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Blancpain: rising of the dead

maximfrei

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Hey mates, in this topic I just want to share with you my love to Blancpain Fifty Fathoms.

The story of my watch is not new, but still I will be glad if you read till the end.

I bought this Blancpain Fifty Fathoms from ZF last summer in July and that was my 2nd high-end rep after Noob's Rolex Submariner. I got deeply in love when first saw this Blancpain and was thinking about Noob V2 and ZF. So I chose the latter one due to better finishing as many of you wrote about and enjoyed this piece of art. Later due to some circumstances I had to sell it in M2M here and after a week without this watch I began to regret selling it.

But recently I saw my watch here on RWI and of course I wanted it back and bought it again, but when it arrived it was totally dead. However, it was stated it is in a working condition.

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But the watch was full of dust, condensate and water inside the movement and with the broken stem (I didn't know these things unless I opened the caseback and was shocked LOL).

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I thought it would have been better if I bought a new one LOL and throw this one away, but it previosuly was my watch and I really appreciate it and memories. So I took it to a watchsmith.

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So we opened it and I heard an awful sentence that it is dead. No rubber ring (or how is it called?) and the water came inside.

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A small remark about ZF QC: do you guys see that glue on a datewheel? It is almost invisible when on the hand, but still a disappointing thing.

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We decided to buy SWISS ETA2836-2 and don't touch the glue on a datewheel. However, we painted a but some very-very small dots.

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Also we painted the date aperture on the dial in black, so I don't have a common white tell when looking at an angle.

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Then we worked a bit on a face. You see at my QC that 12 and 6 are misaligned. I still approved the watch but in reality it drove me crazy a bit LOL.

IMG-3642-proc.jpg

So we aligned these markers and it looks much better.

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But you know that another typical tell of ZF (gen also has this problem) is the date when you see the tail of the next or the previous one.

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We just reglued the date wheel overlay and now it is perfect.

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The movement was also serviced.

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And put into the watch. Looks very solid I must admit haha

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The watch being checked and the parameters are not bad.

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And finally this beauty is polished and ready.

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Conclusion: of course nothing new here but I now start to appreciate the watch much more and really enjoy it. I wanted it back and now it has a swiss heart, the dial that is painted and aligned, the datewheel with a perfect look. Waterproofed 5 ATM.

I also ordered a Blancpain rubber strap because mine was sold. The cost of the strap is 80-90 usd among TDs, but I ordered the same one from Aliexpress. I hope it will arrive soon and have logos and like ZF does, but it is 3 times cheaper LOL.

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Thanks for reading guys! Any comments will be much appreciated!
 
Last edited:

freediver

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nice restoration and nice story !

I do enjoy my FF like you a lot

Where did your watchsmith find a gasket for the case back ? (that rubber ring you said was missing)
 

maximfrei

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nice restoration and nice story !

I do enjoy my FF like you a lot

Where did your watchsmith find a gasket for the case back ? (that rubber ring you said was missing)

Thank you!

Unfortunately, I don't know. He just told me that he was lucky to the find one. Is it that rare?
 
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wildrabbit

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Nicely done!
I am doing this right now with my Fifty - I agree, it would not be too difficult to make these these water resistant, even for a rep.
 
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mgberns

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Wow, how much did the restore project cost you? I'm assuming the movement alone if bought new was close to 200, and the labor atleast 150? Almost the price of a new watch?
 
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maximfrei

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Wow, how much did the restore project cost you? I'm assuming the movement alone if bought new was close to 200, and the labor atleast 150? Almost the price of a new watch?

Thank you. The question was whether to take a new ETA or a used one. We decided to take the used one cause it cost 135 USD (new one cost 200). And the cost of the work 200 USD. So totaly ETA + work = 335 USD.

Yeah I know it is very stupid, because it is much easier to buy a new watch with ETA installed (I heard TORO could do it for extra price), but I was so happy that MY watch returned to me, that I don't regret spending so much money on this restoration. The watch was back and cost me (M2M purchase here) 125 USD. So total with the watch is 460 USD. But nevertheless I am extremely happy!!!
 

maximfrei

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So for 460 USD it is fully serviced, aligned and with ETA. And mine!
 

hanski

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This is a great story! I’m glad you fixed the watch in lieu of tossing it away.
RE: the gasket - if it’s a black, rubber band, it’s very common. If it’s a different shape or made of a unique material - it’s a little less common.
 
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mgberns

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Not bad considering sentimental value. It's one of those things ZF QC is already pretty bad, so it's a luck game if ylu went the new watch route.

Did the dial manage to stay mint with all the condensation of the inside? I know those dials can scratch pretty easily.

I have a ZF fifty fathoms in pieces waiting for a movement, also with a new dial that ended up being imperfect. Such is life.

Though this unknown factory Fifty Fathoms Jtime is offering seems to have superb QC...
 
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Romeo oscar

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Nice story and experience. I myself also very ocd. Dont you feel anoyed with the difference of the lume colour between the hands and marker ? Because i do. The lume in the hands are whiter than the markers that i think are too green
 
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maximfrei

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@mgberns Do you know when this super rep will be released?
@Romeo oscar You know I even don't pay attention to it... today I will check if there is any difference LOL
 

scottr

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So, better movement and serviced, water tested, date wheel cleaned up and polished....you now have a nice watch for the money imho. Great story!
 
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mgberns

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maximfrei Jtime promoted it for a while. It's currently available. It's well built, but the crystal is missing the purple hue. But at the same time, I'm not sure if the 2019 gens still have the hue...
 
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maximfrei

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scottr The datewheel still has glue, I am not sure I can clean it properly. And it seems impossible to find one from ZF...
mgberns so is it possible to order?
 

mgberns

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Yep. Have had mine for about 2 months. From all the reps I've had, it's either their build quality is good or jtimes's qc is good, or possibly both. The movement feels very smooth and it's keeping <+5s a day...

20190829-143906-2.jpg


..none the less, it's still a rep and there are some things you just gotta live with!
 
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maximfrei

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@mgberns sorry for off top, but where did you order it? Please share the link here or in PM.

I only read about that rep, but no TD has it... how does it feels? Finishing compared to ZF? Price? Please share
 

mgberns

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As stated, JTime, which is a TD here..

Finishing wise it looks the part, it has some stuff associated with the rep world, such as rough finishing on hour/minute hands, but very minor compared to other QC issues by other factories..

I've never had a ZF rep that hasn't needed some sort of repair..

When it comes to the Fifty Fathoms, I've owned all of them, from Noob v1 to ZF to this custom premium version..the Noob v1 had a few blatant flaws, but the crystal on them were amazing...ZF as well too, some minor flaws, addressed some short comings of the Noob v1 but the first released ZFs seemed to have better crystals than the later released ones. Apparently the latest batch has a better crystal?

This custom premium one..the biggest missing thing is the purple hue on the crystal. There is no tint whatsoever. As marketed, that's supposedly a plus side, so I'm uncertain if they may or may not be modeling after a gen 2019 model. Some instagram pictures I see of newer fifty fathoms, it's hard to tell if the tint is present or not..

If I had to go stock on a Fifty Fathoms, I'm get a really good QC'd ZF depending crystal situation. But getting an extremely good ZF QC in my eyes is like hitting the lottery.

If I had the ability to mix match parts ..
Midcase ZF (has slightly wider lug holes which let the lug screws be a little more recessed)
Bezel+bezel insert Custom Premium
Dial ZF (it's a toss up, but ZF looks blacker)
Datewheel ZF
Hands Custom Premium
Crystal Noob v1

The rep straps in my opinion feel like crap compared to the gen sailcloth which has a retail of right under 300 USD..
 
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maximfrei

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Many thanks. I already found that rep. Many pics will be appreciated lol

As stated, JTime, which is a TD here..

Finishing wise it looks the part, it has some stuff associated with the rep world, such as rough finishing on hour/minute hands, but very minor compared to other QC issues by other factories..

I've never had a ZF rep that hasn't needed some sort of repair..

When it comes to the Fifty Fathoms, I've owned all of them, from Noob v1 to ZF to this custom premium version..the Noob v1 had a few blatant flaws, but the crystal on them were amazing...ZF as well too, some minor flaws, addressed some short comings of the Noob v1 but the first released ZFs seemed to have better crystals than the later released ones. Apparently the latest batch has a better crystal?

This custom premium one..the biggest missing thing is the purple hue on the crystal. There is no tint whatsoever. As marketed, that's supposedly a plus side, so I'm uncertain if they may or may not be modeling after a gen 2019 model. Some instagram pictures I see of newer fifty fathoms, it's hard to tell if the tint is present or not..

If I had to go stock on a Fifty Fathoms, I'm get a really good QC'd ZF depending crystal situation. But getting an extremely good ZF QC in my eyes is like hitting the lottery.

If I had the ability to mix match parts ..
Midcase ZF (has slightly wider lug holes which let the lug screws be a little more recessed)
Bezel+bezel insert Custom Premium
Dial ZF (it's a toss up, but ZF looks blacker)
Datewheel ZF
Hands Custom Premium
Crystal Noob v1

The rep straps in my opinion feel like crap compared to the gen sailcloth which has a retail of right under 300 USD..
 

maximfrei

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Today I have received the rubber strap from Aliexpress. The quality is the same that ZF does LOL. And the price is 3 times cheaper haha

 

mgberns

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I think the Barton bands straps in 23mm may be a good fit for the fifty fathoms..

And it's not surprising that a dhgate strap is the same quality, as the 'factories' only really assemble and they order their parts from subcontractors. Prices on additions/parts are really dealer dependent. For example, for a bracelet for another watch, one dealer quoted me 130, while I was able to get the same one from the same 'factory' for 55.
 
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