Introducing the Blancpain Tribute Fifty Fathoms “No Rad”
Blancpain has just released a limited edition that is a tribute to the vintage Fifty Fathoms “No Rad”. This new watch is a perfect recreation of its Fifty Fathoms RPG 1 model, which later came to be known as “BUND No Rad” produced in the 1960s and which equipped the “Kampfschwimmer”, the elite German frogman commando unit.
The history of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms begins a little further back in time and around the 1950s when it produced what was to be one of the first true diving watches, a few years before the appearance of the iconic Rolex Submariner and the Omega Seamaster 300. Thus in 1953, it is the watch chosen to be used by the French Combat Swimmers and from there it starts to equip many other armed forces around the world.
This model that presents itself as a tribute to the aforementioned RPG 1 has as its main feature the radiation logo on the dial in yellow and red tones marked with a cross and with the inscription below “No Radiation”. Fifty Fathoms RPG 1 was thus one of the first watches that stopped using the “radium” as a luminescence that contained radioactive properties, it was a time when great concerns about the harmful effects that radiation could produce on health. In a natural way, substitutes for the “radium” are beginning to appear and it is in this sense that Blancpain anticipates and gives rise to RPG 1.
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tribute “No Rad” has a stainless steel case with a very wearable size of 40.3 mm diameter, a unidirectional bezel with a 60-minutes scale filled with faux patina luminescence. On the matte black dial, round, baton and diamond hour indexes with faux patina the same luminescence material that we can see on the hands, date window at 3 o’clock with a white frame and the “No Radiation” symbol at 6 o’clock consisting of three red segments on a yellow background with a black cross. The In-house self-winding movement, Caliber 1151 power the watch, which features a silicon balance spring and offers up to 100 hours of power reserve supported majorly by the two barrels, it’s movement is possible to be observed through the case back glass where we can see the 18k gold (coated with platinum) rotor that has a cartouche-shaped aperture. Lastly, the watch comes with a black “Tropic” rubber strap, a very appreciate material among divers thanks to its comfort and durability.
Fortunately for those who manage to acquire it and unfortunately for those who fail to grab one of them, it’s a limited edition of only 500 pieces, that should be sold out in a very short period of time, the watch is available for € 13,290.
Final thoughts, it’s a stunning watch with a vintage look, unfortunately not so much appreciate as the Submariner and even the Seamaster, with a perfect size of 40mm with curved and small lugs that increase the wearability of this timepiece, the faux patina in this watch, in my opinion, is a perfect match, so, if you are looking for a true tool watch that fits even in a suit, you should run and try to get one of this treasures.
General Specifications:
Brand: Blancpain
Model: Tribute Fifty Fathoms No Rad
Reference: 5008D-1130-B64A
Dial: Black
Lume: Yes
Case Material: Stainless steel
Case Dimensions: 40.3 mm diameter, 13.23 mm thickness
Crystal: Sapphire Glass
Case Back: Sapphire Glass
Water Resistance: 300 Meters
Strap: Black “Tropic” rubber strap
Caliber: 1151
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 21,600 Vph
Jewels: 28
Power Reserve: 100 hours
Price: € 13,290
Limited Edition: Yes, 500 pieces
