For the first time, this piece features an all-blue ceramic case. This coloring is achieved by adding pigments during the ceramic production process, together with a binding agent. Subsequently, to obtain this uniform, long-lasting hue throughout the entire case, two techniques were used. The first is a compaction process, where ceramic in powder form is pressed into a mold to obtain its shape. The second technique involves using an injection process to insert ceramic in the form of granules into the mold.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Ocean Commitment II
This step enables the creation of a blueprint in the final shape. After this, the piece is placed in an oven on a low temperature in order to eliminate the bonding agent. When this is done, the latter is heated at a high temperature – a phase known as sintering – in order to give the ceramic its ultimate hardness. Lastly, the machining and finishing operations take place in order to provide the geometry and final look of each part. The compacting process was used for the case-middle, case-back, bezel and chapter-ring insert. The second technique involving the injection method was adopted for the crown and push-pieces. Suitable for small pieces, the latter is highly precise and complex to master. Up until now, it had not yielded satisfactory, sufficiently stable results for the blue color range.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Ocean Commitment II
The new Flyback Chronograph BOC II is equipped with an F385 caliber whose mechanism beats at 36,000 vibrations an hour (5 Hz), an ideal frequency for a chronograph as it enables each second to be divided into intervals of a tenth of a second. The flyback chronograph is driven by a column-wheel. It has a flyback function that enables immediate resetting of the chronograph to zero or restarting simply by pressing a pusher at 4 o’clock, in contrast to standard chronographs which require three steps to time successive events.
Every owner of a limited edition Blancpain Ocean Commitment (BOC) watch is invited to become a member of the “Ocean Commitment Circle”. For each timepiece sold in this 250-piece limited edition, an amount of 1000 Euro will be donated in support of scientific expeditions.
