Swatch has unwittingly become the face of the collaborative era thanks to their clever positioning alongside other SWATCH Group stablemates, Omega and Blancpain. What started with MoonSwatch craze has grown to encompass Blancpain’s original dive watch, the Fifty Fathoms in the form of the Scuba, which was released with 5 variants celebrating each of the planet’s oceans in 2023. While plenty of fresh water sources of inspiration remain untapped, the latest 6th version of the Scuba sets its sights a bit further out, with a watch dubbed Ocean of Storms finding its footing in the moon.
Our moon boasts a decidedly drier environment than we enjoy here on earth, although water is present, it’s nowhere near liquid form (H2O molecules are embedded within, or perhaps sticking to the surface of, grains of lunar dust, according to NASA). Certainly nothing you’d need your dive gear to experience. Nevertheless, our earthly nomenclature made for suitable labels in mapping the moon’s surface, and one of its most prominent features, one that you can see with the naked eye in the right conditions, is the Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storm. This is a vast dark area situated along the western edge of the visible side of the moon, and it’s not the only feature of the moon that takes on sea-based naming (you may remember Apollo 11 landing in the Sea of Tranquility, or Mare Tranquillitatis).
This dark patch, Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storm is where the latest Blancpain x Swatch Scuba takes its inspiration, and the result is, well, a very familiar looking black dial and bezel with a black bioceramic case. This Scuba is far more grounded than the vibrant examples we saw released last year, and as a result, looks to be the most wearable of the bunch (though I’ll admit a soft spot for the Antarctic rendition). In fact, you’d be forgiven for mistaking this watch for a typical Fifty Fathoms at a glance. Upon closer inspection, and especially in the hand, things are a different story, as you might imagine given the considerable price differential.
The black bioceramic case measures a hare over 42mm, and 48mm from lug to lug, while the thickness clocks in at 14.4mm. This watch will offer plenty of presence on the wrist as a result, however the overall weight and hence wearability remains in check thanks to the materials at use. Inside resides a Sistem51 automatic movement, consisting of a mere 51 parts and held together by a central screw. Water resistance is still a key feature here with, you guessed it, a 50 fathoms depth rating, which is 91 meters, or 300 feet.
Those numbers, paired with the $400 price tag, make the Scuba Ocean of Storms a rather palatable dive watch option for all manner of uses, and one you might not mind banging around compared to a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. The watch adopts the handsome design of the classic Fifty Fathoms, gets a lightweight case and near disposable movement, making a compelling case for a kickaround watch. It is the most sober of the Scuba designs, which some may see as defeating the purpose of a watch like this, but in my view it makes the watch all the more usable, and hence practical.
If this is any indication of how we might see these collaborations continue, I believe we’re in for a solid continuation of this relationship, and the only thing I’m left wondering is which of the SWATCH Group brands will be next. Swatch.