After writing on the Baltic Aquascaphe a few weeks ago, I started thinking back to the original watch that inspired it: the Blancpain Bathyscaphe. Historically, the Bathyscaphe was something of the younger brother to the famed Fifty Fathoms series, the original model designed in 1952 for the French Navy? an industry -changing dive watch known for both its excellent design and diving capabilities. The Bathyscaphe, in comparison, was a few millimeters smaller, significantly less popular, and ultimately discontinued about a decade or so later. Needless to say, it was not the most successful watch ever produced by the Swiss brand. However, the Bathyscaphe name has been revived in the modern era as something of a sub-series within the larger Fifty Fathoms collection, primarily used as a canvas for more experimental designs compared to the more traditional Fifty Fathoms watches.  
Today, we come to one of those most recent designs brought to market by the brand in the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Day Date 70s. The piece is inspired by a 1970s Fifty Fathoms watch (pictured below). Housed in a 43-mm brushed steel standard Bathyscaphe case, it?s distinguished by its large crown, wide 23-mm lugs, and trademark diamond-topped unidirectional black diving bezel. On the black-to-gray fumé dial, the vintage traits shine through; on the outer edge is a charmingly clunky minute ring with squared off and red-accented Arabic numerals for every five minutes, a printed triangle at the ...