- 4/4/09
- 2,139
- 78
- 48
A long, long time ago, I can still remember when I bought my first real rep. And by "real" I mean a quality piece costing more than a hundred bucks, rather than a for-peanuts fake, bought furtively in a dark Kowloon alley, with a lifespan measurable in months. Instead of going the usual Noobmariner route, I decided that I wanted a Panerai rep by Davidsen. (Recall that DSN was near the leading edge of PAM reps at the time!) But while going through his photobucket, I saw that he'd started selling vintage Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, which is a watch I've long dreamed of owning. One wire transfer and a few weeks later, and I had it. I was happy, and wrote my first rep review.
Fast forward a couple of years and I noticed that I wasn't wearing the FF as much as I used to. I'd changed straps and bracelets countless times in an attempt to get the old spark back. It wasn't working; I'd been spoiled by newer, more accurate and labor-intensive builds like my Explorers and Daytonas. It also didn't help that the Blancpain's factory-fresh finish contradicted its supposed age. What to do?
I got my first bit of inspiration after seeing pictures of the Helson Skindiver, which is a Fifty Fathoms homage released earlier this year. It's a terrific looking watch, and a better FF proxy than the MkII Stingray or the Precista PRS-50, in my opinion. (Also the Corvus Bradley, which is really more of a TR-900 homage.) One detail I especially liked was the bezel: It was as (inaccurately) beefy as on the other modern homages, but its circumference was indented to suggest the delicate, jutting bezels of the original Blancpains.
And when I think "machined round metal objects", my first instinct is to contact jmb. So off the FF went to Justin, who protested that it was the ugliest watch he's ever worked on. (Blancpain fans, please send your letters to him.) Prying the bezel off was a tricky ordeal, which explains the tool marks. Nevertheless, the bezel was eventually removed, trimmed, and re-installed. It's still too tall, but the shelf visually thins it from most angles:
I also wanted to replace the crystal to make the bezel appear even less thick. Unfortunately, I had no luck finding suitable domes.
Next step: Age the dial. The vintage Blancpains had glossy black dials, but very few maintain a perfect sheen today. I reached out to the man who put the patina on my 4-line 5512, and ChiMan said yes. I sent him a few pictures of gens, hoping that one of them could serve as his model. This turned out to be the winner:
I was planning a vacation through the Rockies in September/October, and I'd made plans to meet up with C in Calgary. As soon as J finished his work on the case, he sent it up north. It arrived with one day to spare, and C amazingly finished his patination process in just one night.
Fine, fine work for a rush job! Even under the weak lights of The Keg, I was able to admire the quality.
The Fifty Fathoms is now near the top of my rotation again, thanks to a couple of very good guys. Big thanks to C and J for helping me out yet again.
KEEP IT UP!
