 Photo: @&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/staytunedtoswatch/&quot;&gt;staytunedtoswatch&lt;/a&gt;" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="dd90fb9a-5dc7-4250-985e-c137d4aba65b" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/1010/Edit The Story of Swatch.gif" width="1568" />
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<h3>One small step for Swatch…a giant leap for Swatch Group</h3>

Unbelievable though it may seem - considering what we know of Swatch’s 30-year history - the recent MoonSwatch unveiling does indeed break new ground for the brand (if not the entire industry). Surprisingly, this marks the first occasion on which Swatch and Omega have collaborated on a single product and, unlike most co-branded luxury in the 21st century, was never meant to be a limited edition.&nbsp; 
 
Currently, it remains too early to tell whether the launch will have the long-term ‘cannibalizing’ effect on the Speedmaster that doomsayers seem so worried about. But, if current data is to be believed, the reality is just the opposite. According to Ritson, stats from the March launch weekend alone indicated Swatch “sold almost certainly more MoonSwatches in a single morning than Omega will sell Speedmasters all year”.

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At one-tenth the price of Omega’s baseline Speedmaster Professional, detractors have argued this is a bubble born out of economic convenience, though it’s unlikely Swatch Group’s biggest player (by market share) would commit themselves to crossover play without having first considered the big picture. Put another way, Swatch Group executives have calculated the damage to the Speedmaster’s mindshare shall largely be imagined - a sentiment articulated by Raynald Aeschlimann, CEO of Omega, right from the get-go. “There is a vast space between a genuine Speedmaster MoonSwatch and this Swatch,” Aeschlimann said in an interview with <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/omega-and-swatch-moonswatch">Wired</a> earlier this year. “There’s really no crossover in any true sense, apart from the look.” 
 
Those comments reveal the calculated gamble at the heart of the MoonSwatch - one that, if correctly adjudged, will be recorded in the history book of genius marketing manoeuvres. In July, reporting by Bloomberg UK indicated that sales of the Speedmaster Professional had “increased by more than 50 percent since the launch of the $250 MoonSwatch in March”.&nbsp; 
 
That news has been an early coup for perceptive execs like Aeschlimann who, as Scholz points out, know the importance of seeding the next generation of watch consumers. Many of whom, until now, might have proved resistant to traditional marketing narratives. “Major fashion houses know that getting younger people with less spending power to ‘buy into’ your brand is a worthwhile investment,” Scholz says. “Look at the Balenciaga cap or Loewe’s elephant charms - done correctly, this sort of purchase can kickstart a lifetime of positive brand associations. The MoonSwatch is no different.”

Swatch: The Brand That Dared to Embrace Art, Fashion, and the Zeitgeist

Launched in 1953, Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms was one of the world's first modern dive watches. With its rich history, interesting variants, attractive designs and accessible price points, the Fifty Fathoms is truly a diver’s delight

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One of the most popular genres in watches, the humble dive watch offers robust constructions and versatile designs that can be worn by both watch enthusiasts as well casual wearers. Moreover, with their rich history within the industry, there just isn't anything not to like about them.&nbsp;

The segment is rather hotly contested with several legendary models vying for the top spot for the historically most significant dive watch. Right from the Rolex Submariner to the Omega Seamaster, there are several legendary models that come to mind when one thinks of an ideal dive watch. However, had it not been for Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms, this category as we know today, might not even exist. Often overlooked, but still contained within the spirit of the majority of dive watches today, the Fifty Fathoms is the unsung hero of the dive world.
<img alt="watchprosite - 1953 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms" data-caption="A 1953 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms ©Blancpain" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="95e3598c-88d6-4d24-9736-8e37c81eb4e6" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/1007/Edit Blancpain 50 Fathoms.png" width="1568" />
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<h3>A New Genre&nbsp;</h3>

Launched in 1953, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was one of the world's first modern dive watches. The brainchild of avid diver and former Blancpain CEO Jean-Jacques Fiechter, the Fifty Fathoms was designed as a companion for his diving expeditions. Named after the old British measurement, a Fathom, the Fifty Fathoms was rather unsurprisingly water-resistant up to 50 fathoms – around 300 feet. While this number might not seem like a whole lot by today's standards, it was once the forefront of diving technology and more than enough for divers at the time, considering the majority of them wouldn't ever exceed 66 meters in depth, at which point the oxygen toxicity becomes a genuine concern.

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<img alt="Blancpain" data-caption="The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was the brainchild of avid diver and former Blancpain CEO Jean-Jacques Fiechter ©Blancpain" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8d409376-fb99-4dfc-a8ec-91cfead97670" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/1007/3_10.png" width="1568" />
<img alt="Vintage Ad of the Fifty Fathoms" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1ac2ee06-5cf5-4fe3-a27d-42577538ca8d" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/1007/Edit Blancpain 50 Fathoms (1).png" width="1568" />

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Of course, Blancpain didn't manage to create a watch with 91 meters of water resistance without having to innovate. So they created the Fifty Fathoms, which was the first watch to include a secured unidirectional rotating bezel, an O-ring seal, which they patented, and a double-sealed crown system. Created to offer divers an important tool, Blancpain inadvertently created horology's most popular genre of timepiece and the template for every dive watch that would follow.

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<img alt="[Picture of the ref. 5008D]" data-caption="Limited to 500 pieces, the Blancpain Ref. 5008D1130 B64A features a 40.3mm case Photo: Perkin Yu/ Wristcheck" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2625830c-e346-4ca3-9aec-edb44fb89964" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/1007/Blancpain No Rad %23604_132w (1).jpg" width="1568" />
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<h3>The Fifty Fathoms As We Know It</h3>

It’s no surprise that the Fifty Fathoms is one of the most luxurious dive watches on the market today. While keeping its functionality intact, the Fifty Fathoms has followed in Blancpain's footsteps in its ascent towards luxurious high-end haute horology. Thanks to Blancpain's desire to showcase its watchmaking credentials, the Fifty Fathoms' family has grown almost exponentially over the last several decades – adding newer variants with different complications, materials, colorways and dial designs to their catalogue.

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<img alt="Blancpain Fifty Fathoms &quot;No Radiations&quot; dial Photo: Phillips" data-caption="Circa 1965-1970, this is the 41mm Blancpain Fifty Fathoms with the &quot;No Radiations&quot; dial Photo: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.phillips.com/detail/blancpain/CH080116/118&quot;&gt;Phillips&lt;/a&gt;" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="527ce6a1-b8ee-40ec-96c0-957c85edc67e" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/1007/Edit Blancpain 50 Fathoms (2).png" width="1568" />
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Of course, with a history as rich as that of the Fifty Fathoms, it would be a shame if Blancpain didn't release historically significant variants offering collectors an accurate reinterpretation of the world's first dive watch. There have been several historically-inspired models of the Fifty Fathoms in the past but one that’s always been a crowd-puller is the "No Radiations" edition. Re-released twice since its introduction in the 1960s, it’s now a cult classic indeed.&nbsp;

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<h3>The No Radiations Story</h3>

Originally when the Fifty Fathoms was launched, its dial would have included radium paint as its luminescent material. However, by the turn of the 1960s, research into radioactive elements and their effect on the human body had indicated just how dangerous radium was. So it was no longer an acceptable material for watchmakers or any other company to use. As such, when Blancpain released the Fifty Fathoms as a commercially available timepiece, they wanted to showcase that their timepieces were not going to cause radium-induced sickness, so they marked their dials with the now-iconic "No Radiations" symbol at 6 o'clock. Eye-catching with its bright orange and yellow colors and distinctive radiation symbol, Blancpain had inadvertently created what has grown into one of their most iconic variants — one that was so much in demand that they launched a limited edition re-release in 2010, and another in 2021.

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<h3>The Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms No Radiations Ref. 5008D 1130 B64A</h3>

Launched as a modern 500-piece limited edition variant of the iconic "No Radiations," the ref. 5008D 1130 B64A is a faithful re-issue indeed. Constructed of stainless steel and featuring a 40.3mm case, just 0.7mm smaller than the original – much closer than the 45mm case of the 2010 model, the latest "No Radiations" Fifty Fathoms looks and wears somewhat similarly to its vintage predecessor. With a thinner profile, bulkier lugs and small crown guards, the new model is slightly more rugged though – a telling detail of Blancpain's modern watchmaking style whereby utility meets vintage inspiration.

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<img alt="Blancpain" data-caption="The Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms No Radiations Ref. 5008D 1130 B64A in the dark ©Blancpain" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6df4f812-0747-4a17-9ddb-473e26f952c4" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/1007/Edit Blancpain 50 Fathoms (4).png" width="1568" />
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Featuring the bright yellow and orange radiation symbol on its matte black dial with the inclusion of a soft orange faux patina atop its indices and in its bezel markings, the new "No Radiations" display looks rather similar to the original. Of course, there are some subtle differences, such as pencil-shaped hands instead of sword-shaped and a sapphire crystal bezel, which replaces the bakelite bezels that Blancpain had used in the original Fifty Fathoms. However, just like with its construction, these changes are relatively unnoticed at a glance and add a gentle tone of modern functionality to this icon.

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<img alt="Blancpain" data-caption="The latest &quot;No Radiations&quot; Fifty Fathoms is powered by the&amp;nbsp;ultra-slim automatic Cal. 1151 with a power reserve of 100 hours Photo: Perkin Yu/ Wristcheck" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ec4b1833-cbcc-4be4-a40a-8027d6276116" data-image-style="blog_inline_image" height="1046" src="https://wc-strapi.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/article_import/images/1007/Edit Blancpain 50 Fathoms (3).png" width="1568" />
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Featuring a white-rimed date function at 3 o'clock, a nod to the vintage references, the latest variant also has a tropical weave in its black rubber strap, another detail that was omitted from the 2010 model. 
 
Powered by the ultra-slim automatic Cal. 1151, the Ref. 5008D features an impressively long 100 hours of power reserve. Another detail of its modern construction is evident in the sapphire crystal caseback – something which watchmakers never used on a dive watch in the 1960s.

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<h3>Unsung Hero of the Dive World</h3>

Fueled by nostalgia, "icon" is a term we often bandy around in horological circles to elevate a watch’s status. I genuinely think the Fifty Fathoms is an icon that’s rather underrated by the watch community as a whole. While there are some vintage variants, and even modern ones, that do receive their fair share of plaudits, the hype around other dive watches is totally unjustifiable as compared to the Fifty Fathoms. 
 
With its rich history, plethora of interesting variants and notable designs, the Fifty Fathoms is an icon by just about every metric, as far as I am concerned. The latest 'No Radiations' variant pays the perfect homage to this collection's incredible history while also allowing Blancpain to showcase some of its modern watchmaking craftsmanship in a heritage-inspired design. In all honesty, the Ref. 5008D is a perfect homage to Blancpain's most iconic watch, with its unmistakable dial doing everything it can to help bring attention to watchmaking's best-kept not-so-secret secret.&nbsp;
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Blancpain Fifty Fathoms: The Dive World’s Unsung Hero

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