Quick answer
A Blancpain Fifty Fathoms replica is a copy of a dive watch Blancpain released in 1953. Copies sell in three price tiers, from about $60 to about $900. No copy uses the genuine Blancpain caliber 1315. Most run a Miyota 9015 or an Asian copy of the ETA 2824. Case sizes on copies cluster between 43mm and 45mm, the same range as the current Fifty Fathoms Automatique line. The name comes from 50 fathoms, or 300 feet, or 91.4 meters.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Copy Guide: How to Judge a 1:1 Replica
Genuine reference points
- 1953: Blancpain built the Fifty Fathoms for French combat swimmers. Robert Maloubier and Claude Riffaud wrote the requirements.
- Modern Fifty Fathoms Automatique: 45mm and 43.6mm cases, caliber 1315, three mainspring barrels, 120-hour power reserve, silicon balance spring, 300m water resistance rating.
- Bathyscaphe: launched 1956, reissued in 2013 in 43mm and 38mm.
- Crystal: sapphire with anti-reflective coating on both faces on current references.
- Bezel: unidirectional, 60 clicks in most references, ceramic or sapphire insert with a luminous marker at 12.
Replica tiers
- $60 to $130: quartz or a DG2813 automatic, mineral or acrylic crystal, printed bezel insert, plated case.
- $150 to $350: Miyota 8215 or 9015, 316L stainless steel, sapphire crystal on the front, screw-down crown, aluminum or ceramic insert.
- $400 to $900: sold as "1:1" or "super clone." Sapphire with coating on both faces, clone 2824 or a Seagull or Hangzhou automatic, ceramic insert with lume pip.
The 1315 has three barrels and a 120-hour reserve. Replica movements run 38 to 42 hours. That gap is the fastest way to separate a copy from a genuine watch.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Replica Guide: Details, Sizing, Reality
What to inspect on a copy
- Date position. The Automatique places the date at 3 o'clock. Some Bathyscaphe references place it at 4:30.
- Lume color. Hands and markers should match under UV light.
- Bezel action and click count.
- Rotor engraving depth and font.
- Caseback gasket. Copies are not pressure tested to 300m. Assume splash resistance at most.
- Weight. A steel Automatique on a strap is about 120g. Copies with plated brass cases run lighter.
Legal note in the US
Blancpain holds registered trademarks on the brand name and model names. Under 18 U.S.C. section 2320, trafficking in counterfeit goods is a federal crime. U.S. Customs and Border Protection can seize shipments that carry a counterfeit mark. Personal purchases can be seized at import.