Another Blancpain and Swatch Watch Just Dropped

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The Blancpain and Swatch Scuba Fifty Fathoms was one of the most desirable and talked-about collaborations of 2023. The partnership brought the toolsy, luxe Fifty Fathoms diver from Blancpain all the way down to $400 and outfitted the watch in a series of bright colors inspired by sea slugs. But it appears Swatch and Blancpain are extending their situationship into something more long-term. The pair just announced a new model dubbed, epically, “OCEAN OF STORMS.”

The Ocean of Storms is less playful than the previous watches to come out of this partnership. While other pieces took their colorways from neon-hued sea slugs, this black-on-black-on-black version of the watch finds more celestial inspiration. This model looks toward a “sea” on the western edge of the near side of the moon known as Oceanus Procellarum. (The watch, thankfully, does still have a sea slug on the back: the Okenia Luna native to Peru.)

This is a clever way for Blancpain and Swatch to extend their current lineup. The rest of the watches are each named for one of Earth’s five oceans. This new watch is also cheekily inspired by an “ocean”—it just so happens to be one that takes up 2 million square kilometers on the moon.

Finding inventive ways to continue their blockbuster collaborations is now a Swatch specialty. Last year, the brand rolled out multiple special editions of the Omega MoonSwatch inspired by the different moons. This often involved switching a hand out for ones adorned with strawberries or pink-gold tips. It seems like the astral inspiration for this Scuba Fifty Fathoms is merely coincidental but I wouldn’t be surprised if Blancpain and Swatch discovered increasingly exotic “oceans” to name new models after.

Unlike the Omega MoonSwatch that were released last year, the Ocean of Storms will not be a limited edition. The watch will enter the regular lineup on January 11th. This new edition came out of nowhere and it’s going to be exciting to see how Blancpain and Swatch continue to play with the Scuba Fifty Fathoms over the rest of the year.

Originally Appeared on GQ