Why So Serious?

Op/Ed: (S)watches are supposed to be fun

(Photo: Bloomberg)

The big news in the watch world this past week was the release of the Blancpain x Swatch “Scuba Fifty Fathoms.” For those who’ve been taking a hiatus from the news, or don’t keep a finger of the pulse of all things horological (shame on you!), the “BlancSwatch” is yet another high-low mashup that brings together two brands in the Swatch Group stable, similar to the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch of 2022. Again it’s a Bioceramic cased Swatch that takes design cues from a decidedly higher end watch. In the case of the MoonSwatch, it was an Omega Speedmaster and this time, Swatch goes even higher up the horological ziggurat with a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. I won’t go into all the details of the watch since every single watch publication, social media outlet, and YouTuber has covered the set of five Scuba Fifty Fathoms watches extensively. What I’ve been more interested in, and perhaps a little disheartened by, is the furor and hand-wringing that has followed this release. That has made me wonder yet again why people take this stuff so seriously.