Blancpain Fifty Fathoms X Fathoms Titanium Limited Edition on Rubber Strap, Black Dial with Bold green colored luminous painted hour markers in a combination of Arabic Numeral & dots. Uni-directional turning dive bezel with green colored luminous markings covered with a highly scratch-resistant Sapphire Crystal cap which protects it from scratches & nicks. The X Fathoms features a metallic membrane that senses water pressure changes which then translates those changes into an accurate depth reading via a complex mechanism. The water makes contact with the membrane through a series of grille opening in the watch case.

The 55.65mm diameter solid three-body titanium case, rubber-clad hooded screwed lugs, and flat black bezel, are polished/brushed. It has a unidirectional rotating sapphire-coated bezel with luminous Arabic numeral dive times at the quarter hours and with a diamond at the 60-minute mark. The dial is Black with luminous painted Arabic Numeral hour markers at the quarter hours, and luminous dot indices. It has luminous pointed titanium baton hands, a maximum recorded depth hand with a luminous dot and needle tip, and there is a yellow retrograde 5-minute arched counter for decompression between 10 and 11 o’clock, which is started by pressing the button on the case band at 10 o’clock. The outer depth indicator scale to 15 meters is in luminous blue with an arrowhead tip. The depth indicator meter from 0 to 90 meters is at the center of the dial in yellow, with a luminous yellow arrow hand. The flip-up fully protected button at the 8 o’clock position resets the maximum recorded depth hand. There is a 120-hour power reserve at full winding, it’s water resistant to 300 meters/1000 feet, and the 24mm thick case, dial, and movement are all signed. It includes an injected rubber strap which has 14 articulated components to ensure a perfect fit on the wrist and still allow water to seep in under the watch in order to make contact with the depth gauge membrane. It has a screw down solid case back with a metallic membrane that senses water pressure changes; three triangular grill openings (also the X Fathoms emblem) on the case back combine to give an accurate depth reading to 90 meters. 

This Blancpain X Fifty Fathoms 5018-1230-64A has a mechanical automatic self-winding Blancpain caliber 9918b ((base Blancpain Caliber 1315) movement. It’s rhodium plated with perlage finishing and it’s constructed with a silicon balance spirng, a monometallic balance adjusted to 5 positions, and three mainspring barrels mounted in series. It includes 48 jewels, an anti-shock system, and 411 components. The mechanism oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 vph (4Hz). The Blancpain X Fathoms 5018-1230-64A was introduced in a limited edition. Long-time diver and Blancpain CEO Mark A. Hayek conceived of the design.

Blancpain is one of the oldest watch brands in the world, with its origins dating back to 1735. In the early 1900s, they partnered with British watchmaker John Harwood to sell the industry’s first automatic watches. That’s a significant milestone on its own, however their real “claim to fame” came in 1953, they launched the Fifty Fathoms in partnership with the French combat diving corps. The first automatic dive watch, it was named for the maximum depth a diver at the time could descend using an oxygen mix in the tank.

The Blancpain X Fathoms reference 5018-1230-64A is perhaps the most complicated purpose-built dive watch ever crafted from one of the most storied brands in watchmaking.