Is This the Best New Dive Watch of 2025? I Found Out

To say that Blancpain has been on a roll with the Fifty Fathoms diver over the past two years would be a massive understatement.

In 2023, the brand celebrated 70 years of the original dive watch with three special anniversary versions, each showcasing a different part of the seminal diver’s history.

The same year saw Blancpain get its very own MoonSwatch moment with the debut of the Swatch Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms collab. Although it wasn’t the crossover success the MoonSwatch was, the Swatchified Fifty Fathoms nevertheless introduced a new audience to the world’s oldest watch brand and is still going strong two years later with cool new versions being launched.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

In 2024, Blancpain used its newfound fame to release one of the most anticipated Fifty Fathoms ever. Since the dive watch’s relaunch as a production model after a decades-long hiatus in 2007, the Fifty Fathoms had only been available in a massive 45mm case size. For nearly two decades, fans had longed for a more wearable alternative.

Last year, Blancpain answered the call with a 42mm version of the watch with the same styling and movement as the larger version. Originally available in 18k rose gold or Grade 23 titanium, Blancpain added a more affordable stainless steel version earlier this year.

But Blancpain wasn’t done yet. This year, the brand released a 38mm production version Fifty Fathoms in a parade of colors and materials. First came pink and rose gold versions with mother-of-pearl dials, and then a couple of days later, traditional black and blue divers in your choice of rose gold, titanium or steel.

Promising to be the most wearable take on the iconic diver, as well as the most affordable, the 38mm option in steel is a watch I simply had to investigate further. Because, at least on paper, it sure seems like it could be the best new dive watch of the year. To find out if it is, I spent the past week wearing one. Here’s what I think.

The size is perfect (for me)

On the wrist, the 38mm Fifty Fathoms is an absolute dream. At 38mm across, 12mm thick and just under 44mm lug-to-lug, it practically disappears on my 6.5-inch wrist — especially when compared to my usual diver, a 42mm Omega Seamaster Diver 300M.

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The 45mm Fifty Fathoms wears comically large on me; it’s not something I would ever consider even if I had the budget. The 42 I’ve tried on and it’s totally wearable, but it has a very different feel compared to the 38. It feels like a robust, modern luxury tool watch in the vein of my Seamaster. In fact, it wears almost exactly the same as the Omega.

The 38, meanwhile, offers a completely different experience. As soon as I put it on for the first time, it felt like I was putting on a vintage watch. Not in terms of fit and finish — this is very much a contemporary luxury dive watch — but in its overall look and feel. It’s light, even in steel. It’s compact. It’s thin. I love the way it looks, the way it feels and the vibe it puts out. It is, in a word, special.

There’s a reason why this thing costs so much

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

As I mentioned, you’re not sacrificing anything here when it comes to fit and finish. Like the 42 and 45mm steel versions, the case of the 38 is fully polished. I know polished tool watches aren’t everyone’s bag, but I really like the finish here. It makes the Fifty Fathoms feel special and elevated in a way that it wouldn’t if it were brushed, like the titanium versions.

It’s also worth noting that this is some high-quality polishing. The work differentiating the different sections of the case is impressive, particularly where the lugs meet the case. Everything may be polished, but Blancpain does a superb job of creating areas of visual interest without having to resort to brushing to break things up.

The polish is also fine enough to be distortion-free in certain sections, with parts of the case able to function as a mirror in a pinch (I may have had a little too much fun looking at my reflection in the perfectly polished space between the lugs.)

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The divisive engraved “Blancpain” branding remains on the left side of the case, and I suppose I could do without it. But to be honest, it’s not something I ever noticed or thought about while wearing the watch, as you can really only see it once you remove the watch.

As much as I enjoyed the case, the dial is where the Fifty Fathoms 38 really shines — both literally and figuratively. The black sunray dial is simple but effective. It largely serves as a sterile backdrop for the white gold applied indices, which always look stunning.

But get the light just right, and the dial comes alive to further elevate the indices, which emit an almost ethereal glow in the right conditions. It’s easily the most breathtaking dive watch dial I’ve experienced, and it’s not particularly close.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

Still a tool

The Fifty Fathoms 38, like all modern Fifty Fathoms divers, is a luxury watch. But it also remains a legitimate tool watch, just like the original Fifty Fathoms commissioned by the French Navy in the 1950s.

The tool-watch bona fides of the watch show up in various features, all of which are among the best I’ve experienced on any diver. The bezel is a tactile delight. Its action is so crisp and precise, with each of its 120 unidirectional clicks feeling delightfully intentional. It’s also satisfyingly loud, probably the loudest bezel I’ve used, which to me signifies that this thing is a serious tool and is doing its job.

The engineering on the screw-down crown is similarly impressive. On many divers, there is some difficulty with getting the crown to screw back into the case. But here, it’s as easy as turning a knob. There is no need to turn the crown counterclockwise to “catch” the threads; you simply push and turn, and it goes where it’s supposed to. Winding the crown is also buttery smooth, as to be expected with a watch in this price range.

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Luminescence is a category in which Blancpain has long set itself apart from other luxury divers, and the 38 continues that tradition. The lume here is, in a word, absurd. Just a few seconds of direct sunlight will ignite the indices, hands and every marking on the beautiful, rounded sapphire bezel insert. Everything glows strong and evenly, and it lasts through the night — even if its only exposure is a couple of minutes of artificial light from indoors.

Like practically every other luxury brand, Blancpain uses Super-LumiNova for its lume, so I honestly don’t understand why it’s so much more reactive and potent than its competitors. My Seamaster has good lume, but the Fifty Fathoms blows its doors off in the dark.

Some readers will no doubt take umbrage with the watch’s 4:30 date window, but even that was included with utility in mind. By placing the date between two indexes, the dial doesn’t have to sacrifice any lume, meaning you get all 12 indexes glowing as intensely as possible. Were I to actually go diving with this thing, I’m sure I would appreciate such a feature.

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The movement is nice, but…

I really only have one nit to pick with the Fifty Fathoms 38, and that’s Blancpain’s choice of movement.

In both the 45 and 42mm versions of the watch, Blancpain uses the in-house Calibre 1315. It’s an advanced, modern luxury watch movement with 35 jewels, a beat rate of 4Hz, a power reserve of 120 hours and a free-sprung balance wheel with a silicon hairspring. It is very, very nice.

But that movement is too large for a 38mm case, so Blancpain had to take a different route in powering the smaller diver. The brand went with its Cal. 1150, which is an older, smaller movement more typically seen in dress watches, along with the 38mm Bathyscaphe diver.

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It has a slower beat rate of 3Hz, meaning its seconds hand doesn’t sweep as smoothly, and it is, at least theoretically, less precise. It has seven fewer jewels than the 1315, which doesn’t necessarily make it worse, but arguably makes it more susceptible to wear and tear. And its power reserve is 20 hours shorter (100 hours is still very long).

The 1150 still has a free-sprung balance wheel with a silicon hairspring, but it lacks a very basic feature present on the 1350: hacking seconds. It’s not uncommon for high-end dress watches from brands like Blancpain and Patek to not feature hacking seconds, but on a tool watch with military origins like the Fifty Fathoms, the omission of the feature — which is an industry standard for dive watches in 2025 — feels like a mistake.

There is a “hack” to get the movement to hack, which is pretty widely known when it comes to the Cal. 1150. Basically, with the crown pulled all the way out, if you slowly rotate the crown toward you, the seconds hand will stall, which enables you to synchronize the watch. It’s kind of a pain, but it does work, so it makes the loss of hacking less of a big deal. Still… this movement should hack.

Blancpain

One more thing about the movement. While it is very nicely decorated with anglage, perlage and a beautiful black-coated 18k rose gold rotor (which takes zero effort to get spinning), it is decidedly less attractive than the Cal. 1315, which features more dramatic beveling, oversized jewels with immaculately polished sinks, snailing and more.

It may sound like I hate the Cal. 1150. I don’t. It’s still a high-horology movement that’s beautifully finished, tough enough for a diver and, in my experience, extremely precise. It’s also nearly 2.5mm thinner than the Cal. 1315, which is a big reason why the Fifty Fathoms 38 wears so well. If this watch measured 14.5mm thick instead of 12mm, the wearing experience would be significantly worse, so at the end of the day, the 1150 may have been the right choice.

But it still should hack.

Not much to say about the strap

There are four strap/bracelet options for the Fifty Fathoms 38. You can get it on a Tropic rubber strap or a NATO for $16,700. An upgrade to a sailcloth strap with a deployant clasp will cost you $18,200. And on a full steel bracelet, the price tops out at $19,500.

I tested the watch on the rubber strap and … it’s fine. As far as Tropic rubber straps go, it’s the best I’ve ever used. It’s soft and supple and the finishing is even. Its vintage style is a natural fit for the smaller case size, and it both looks and feels good.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

But for the money, it’s definitely underwhelming. Even though it’s the best Tropic strap I’ve used, the difference between it and cheaper Tropic straps really isn’t that large — there’s only so much one can do with the format. It just doesn’t really feel like a strap belonging to a watch that costs this much in the way that rubber straps from other luxury dive watch brands do. Personally, I would choose the sailcloth strap, which feels very high-end, is plenty comfortable and still fits the aesthetic of the watch — albeit at a steeper price.

Dive watch of the year?

The Fifty Fathoms 38 has a whole hell of a lot going for it.

It’s the most wearable Fifty Fathoms ever, with a thin and compact profile that throws in a dash of vintage cool as a bonus to its unmatched comfort.

It’s just as beautiful as the larger Fifty Fathoms models, with a timeless design, a magical dial, a perfect bezel and spectacular case finishing. The movement is beautiful and high-end, even if it lacks some of the refinement and features of its bigger sibling, and the watch feels like a purpose-built machine with precise engineering and impeccable quality control.

But would I take it over any other diver released this year?

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From a specs and engineering perspective, I think the Ulysse Nardin Diver Air has to be the most impressive dive watch of 2025. It’s the lightest mechanical diver ever made and feels impossibly light in-hand, but its skeletonized dial doesn’t exactly scream practical everyday wearer. It’s also double the price of the already very expensive Blancpain.

Breitling’s new Superocean collection is nice, but it’s jumbled design language doesn’t really appeal to me, while Tudor’s triple threat of the Black Bay 54 Lagoon Blue, Pelagos Ultra and Black Bay 58 Burgundy all making compelling cases — with the Burgundy having the strongest argument thanks to its introduction of METAS certification and a five-link bracelet to the very popular BB58 line.

Tudor

But for me, the stiffest competition to the Fifty Fathoms 38 actually comes from Blancpain itself. It’s the Fifty Fathoms 42 in steel that debuted in the spring. It’s the exact same watch, with the only differences being the case proportions and the movement (it’s also slightly more expensive).

At the end of the day, I’d have to decide which is more important to me. The higher-spec’d movement with hacking seconds in the 42, or the smaller and thinner case of the 38. If I wanted a big, robust tool watch, then the 42 is a no-brainer. But if I want something small and light and hacking seconds isn’t a dealbreaker, then the 38 can’t be beat.

You know what? I’ll take one of each.

Blancpain

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique 38mm

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	Blancpain Cal. 1150 automatic
Water Resistance	300m

• $16,700 at Blancpain

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