• Tired of adverts on RWI? - Subscribe by clicking HERE and PMing Trailboss for instructions and they will magically go away!

Quick review: New ZF Blancpain 5008 Tribute To Fifty Fathoms MIL-SPEC

evilgenius88

Plotting world domination
Supporter
Certified
11/4/07
589
593
93
Volcano Base
For many, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Mil-Spec is a grail watch. So when ZF recently released their take on the 2017 limited edition, I had to get one (from @jtimewatch in this case) and see if it was good. Spoiler alert: ZF pretty much nailed it.



Straight out of the crappy chinese shipping box, the first thing you notice is how it intuitively feels like a real Blancpain watch, something that few reps have been able to do for me. It feels luxurious, with polished and brushed surfaces that catch the light beautifully. The dimensions are impressively close to the original. Spot on diameter at 40.3mm and only 0.5mm thicker than the genuine Mil-Spec, the watch wears wonderfully. Even with the added thickness (13.5mm vs. 13mm), it’s hardly noticeable, even if you were to handle both the gen and the rep side by side.



For me, the sapphire lumed bezel insert is where ZF truly shines. The shape is accurate, the printing is razor-sharp, and the lume is powerful and perfectly matched to the dial and hands. The insert fits like a glove, with tolerances so tight that it feels like a piece of genuine Swiss craftsmanship. The bezel knurling itself is close, but if you are really nitpicky you'll notice that the milled teeth are a slightly different shape than the gen. The bezel action, is a different story. It feels cheap and sounds loud—a dead giveaway. However, it’s precise, with no play and perfect alignment. I'd rather have it this way, than the other way around.

Then there’s the sapphire crystal, which is as clear as they come. The AR coating is superb, rivaling even that of gen modern Omega pieces. Reading the dial is an absolute delight: it's already high-contrast by it's gen heritage. And now with zero glare and perfect transparency. It’s the kind of detail that makes you forget you’re dealing with a rep.



Speaking of the dial, ZF nailed it too. the execution is equally impressive. Sure, it's a bit easier as this gen design has no applied markers—replicating those flawlessly remains a tall order (looking at you, rep Aquanauts). But the printing here is razor-sharp and precise, and the subtle sunburst finish adds a touch of elegance. It’s one of those details that quietly whisper, “Yes, this is a Blancpain” fooling your intuition in all the right ways.

But, like all reps, there are tells. The biggest here are the white-painted hands: Beautifully finished and proportionally correct, but painted white instead of steel / white gold. The later Hodinkee Mil-Spec version had white hands, but that came with a different bezel and a few other changes. So, if you know your Blancpain limited releases, this will be an obvious "huh?" Personally, I love the look. If I were designing a Blancpain myself, I’d go with white hands. But the white handset is a curious choice from ZF, given how obsessively accurate they were elsewhere. And given how easy it would be for ZF. I get it that it's hard to replicate a GMT-Master BLRO II ceramic bezel - even Rolex struggles getting that right - but steel / plated handset is an easy default.

Then there’s the movement. ZF’s effort isn’t terrible; the Blancpain-style decorations are a nice touch. And now you can spot other big tell: the rotor engraved with “Ocean Commitment,” a clear part copy-paste from another ZF Blancpain rep. It’s one of those mistakes that’ll make any die-hard Blancpain enthusiast raise an eyebrow. Still, the movement is reliable enough for daily wear, and mine runs at about +3s/d in real life.



Moving to the strap, ZF includes a (20mm) sailcloth version that looks quite good but feels… like a low-quality chinese strap :) Rough and uncomfortable, it’s a strap you’ll want to replace immediately. I switched mine for my black Erika's Originals elasticated Marine Nationale strap. The elasticity balances the watch’s tall profile wonderfully. I’ve also got my eye on a regular pin buckle Artem sailcoth strap, especially as Artems were originally inspired by the Blancpain sailcloth straps.

And about those drilled lugs… From the outside, they look fine, but on the inside, they’re slightly misaligned, as if drilled at an angle. Functionally, they work for removing the (curved) spring bars, but the off-kilter look is a bit strange when the strap is off.





Size-wise, this watch hits the sweet spot. At 40.5mm, it’s smaller than most modern Fifty Fathoms models at least 42mm or even 45mm. On my 7-inch wrist, it wears comfortably, thanks to the short lug-to-lug length. Yes, it’s thick, and the case doesn’t hug the wrist—it sits tall and proud. But that’s part of the design: This is a luxuy grandchild of a military frogman grandfather, so it should keep the family resemblance. After all, 40mm FFs were considered oversized tools in the ’50s, so I think anything smaller than this wouldn't fit the Fifty Fathoms brand.

So is this worth the 400-450 bucks? Hell yeah IMHO! In the end, the ZF Mil-Spec is a replica that punches way above its weight. Epecially as the gen article currently sells between $15,000 and $20,000. Even if I won the lottery today, I don't know if I would swap this replica for a real 5008 Fifty Fathoms Mil-Spec. This is just one of those reps that feels so close, it really fools your intuitive side into believing that you have the real thing on your wrist. Sure, it’s not perfect, no rep ever is. But it gets so much right that it’s hard not to be impressed. So for anyone craving the Fifty Fathoms experience, at the right size, without the hefty price tag, this one’s worth a look.

Awesome:

1. Overall just feels luxurious and well-crafted.
2. Perfectly shaped, crisp, glowing bezel insert.
3. Precise printing with beautiful sunburst dial.
4. Lume is bright, equal, and long-lasting.

Not Great:

1. Handset is white, but should look white gold / steel colored.
2. Rotor incorrectly marked “Ocean Commitment.”
3. Bezel action feels cheap and loud.
4. Low-quality, uncomfortable sailcloth strap.
 
Last edited:

Hesekiel

Vintage Watch Enthusiast
Supporter
Certified
4/1/17
1,480
2,165
113
California
Thank you for this very informative review!

Your photography as well as your writing skills too punch well above their price point. I find the rotor choice the most disturbing, and I personally can't find a happy medium between a real vintage Blancpain tool watch and their blingy, contemporary 45mm luxury counterparts, but this one probably hits the sweet spot. Certainly something to ponder about.
 

Reaps

Learning something new everyday....
25/9/22
6,294
17,338
113
Great content. Thanks for the shots and opinion! I didn't notice the white hands but yeah, another ZF mistake. It's such a shame because they do so many things right but when it comes to details they shit the bed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VixLa3 and CF_Stan

evilgenius88

Plotting world domination
Supporter
Certified
11/4/07
589
593
93
Volcano Base
Thank you for this very informative review!

Your photography as well as your writing skills too punch well above their price point. I find the rotor choice the most disturbing, and I personally can't find a happy medium between a real vintage Blancpain tool watch and their blingy, contemporary 45mm luxury counterparts, but this one probably hits the sweet spot. Certainly something to ponder about.
Thank you for the appreciation, sir! Well, at least you don't see the rotor when you wear it on your wrist :LOL: - I think I'm kind of midway when it comes to replica watch OCD. So it definitely hurts, but it doesn't prevent me from enjoying the watch.
 

evilgenius88

Plotting world domination
Supporter
Certified
11/4/07
589
593
93
Volcano Base
Great content. Thanks for the shots and opinion! I didn't notice the white hands but yeah, another ZF mistake. It's such a shame because they do so many things right but when it comes to details they shit the bed.
Yeah, especially since I'm pretty sure that those hands are metal to begin with and then they were painted white. I would say the only reason for this to be is perhaps they already had produced a bunch of white hands and just decided to use up the stock? But still, for a factory like ZF, producing a set of hands is probably, what, $10 of cost per unit - if that?
 
  • Like
Reactions: CF_Stan and Reaps

repdoc3

Known Member
Supporter
Patron
Certified
19/3/24
126
151
43
NC
Great review and pics (please forgive my crappy old iPhone images). I’ve had mine for about a month now so I thought I would give my two cents. I love the look and it’s definitely a great way below the radar rep. I’m actually surprised they made this. It looks high quality and it’s a more wearable size than the usual Blancpain FF. Mine had an issue in that the fake hygrometer didn’t look exactly straight (went through a couple QCs and finally just said GL when it was “close enough”). Hardly noticeable unless you looked at it directly given all the indices (probably me being the typical anal watch collector) and a lot of the images of vintage Mil-Specs have slightly crooked hygrometers. BUT one of the biggest tells was the “painted” hygrometer. The actual Blancpain has a paper/fabric? insert that has some texture to it (I actual had my hands on an example of a similar type humidity marker from the 80’s from a diver friend for evaluation and it was paper). I modded the watch and added a (non-functional) textured paper insert. It was not easy (typical delicate watch work) but it looks pretty cool! I also upgraded to an Artem sailcloth strap. It looks almost the same as the one that came with the rep but is obviously of a much better quality. Searching on google showed that some gen owners prefer this one. A caveat is they are rather short IMHO. My wrist is 6.75” and although I do wear my watches slightly loose, the tail seems rather short so take that into consideration if you buy one (and they are pretty pricey too; but hey, this is supposed to be a pricey watch). They do show an XL version so my fault for not measuring and assuming there was any standardization between strap manufacturers. The nice thing is the clasp from the rep fits the Artem strap. I still hate the wrong engraving on the rotor. Wondering if this will be fixed with any V2 as it seems like a pretty easy fix. I also noted the hands were white and, like you said, this is appropriate to the Hoodinkie version. I sourced some replacement hands from Ali (never tried them on but I’m pretty sure they would fit) but the natural lume paint was off (too yellow) and I’m just too lazy to learn how to re-lume at this point in the year – haha. I actually find the white hands more functional with excellent visibility and the lume is good. The only other thing I found was that the grooves on the bezel are the wrong shape (the gen’s are rounded at the top; have a bullet shape). Not really evident unless viewed from the side. All in all, a great rep!
 

evilgenius88

Plotting world domination
Supporter
Certified
11/4/07
589
593
93
Volcano Base
Ooh that indeed looks sexy on the Artem sailcloth! Good to know they fit short, although I wonder whether that’s due to the FF having short lug-to-lug. Have you tried the Artem strap on any other watches?
 

repdoc3

Known Member
Supporter
Patron
Certified
19/3/24
126
151
43
NC
Ooh that indeed looks sexy on the Artem sailcloth! Good to know they fit short, although I wonder whether that’s due to the FF having short lug-to-lug. Have you tried the Artem strap on any other watches?
I have not. Just got it Monday. I’ll have to check it out!
 
  • Like
Reactions: evilgenius88

CF_Stan

CF/FC, ZrO2, PVD/DLC STupid fAN
Patron
Certified
14/6/23
2,893
14,533
113
UK
@evilgenius88 Thank you for taking the time to post that. Excellent review and great quality images. Enjoy your watch mate ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: VixLa3

Baklava

Getting To Know The Place
14/9/23
23
8
3
Paris
Thanks for the review . Quite interesting. It really made me want to get one , especially after seeing a gen this weekend :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: VixLa3

kiasunkiasi

Active Member
16/6/23
343
348
63
Malaysia
nice photos and review

I have, and still, prefer not to buy rep with open caseback :ROFLMAO:
now I need to get my ZF FF out from drawer and give it some wrist time
 

Jackster

I'm Pretty Popular
Supporter
Certified
8/1/17
1,595
1,316
113
Paradise! (SE Qld)
What an awesome write up, I felt I could be reading a quality review from that well known internationally acclaimed Replica Watch magazine 'Beautiful Time Pieces for the financially challenged'!

And those photos... wow!

Really nicely done, congratulations on a lovely piece of work.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VixLa3

Horace_Derwent

I'm Pretty Popular
Supporter
Certified
7/1/13
1,681
2,869
113
Cyberspace
Movement would be a 2813?
Good question, InTime lists it as a 'All in One Super Clone Movement'


Puretime , more realistically, list it as a 23J decorated to BPN 1151


Trustytiem also list it as a 23J, so it think it IS actually an Asian 23J decorated

 

repdoc3

Known Member
Supporter
Patron
Certified
19/3/24
126
151
43
NC
Just a follow up. I’ve been giving it a fair amount of wrist time and really find the size very wearable and have been happy with my purchase. The strap it comes with isn’t terrible but I did upgrade to the Artem sailcloth rubber strap. Word of caution. A lot of times I do the coffee cup trick to soften and shape rubber straps. Don’t do it with this as the sailcloth will become unglued. Artem sent me a replacement after this happened!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Reaps

Reaps

Learning something new everyday....
25/9/22
6,294
17,338
113
I thought Sail Cloth was waterproof?
 

Repplay

Getting To Know The Place
18/10/24
29
12
3
Thanks for the review! awesome pictures, magazine worthy
My grail watch is the hodinkee iteration, I think it shouldn´t be difficult for them to do it, using this as a base.
But the " ocean commitment " engraved, and even more important, the white hands, are mistakes that I can´t understand, especially considering how easy would have been to do it right.
anyway, the dial looks amazing, the lume is super nice. I am considering the Barakuda version.
 
  • Like
Reactions: repdoc3