Blancpain X Swatch

[C5_Steve]

BOR said:

What a shame.

They look even more plasticky than the omega swatch.

Yeah I thought the same, I like the colourways and movement detail but for some reason they seem more plasticky than the Omegas. Side on at least.

Plus I've just seen the price, pretty punchy for a disposable watch.

[Filibuster]

C5_Steve said:

Yeah I thought the same, I like the colourways and movement detail but for some reason they seem more plasticky than the Omegas. Side on at least.

Plus I've just seen the price, pretty punchy for a disposable watch.

But isn't that what makes them special? A 1:1 copy, sanctioned by Blancpain/Omega but made out of plastic and in funny colour schemes?

And why do you consider it a disposable watch? I have plenty of 30 y.o. Swatches, both quartz and mechanical movements that still work and I wear them, even if they are well worn.

[RacerMike]

Filibuster said:

C5_Steve said:

Yeah I thought the same, I like the colourways and movement detail but for some reason they seem more plasticky than the Omegas. Side on at least.

Plus I've just seen the price, pretty punchy for a disposable watch.

But isn't that what makes them special? A 1:1 copy, sanctioned by Blancpain/Omega but made out of plastic and in funny colour schemes?

And why do you consider it a disposable watch? I have plenty of 30 y.o. Swatches, both quartz and mechanical movements that still work and I wear them, even if they are well worn.

It feels like many throw around these flippant comments about 'plasticky' and 'disposable' to somehow make themselves feel better about the existence of a product that somehow threatens their world view on things. Most of the negativity seems to come from people who desperately want them not to exist and cannot bare to accept that they're either popular or actually quite desirable despite being available to the 'plebs', so the use of such comments is a way of pretending they don't really exist.

[C5_Steve]

Filibuster said:

But isn't that what makes them special? A 1:1 copy, sanctioned by Blancpain/Omega but made out of plastic and in funny colour schemes?

And why do you consider it a disposable watch? I have plenty of 30 y.o. Swatches, both quartz and mechanical movements that still work and I wear them, even if they are well worn.

Oh that is absolutely the selling point of them. But I don't particularly like the original and for me this iteration very much looks like it's made of plastic due to the case dimensions, as in it looks cheap. To me.

Your other Swatches aren't this movement. This movement/watch is designed to be "disposable" as in once it stops working, you bin it. You can't replace anything, the movement is sealed.

[C5_Steve]

RacerMike said:

It feels like many throw around these flippant comments about 'plasticky' and 'disposable' to somehow make themselves feel better about the existence of a product that somehow threatens their world view on things. Most of the negativity seems to come from people who desperately want them not to exist and cannot bare to accept that they're either popular or actually quite desirable despite being available to the 'plebs', so the use of such comments is a way of pretending they don't really exist.

Overreact much? Who knew having an opinion on a thing could make someone think that their "world view" is threatened

Calling a watch made of plastic "plasticky" is hardly inaccurate, is it? I said it LOOKS more plasticky due to the design, which it does due to the roundness of the case. As for calling the movement disposable, see my above comment. It is, it's factual.

Anyway not sure why you feel someone saying they don't like a certain thing means they're trying to lord it up over everyone else, I don't like the Blancpain either. I do like watches but I don't own anything even remotely fancy. My daily wear watch is a Timex. Although it's a Snoopy edition so maybe that's a bit too fancy and I should hate that as well as Omega also has Snoopy on some of their watches.......

I've no issue with Swatch banging out a version of every brand under the group if they so like.

Maybe spend less time analysing why someone doesn't like a thing and instead take it as their own personal opinion and share yours as such if it differs.

[quarryman111]

[quarryman111]

Available 9th. £340. Automatic

[Mont Blanc]

I like them. It's a fun watch and I don't think the price is too bad.

I have no doubt it will improve the sales and brand awareness of Blancpain, whilst shifting tens of thousands of these Swatch models.

I liked the MoonSwatch, and will probably buy one when I can simply walk into the store and take my pick of them. I understand they can still be somewhat tricky to acquire.

[Wololo]

RacerMike said:

It feels like many throw around these flippant comments about 'plasticky' and 'disposable' to somehow make themselves feel better about the existence of a product that somehow threatens their world view on things. Most of the negativity seems to come from people who desperately want them not to exist and cannot bare to accept that they're either popular or actually quite desirable despite being available to the 'plebs', so the use of such comments is a way of pretending they don't really exist.

I think you're pretty wide of the mark there. I own several Omegas and the existence of the Moonswatch is no bother to me.

What is bothersome is that:

1) These are a cynical marketing ploy that make the higher-end brand in the "collab" look a bit ridiculous. I suspect many at Omega were aghast at the idea of the Moonswatch, but as a Swatch group company had no choice but to obey the owners.

2) The quality will likely be pretty ropey compared to other watches in the price range. The Seiko 5 and Citizen Tsuyosa are just two examples of genuinely desirable watches in that price bracket - and neither comes with any pretensions from having a luxury name on the dial. If £300ish is your budget, why waste half of it on the "it's got an expensive brand name" markup?

3) The desirability you cite is amplified 10x by the deeply unpleasant "hustle" culture where every 21 year old scrote thinks he's an "ecom CEO" and amazingly there are people stupid enough to actually pay twice the retail price (or worse) for one of these watches just to have the latest thing. It will be nigh on impossible for anyone who actually wants one because they like it to obtain one.

[Mont Blanc]

Wololo said:

RacerMike said:

It feels like many throw around these flippant comments about 'plasticky' and 'disposable' to somehow make themselves feel better about the existence of a product that somehow threatens their world view on things. Most of the negativity seems to come from people who desperately want them not to exist and cannot bare to accept that they're either popular or actually quite desirable despite being available to the 'plebs', so the use of such comments is a way of pretending they don't really exist.

I think you're pretty wide of the mark there. I own several Omegas and the existence of the Moonswatch is no bother to me.

What is bothersome is that:

1) These are a cynical marketing ploy that make the higher-end brand in the "collab" look a bit ridiculous. I suspect many at Omega were aghast at the idea of the Moonswatch, but as a Swatch group company had no choice but to obey the owners.

2) The quality will likely be pretty ropey compared to other watches in the price range. The Seiko 5 and Citizen Tsuyosa are just two examples of genuinely desirable watches in that price bracket - and neither comes with any pretensions from having a luxury name on the dial. If £300ish is your budget, why waste half of it on the "it's got an expensive brand name" markup?

3) The desirability you cite is amplified 10x by the deeply unpleasant "hustle" culture where every 21 year old scrote thinks he's an "ecom CEO" and amazingly there are people stupid enough to actually pay twice the retail price (or worse) for one of these watches just to have the latest thing. It will be nigh on impossible for anyone who actually wants one because they like it to obtain one.

I totally get all that, but at the end of the day all that matters is that a company produces a product that customers want to buy, and as we have all seen, customers absolutely want to buy them. Swatch can't produce them fast enough.

Very few people will actually care about the quality, and even fewer will consider buying a Seiko when what they actually want is a Swatch X Omega, or Swatch X Blancpain. I mean, I've got Hugo Boss T shirts that cost £90 that are worse quality than a £15 M&S shirt, but I wanted the Hugo Boss.

With regards to point 3, you will be able to buy one easy enough if you just wait for the initial rush to die down. You don't have to get involved in the hype and nonsense. I know people who wanted a MoonSwatch but couldn't be bothered with the hassle of trying to get one, so simply waited until these last couple of months and then walked into Swatch and picked the one they want. The fact they were getting it 18 months later than launch didn't matter, as they weren't buying for hype, they were just buying as they liked the watch.

Edited by Mont Blanc on Friday 8th September 09:24

[Salted_Peanut]

These watches are marketed as celebrating the oceans, but they are made from a non-biodegradable polymer

Eventually, they will contribute to plastic pollution

[RacerMike]

A lot of people seem to go on about the quality being bad. It really isn’t. I was actually thinking about a Seiko 5 earlier this year, then actually saw one in person. The ones in the £300 price bracket feel way cheaper than a MoonSwatch imo, but clearly I judge quality differently to others. I think some people don’t seem able to get over it being made of a type of plastic (which actually doesn’t feel like an injection moulded piece of plastic for reference). The actual quality of the watches is great. Mines done a year on my arm, still looks great and has some really nice details which the Seiko 5 simply doesn’t have.

And as for Omegas opinion. Pretty sure they’re pretty happy. Sales of Omega Moonwatches went up significantly after the launch of the MoonSwatch.

I think the only people thinking these are cynical are the watch fans who seem to want to gate keep premium brand names at a high price point. The reality is things like this hugely benefit both companies and the watch industry in general. Even if it’s a tiny percentage of the 1mil MoonSwatch owners who end up getting into watch collecting as a result of buying one, it’s still a percentage more than otherwise would have done. How can that not be a positive thing in a world where increasingly few people value things designed for enthusiasts.

[Mont Blanc]

Salted_Peanut said:

These watches are marketed as celebrating the oceans, but they are made from a non-biodegradable polymer

Eventually, they will contribute to plastic pollution

True. The watch itself and the nylon strap will litter the ocean for hundreds if not thousands of years

But to be fair, they haven't made any claims about 'saving the oceans' or the environment. Just 'celebrating' them. But I get your point.

[Mont Blanc]

Wololo said:

I I suspect many at Omega were aghast at the idea of the Moonswatch, but as a Swatch group company had no choice but to obey the owners.

RacerMike said:

And as for Omegas opinion. Pretty sure they’re pretty happy. Sales of Omega Moonwatches went up significantly after the launch of the MoonSwatch.

I doubt that anyone at Omega is even slightly concerned.

"Swatch Group sales rose sharply off the back of the MoonSwatch, and Swatch sold more than 1.5 Million units of the watch, resulting in Group sales being up nearly 19% and profit up by 36%"

"Swatch group CEO confirms that Speedster Professional Moonwatch sales were up more than 50% since the launch of the MoonSwatch. Sales over the whole Speedmaster range were up by double digit percentage"

https://www.watchpro.com/swatch-on-track-to-sell-1...

https://monochrome-watches.com/swatch-group-half-y...

https://timeandtidewatches.com/its-official-speedm...

Edited by Mont Blanc on Friday 8th September 09:57

[C5_Steve]

Mont Blanc said:

Salted_Peanut said:

These watches are marketed as celebrating the oceans, but they are made from a non-biodegradable polymer

Eventually, they will contribute to plastic pollution

True. The watch itself and the nylon strap will litter the ocean for hundreds if not thousands of years

But to be fair, they haven't made any claims about 'saving the oceans' or the environment. Just 'celebrating' them. But I get your point.

I believe the strap is actually made from recycled fishing nets and the case uses discarded ceramic from other high-end watch manufacturing so there's an element of sustainability there which is commendable.

[tangerine_sedge]

I'm not a fan of the Fifty-fathoms 'look', and I've never seen one produced either by Blancpain or one of the homage manufacturers that would sway me to part with my money.

On the other hand, these look great to me and I'll likely buy the Pacific. The colours actually make something quite boring start to look really interesting to me.

The price seems reasonable for a 90hour automatic with a 300ft depth rating(*), and I'm a fan of the Bio-ceramic already having 2 Swatches that are made from this sturdy and leightweight material. It's not about the watch hype either, as I'm willing to wait 18 months until the craziness reduces before buying one.

(*) We can argue about what this means in reality, but it'll be swimming pool safe which is all that I need.

[Mont Blanc]

tangerine_sedge said:

I'm not a fan of the Fifty-fathoms 'look', and I've never seen one produced either by Blancpain or one of the homage manufacturers that would sway me to part with my money.

On the other hand, these look great to me and I'll likely buy the Pacific. The colours actually make something quite boring start to look really interesting to me.

The price seems reasonable for a 90hour automatic with a 300ft depth rating(*), and I'm a fan of the Bio-ceramic already having 2 Swatches that are made from this sturdy and leightweight material. It's not about the watch hype either, as I'm willing to wait 18 months until the craziness reduces before buying one.

(*) We can argue about what this means in reality, but it'll be swimming pool safe which is all that I need.

Funnily enough, I was thinking exactly the same thing. I have occasionally looked at Blancpain watches on and off for years, but they do absolutely nothing for me whatsoever. I would never buy one.

But I really like the look of these. My pick would be the Antarctic.

[tangerine_sedge]

Mont Blanc said:

tangerine_sedge said:

I'm not a fan of the Fifty-fathoms 'look', and I've never seen one produced either by Blancpain or one of the homage manufacturers that would sway me to part with my money.

On the other hand, these look great to me and I'll likely buy the Pacific. The colours actually make something quite boring start to look really interesting to me.

The price seems reasonable for a 90hour automatic with a 300ft depth rating(*), and I'm a fan of the Bio-ceramic already having 2 Swatches that are made from this sturdy and leightweight material. It's not about the watch hype either, as I'm willing to wait 18 months until the craziness reduces before buying one.

(*) We can argue about what this means in reality, but it'll be swimming pool safe which is all that I need.

Funnily enough, I was thinking exactly the same thing. I have occasionally looked at Blancpain watches on and off for years, but they do absolutely nothing for me whatsoever. I would never buy one.

But I really like the look of these. My pick would be the Antarctic.

Great to hear I'm not alone. The standard fifty-fathoms just look dull, but add a little colour and the child in me gets excited. I'm easily pleased

[Davey S2]

Not really my cup of tea as I don't like the colours (or 'coulorways' as people seem to annoyingly say these days) but these will obviously sell like hot cakes.

Will they do as well as the Moonswatch? I'm not sure. Blancpain isn't anywhere near as well known a brand as Omega and the additional price may put some people off (unless they just want them to flip for a profit).

I don't think the price is too bad for an automatic watch with that level of water resistance but if I needed something like that then I'd spend less money on a G-Shock (which is exactly what I did - the GM-2100B-3AER half metal 'Casioak').

[Mont Blanc]

Davey S2 said:

Not really my cup of tea as I don't like the colours (or 'coulorways' as people seem to annoyingly say these days) but these will obviously sell like hot cakes.

Will they do as well as the Moonswatch? I'm not sure. Blancpain isn't anywhere near as well known a brand as Omega and the additional price may put some people off (unless they just want them to flip for a profit).

I don't think the price is too bad for an automatic watch with that level of water resistance but if I needed something like that then I'd spend less money on a G-Shock (which is exactly what I did - the GM-2100B-3AER half metal 'Casioak').

I don't think they will sell as well as the MoonSwatch, but they will certainly sell fast enough. Probably remain hard to get for at least 12 months IMO.