Blancpain was Jamie Weiss’s pick for the watch brand that won 2023—not an objectively established industry champion, but the brand whose year joined unusual visibility with meaningful watchmaking releases. In his 19 December 2023 opinion for Time+Tide, Weiss argued that the Swatch x Blancpain collaboration brought the name to a wider audience while the Fifty Fathoms’ 70th-anniversary program gave watch enthusiasts more to consider than a high-profile collaboration alone.
What “the brand that won 2023” means
Weiss’s claim is a considered opinion, not the result of a formal award or a measured ranking. He begins from the view that 2023 had no obvious knockout release or brand that defined the year, then makes the case for Blancpain on two fronts: visibility and substance.
The Swatch x Blancpain Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms collaboration put the Blancpain name in front of more people, in Weiss’s interpretation. Separately, Blancpain marked the Fifty Fathoms’ 70th anniversary with a three-act program that ranged from the contemporary collection to a technical-diving model and a historical reference. The collaboration and the independent luxury-watch releases belong to different product tiers; the argument is that their combined presence made Blancpain’s year notable, not that they were interchangeable products.
The available evidence supports the chronology and the watches’ stated features, but not an objective claim that Blancpain led the industry in sales, awareness or market share. Weiss’s “winner” is a judgment about the shape and visibility of the brand’s year.
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- Blancpain Villeret Automatic Men's Watch 66240-3631-55B
How the Fifty Fathoms anniversary unfolded
Blancpain organized its 2023 anniversary releases as three acts. Its official anniversary overview dates them 1 January, 16 February and 22 September 2023, and frames the sequence as a look at the present, the future and the past.
| Act | Date listed by Blancpain | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | 1 January 2023 | The contemporary Fifty Fathoms collection |
| Act 2 | 16 February 2023 | The Tech Gombessa, a technical-diving model |
| Act 3 | 22 September 2023 | A design inspired by the historic MIL-SPEC |
Blancpain describes the Fifty Fathoms as “the first true diver’s watch”; that is the manufacturer’s own historical claim. For Weiss’s argument, the anniversary matters less as a slogan than as a framework connecting a current collection, a purpose-built diving watch and a design looking back to the MIL-SPEC.
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- Blancpain Ultraplate Automatic Diamond White Dial Ladies Watch 6102-4628-95A
Act 2: the Tech Gombessa’s three-hour dive timer
The Tech Gombessa, reference 5019 12B30 64A, was the program’s forward-looking release. Blancpain designed its three-hour scale and dedicated hand to time extended technical dives, describing the watch as intended for immersions of up to three hours. That gives the feature a clear functional rationale: it is aimed at a dive duration beyond the conventional one-hour timing scale.
This is the manufacturer’s stated purpose, not independent proof that the watch is superior to competing equipment or suitable for every dive. Blancpain also calls the feature a “world first”; that wording should likewise be understood as the brand’s claim rather than an independently adjudicated finding.
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- Blancpain Villeret Complete Calendar Automatic White Dial Men's Watch 6639A-3631-55B
Act 3: a modern watch with MIL-SPEC roots
Announced on 22 September 2023, the Act 3 revisited the historic MIL-SPEC design. Blancpain identified reference 5901 5630 NANA as a 555-piece limited edition in 9K Bronze Gold. Its product information lists the following specifications:
- Case diameter: 41.30 mm
- Water resistance: 30 bar
- Movement: automatic caliber 1154.P2
- Power reserve: 100 hours
These figures are Blancpain’s published specifications, not independent test results. The edition size and historical inspiration make Act 3 a tangible link between the anniversary’s contemporary collection and its past-facing theme; the specifications describe the watch, rather than establish a broader industry ranking.
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- Blancpain Villeret Automatic White Dial Men's Watch 6223-1127-55A
Why Blancpain’s case is persuasive—and where it stops
The strongest version of Weiss’s argument is about contrast. A collaboration associated with wider visibility sat alongside anniversary watches with distinct purposes and historical references. The Tech Gombessa made technical-diving intent explicit through its three-hour timer; Act 3 paired a MIL-SPEC reference point with a specified limited run and modern mechanical-watch details. Together, they gave the anniversary more range than a single celebratory release.
That is a credible basis for choosing Blancpain as a personal winner. It does not settle how the brand compares with every other watchmaker in 2023. The available facts here do not provide equivalent competitor releases, audience-reach measurements, sales figures or current availability, so a definitive cross-brand ranking would require evidence beyond the releases themselves.
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