It’s fair to say the Swatch x Blancpain Fifty Fathoms collab hasn’t made quite the same splash as the MoonSwatch did with Omega. But quietly, patiently, Swatch has been chipping away with hit after hit. Ocean of Storms, Blue Lagoon, Pink Ocean… all solid. But the new one? Green Abyss. It might just be the best yet.
The Green Abyss is a stunner. The case and bezel come in a deep, swampy green Bioceramic with a black resin insert.
There’s a splash of sandy beige on the water contact indicator, a proper military-issue-style complication originally used in 1950s Blancpain MIL-SPEC models to detect moisture and ensure water resistance. It’s right there at 6 o’clock on the black-green dial, and I think it looks great.
The lume is a vintage radium-style Super-LumiNova, giving the watch a military-inspired retro dive watch vibe.
Swatch’s SISTEM51 movement ticks inside – mechanical, self-winding, and made with just 51 parts. It’s not haute horology (like the pieces found in our best watch guide), but it is a clever bit of mass-produced Swiss engineering with a solid 90-hour power reserve and anti-magnetic tech, thanks to the Nivachron hairspring.
Flip it over and you’ll spot the Felimare picta nudibranch – also known as the Regal Sea Goddess – digitally printed on the rotor. Not just a fancy name; it’s a bright sea slug that lives deep underwater and ties into the whole ocean-explorer vibe of the Scuba Fifty Fathoms collection.
The strap is a two-piece NATO made from recycled fishing nets, and features the same colours as the case, dial and lume.
The Swatch x Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Green Abyss is available from June 7 in select Swatch stores (it’s still one-per-person-per-day).
At $400 in the US and £350 in the UK, it’s not exactly cheap for a Swatch, but I can see this latest Scuba Fifty Fathoms model being very popular indeed. The Blancpain x Swatch collab has finally found its groove – and Green Abyss is my favourite model yet.
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