Nowadays, high-tech ceramics have become the new favorite elements of watchmaking due to bright luster, high hardness, no rust and discoloration, chemical stability and so on. However, even if ceramic watch is easy to wear, never fades, and does not hurt the skin and other series of advantages, I still do not have a good impression on them.
So when I first saw this watch, I only thought it was a low-key chronograph watch without notice that it was a ceramic watch. Instead of the characters from ceramic: sleek and delicate, it has a sharp edge and a rigid texture with metal. I never thought that the ceramic could own such a “sharp” edge, even for other brands of ceramic watches that I have seen.
Blancpain Bathyscaphe fly-back chronograph uses matte treatment to minimize the inconvenience caused by reflections offering the better display of functions. 43mm diameter black dial has a reasonable distribution: between 4 and 5 o’clock is calendar, 3 o’clock is 30 minutes dial, 9 o’clock is 12 hours dial, 6 o’clock is small second dial with luminous dot at hand. The sail-shaped luminous hands and button markers can provide time even in dark environment.
Highlights of the Blancpain 5066F-1140-52B watch
First, liquid metal ceramic bezel
This bezel is filled with a Liquidmetal® alloy markers in a pre-engraved ceramic bezel.
Liquidmetal is a liquid metal, which is an alloy of five metals: zirconium, titanium, copper, nickel and aluminum. It is solid at normal temperature and is no different from ordinary metal. But it is a mixture of a variety of metal amorphous alloys, the physical properties are very similar to glass. There is no fixed melting point (it will gradually soften when high temperature is high), but there is no crystal boundary.
Liquidmetal has the advantages of high gloss, high hardness, high elasticity, high corrosion resistance, and its special structure can be seamlessly integrated with the ceramic bezel.
This proves that Blancpain has never paid attention to the appearance while abandoned the pursuit of the historical value and fundamental functional principles.
Second, F385 automatic mechanical movement
A professional watch is naturally accompanied by a professional movement.
This watch is equipped with a F385 self-winding movement, which was modified from several internationally awarded F185 movements. And it provides a power reserve of 50 hours. What’s more, it provides excellent fly-back timing. The owner can immediately return to zero and restart the timer function by pressing the button at 4 o ‘clock, so as to realize rapid timing for multiple times. This is definitely the top-of-the-line automatic timing movement of Swatch.
In addition, it guarantees 300 meters of water resistance, ensuring the safety of underwater operation. The watch also features an anti-magnetic function that protects the movement from ubiquitous magnetic fields, ensuring precise time.
