Your point about replacing movements is really well made; people freak out about this with lots of movements like the Powermatic 80, and the reality is that their beloved Seikos are also getting their movement swapped out. For cheap watches, it just doesn't make sense to service.

It doesn’t matter good or bad. Same as the MoonSwatch, this is the cheapest new watch with an authentic “BLANCPAIN” brand logo on it. People are buying for the brand, not quality. That’s the nature of luxury industry.

Thank you for such a frank critique.

I find these interesting, but there are SO many other, more well made watches I would rather get for $400 - PRX Quartz, Seiko 5 GMT (or presage / prospex), Yema Rallygraf, tons of microbrands. These Swatches have their place in the market, and they do successfully get new collectors into the hobby. But for me, and other experienced collectors, these are not all that attractive

It would be interesting if someone swapped out the System 51 movement with a quartz movement. I would be tempted to buy one these in quartz, put on a tropical rubber strap, and use it once in a while and know the time was accurate.

I still want one & may come to NY to get one I'm still waiting on a watch from T&H they have been on vacation we'll see how things go . Thanks for the update Chris 👍

Do you think the white resist or change the colour ?

Well done best most fun review in a long time those are the best straps of their kind on the market

Wearing my Helm Miyako right now, its the same price as this. Couldnt be happier with my choice, its incredibly tough and well built. Great on leather straps

Interesting observations. Agreed $400 is a bit much for this watch but none the less I got my Antarctic this past Saturday. Really like the way it looks, so much better than the moonswatch and surprisingly easier to get one. Tried to get one at the Tokyo store but no luck there, but the Honolulu store had the only one I wanted, the Antarctic.

The white one looks great on that green Artem strap 🔥

I thought I noticed the seconds hand jump early in the video on the white one. It did it again at 15:09. It jumped a second and a half in a millisecond. I wonder if that's what was going on during the timegrapher testing.

So, it's a plastic watch which will break, you can't wear it every day, you have to change the straps and bars (more expense) the movement is unreliable and it costs $400. I'm failing to see the attraction.

The convenience of nato strap replacement makes this watch quite an everyday city watch i think, at least more durable & sweat-friendly than leather strap. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms brand itself is already quite a worthy buy.

You need to "donate" one of the watches and try to open it up and see if the movement really is possible to change. To many questions to whether it is possible to be done...

Offtopic chris: could you tell me what your opinion is about the brand frederique constant? Are they worth the money?

👍👍👍 Nice Watch tiny controversy and Ascension Review from WatchChris 👍👍👍

Thank you for the motor replacement info..Yes, I guess we ARE paying $100's more for the Blancpain logo.

I really like the Atlantic Ocean one and with an Artem sailcloth, very nice! I always wanted a Swatch Sistem 51 but $400??? Not sure it's worth that, especially when you can't order online. There's not a Swatch store within 400 miles of where i live! I'd rather spend my money on awell spec'd microbrand.

6:09 what do you mean by "swap the movement is not a big deal"?! the movement can be serviced, although difficult because of that one screw, but how do you get to it? This case is not openable! there is only one way to get to the movement - by breaking the case.

I've heard conflicting claims about whether you can actually remove the caseback on these. Some say it's glued on. If you could actually replace the movement it would be a big plus for the watch, although it's still priced a bit high at $400 IMO. Like the MoonSwatch, it's not for me at all, but I'm happy for everyone who's enjoying these.

good review and agree.

What size is the strap? 21mm. Thx

I have the green Indian Ocean model. I wear mine daily and think it’s a great watch. Light (I usually wear titanium), classic design in a funky modern color, beautiful dial. The stock nato isn’t my thing, but no natos are. And it’s worth the money. No more in my opinion

"We'll talk about wether or not this watch is worth the 400 dollar price tag" Yeah, its definitely not 😂😂😂😂

Nice job with the review. However, many other reviews, state that the movement absolutely cannot be serviced because the case is essentially glued together?

I would like to see your vintage Blankpain

Great review. I got the same two in Miami. But tbh the strap colors you put are pretty off!! 😂

can you do a video one day with a swapped seiko movement maybe. it would be interesting

How can you say the Moonswatch is overpriced? They have sold a million so far, there are still queues for them and they still can’t make enough after a year. That sounds like a watch where everyone is happy with the price…or is it me 🤔

I was watching a deep sea documentary and mine just imploded.

you're the only person reporting that this watch is serviceable. What evidence do you have of a removable case back?

What were you going to say about the Snap-On case back? Have you tried to open it? I'm still in 2 minds if I will get this when I eventually comes to my Country 🇧🇭 as plastic doesn't last in my climate and I've heard a S.51 may break after 2 years (what have you heard?).

So you can open the back of this watch and swap the movement? I thought it was sealed and you had to break it to open it? So if you did manage to do it, you would likely have other issues with stuff like the water resistance.

The Sistem51 movement is developed by ETA and has an excellent power reserve and acceptable accuracy. The Sistem51 movement has a maintenance-free service life of 20 years. The watch case is not made of plastic but of a combination of ceramic and resin which makes the case very robust. Blancpain wouldn’t even be alive if not for the swatch group and no matter how many people say blancpain is so good NO ONE ordinary knows them AT ALL. ALSO Tissot also sells many mechanical watches with unserviceable movements. It's not unique to this watch.

“There are watchmakers out there that will service this movement, they’ll just swap it out” That’s not servicing, that’s replacing the movement. Also where do you think watchmakers are going to get the movement from because Swatch ain’t giving them it. If anything you’ll have to send it to Swatch and they’ll just replace the entire watch and toss the old one in the bin

You mentioned that you can open up the caseback and service the watch if you want to? I thought the caseback was fused to the case, so you can’t actually open the case without breaking it? Maybe I’m wrong?

I don't trust any plastic watch that isn't a Casio and possibly a Luminox.

WOW!! And Blancpain put their name on it 😔

Chris, nice vid as always. Now, as for the watches, I will paraphrase what you say, "You are paying for the Blancpain name". So on this model the caseback is snap on, so you are able to actually open it, at least that is a good thing. If I were to have one, once the 51 movement would give out, I would replace it with a better movment. Anyway, keep up the nice work!

Very fair comments

No matter what they look like, $400 is a bad joke for these disposable watches.

Great video. I wish you can do a video on the swatch reselling of these watches on ebay. Im aware of two stores selling their stock on ebay at inflated prices. One in the uk as well as one store in Canada. They stock large amounts of watches and pretty much every model. Not the typical reseller that waited all night to buy a watch and make a quick buck. This is organized by the swatch stores.

Great video and I love the stripes you have on those watches, but I don’t like the this price. The watches are way over priced. Just think about all the watches you can get for $400. If it was,under $150 I would go for it.

You are again misinformed about the caseback. It’s not ‘snap on’ and removable to the extend that you can change the movement and put the caseback back on. The back is factory glued and shut. If you insist you can ‘snap’ these off and on, please demonstrate 😂

The Arctic's movement jumps around so much to be consistent with its more vintage theme. They wanted it to feel like a poorly maintained vintage watch.

Really like these cool watches. But at this price point, to have a plastic front crystal is a joke. The hex screws for the bands. The cheap movement with the absurdly over decorated back. Very far away from what you should get from Blancpain !

Overpriced, plastic, obsolescence programed movement... but they look very cool, specially the Artic one with the Artem strap. And probably this one gonna get you a lot pf hour conversation and appeal 😄 anyway I don´t think I´ll have one under 200 dolls

Swatch x Goodwill edition.

In terms of build quality alone I'd say it should retail at no more than $50.

I know it doesn’t matter but there’s no h in artem can’t unhear it everytime

Is that fully wound? In dial up position the amplitude is terrible on the timegrapher. That reading is saying it needs a repair. You have been wearing it for a few weeks so the oils have had a chance to work in. Wow.

Edit ... Blancpain & Omega don't actually make these watches so in essence they are really homages ! There are far better quality & priced options out there 😂😂

Great video. I'm amused by all of the groaning by others that haven't even seen the watch in the flesh let alone handled or worn it. What people have to remember is that first and foremost it's a fashion watch and you're paying for the name and styling. Full stop. It's not meant to be a serious watch and comparisons to superior watches in the price category are moot points. If you look at it any other way you're doing it wrong. I got a Pacific on the Sunday after launch day and I've worn it most days since. I don't know what it's losing or gaining per day but I found it remarkable that it wasn't wandering off by a couple of minutes a few weeks after I had set the time on it. In fact it appeared to remain within the minute or so on either way of the clock on my phone. That's also without any synchronization with the seconds since without a hacking feature it's a fuckin' nuisance. The power reserve surprised me but it was more of a disappointment really. In fairness I wasn't out and about much the day prior when it was on but I set it down for like, maybe 36ish hours? and she was dead when I went to put it back on. You've definitely got to wind it before you leave it if you know you won't be wearing it for a couple-few days 'cause that 90hr power reserve on the stat sheet seems to be in a best case scenario. So far the hardware seems fine enough. I have my doubts on the longevity of the keepers and the buckle but I do like the strap so I suppose that I'll be riding it until the wheels fall off, so to speak, though after having seen the sailcloth strap on it I may change my mind. The crystal has taken knocks and bumps and it looks fine. I go to some effort to see that he doesn't but my cat likes to nuzzle and lick whatever watch is on my wrist and his tough little teeth have yet to leave a nick or a scratch on the glass or bezel so that's a win too. It's pricey, sure, but fashionable things are. An individual whom is into watches and fascinated by and enamoured with high horology has superior options in this price category but that's not the angle here. The Sistem51 is novel and in this case doubly so as it's been loudly proclaimed that Blancpain will never produce a watch with a quartz movement but novelty is all that it has to offer here. It's a good fit for a fashion watch such as this and offers a certain authenticity to the branding which is cool. It's just best if you don't take the watch too seriously. I mean, it's fuckin' yellow (or green or blue or white or whatever you bought), what do you want out of it? It's a fun watch to have. Most owners have a story (I was out of the door at the crack of dawn to take a ferry across a little sea to get mine and I was second in line) and the styling is pretty cool if you're a fan of the Fifty Fathoms and are among the many that may never be able to afford one (at least in this style, if you're OK with a steel bezel they become far more attainable). It's a Swatch and is meant to be no more than a collectible novelty. As all of their watches are.

What? A crappy plastic watch isn’t performing well?!!😊

No shit it broke, it's made of plastic. A side note, V8 Ford engine's have plastic timing chain guide. Those plastic guides are a ticking time bomb.

Thanks for the great user update. I genuinely like these watches, but I would never buy one. They are $250 at the VERY most. And the fact that you cannot wear them daily is unfathomable…

I have another watch with screwed bars like this. HUGE PITA I've honestly resigned myself to never changing the bracelet off of it. I lost one of the heads because the screw worked itself lose and it was again a huge PITA to source a replacement so much so that I'm considering selling off the watch and moving on to something with traditional bars just because it's such a stupid system.

Nah, the better way to put ocean plastic on your wrist is Oris Aquis

Saying there are other manufacturers that make movements that have to be swapped out entirely misses the point. It's about not creating unnecessary waste.

Is not as easy as you claim to be. System51 watches are sealed and cannot be Open like any other watch, so how come are going to swap the moment? There are no System51 movements for sale 😂

Toy watch that probably should cost 50-100 bucks. There are some real Seiko, Citizen, Tissot for less.

Plastic on front, sapphire on back? Doesn't make a whole lotta sense to me. Yes, there's on screw on the back, but the movement is welded together. Anyhow, looks great, but I wouldn't waste money on something like this.

ARTEM, Chris, not Arthum

it should be stainless steel, i have a sistem51 swatch, all steel... if feels better... and it was way cheaper....

If they AT LEAST made the casing from aluminum, there would be a lot more value behind these

I mean, it is the “Thrifty Fathoms”!

Ursäkta mitt syrliga inlägg, du måste vara köpt av de där plastfabriken, du får ju 4 st P D för priset av en plast klocka, jag bara undrar, fantastisk plastklockan, nä nä nä, I övrigt ett proffsigt framträdande......................... 😢😢I

At least the NH35 is made of metal.

I don't see the value in these when I can buy a citizen promaster for $200 or so, that's a robust and well made dive watch instead of these plastic novelties. As a money making promotion these plastic Swatch/blancpain do work though..

Chris, I will pay you $100 to take the caseback off your Blancpain X Swatch on a livestream?

I have been making the comparison to the NH35 for awhile now. Id much rather get a factory fresh movement vs having it serviced. It's just foolish to bother servicing these cheap movements, swap them and move on

Se me hacen unas piezas desechables que ya muy caras deberían costar US $ 150. No más pero bueno el resto es el pago de las marcas invitadas en este caso BP. No creo que su mecanismo dure mucho en un uso diario. Realmente es una ilusión derrochar dinero a la basura y contaminación. Salú2 desde Puebla México.

Forget about the names swatch, and blancpain. Just think about the plastic case, the ultra cheap movement, and the cheap strap. You seriously think that’s worth 300 bucks? No way. 30.

$200 dollar strap on a $400 watch. Sounds about right.

send it back they will replace it, they did with mine

I would love to see you stick a geiger counter next to your real 50 Fathoms. Radium has a LONG 1600 year half-life. It should be going *real strong*

It broke because it's basically overpriced plastic tat.

I like the look as well.. "m so tired of black dial dive watches.. bring on the color!

ROFL

For 400 who cares it's a nice conversation piece for the desk

I watched TB at Blancpain....unless you are VERY Wealthy there is no way you can afford the genuine mechanical watch. For what it is its a faithfull homage watch..i would say a rubber strap will reduce the height on wrist...and does not hide the display case back , a good fun watch imo.

For 500€ you can buy super good mechanical watch i yust both 55 are edition Seiko whic is unbelievable good i pay it from 480€ 10% off so 440€ and its so good diferrnt and it is Limited edition so i will not bee in a croidy place where ewry other person hawe Omega Bond or Man on the moon . Older i and im rearuting my pasion this watch is on Milanese strape one of beter warches i hawe (not most valuable) yust stonong diferent and preaty also its all made 100-100% from wstch in 1968 all case and all alse and its totaly diferent dezigen then clasic Seiko warches im super stoke for that .

JUNK Jumping on the band wagon of Omega and it did their rep no good at all but hightlight cheap parts. buy ORIS and save your money

So sad i haven't bought one..... xD . . NOT!

A sapphire on the back and a plastic on the front ? What idiot thinks thats a good ideea. Maybe if they made a full steel back with no transparency would be better.

I am VERY disappointed with your video. Not once did you speak of Tuco, Blondie, or Angel Eyes.

Hmm…400 for plastic watch…nah

Both of these swatch collaborations are a joke ! They are over priced garbage & swatch are laughing all the way to the bank riding on the back of a brand name . While Blanc Paine

big, plastc, over-priced. No thanks.

God!

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

A $400 plastic watch? How much do they cost to make? $25? Certainly not more than $35

Hablas muy deprisa en los vídeos y no se entiende lo que dices. Es mejor un vídeo hablando más despacio.

They're a toy.

this watch cost 0.20 cents material ,and 1 eu electricity to produce 1 thousand…why selling this plastic shit 400? 😢😢

The watch cannot ever be opened, so the movement cannot be swapped out. Disinformation from this youtuber here....

Yes, I agree, it's a really good-looking watch but you can put a layer of gold and diamonds on a coil of dog shit but it's still going to be dog shit. to put it roughly. The Moon swatch is even worse and the price for this plastic garbage is laughable.