Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Blancpain · Bathyscaphe
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 40 mm Meteorite Platinum
Reference 69943OR.21
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Blancpain
- Collection
- Bathyscaphe
- Model
- Blancpain Bathyscaphe 40 mm Meteorite Platinum
- Reference number
- 69943OR.21
- Year / era
- 1951 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer
- Case material
- Platinum 950
- Dial type
- Meteorite
- Strap / bracelet
- White rubber velcro strap
- Water resistance
- 500 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- Platinum 950
- Bezel
- Emerald-set
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Meteorite
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- White rubber velcro strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Triple-folding clasp with safety catch
- Water resistance
- 500 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 10F — In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 72 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1951 – 1967
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 40 mm Meteorite Platinum sits within Blancpain's Bathyscaphe line, introduced in 1951. It carries the house codes established since 1735 — platinum 950 case, meteorite dial and in-house automatic, superlative chronometer — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Blancpain
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1735
- Founder
- Jehan-Jacques Blancpain
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Luxury
- Major collections
- Fifty Fathoms, Villeret, Air Command, Bathyscaphe, Le Brassus, Ladybird
- Signature technologies
- Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Certified chronometer regulation · Shock-absorbing movement mounting
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic, Superlative Chronometer · In-house manual-winding · In-house automatic, chronometer certified · In-house automatic chronograph
- Notable watches
- Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 36 mm Slate Sapphire (1978) · Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 44 mm Mother-of-pearl 18k (1954) · Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 41 mm Skeletonised Quartz (2001) · Blancpain Fifty Fathoms 41 mm Black Stainless (1959)
Brand history
Blancpain has spent more than 291 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Fifty Fathoms, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Jehan-Jacques Blancpain established Blancpain in 1735, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Blancpain calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1735
Jehan-Jacques Blancpain founds Blancpain in Switzerland.
1775
Blancpain earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Blancpain to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Blancpain enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Blancpain continues to produce Fifty Fathoms, Villeret, Air Command and other icons in limited numbers.
More Bathyscaphe
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 39 mm Meteorite Sapphire
Ref. 50746OR.81
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 39 mm Green Stainless
Ref. 53821ST.48
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 40 mm Blue Sapphire
Ref. 79946OR.61
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 40 mm Mother-of-pearl Stainless
Ref. 82329ST.75
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 36 mm Green Stainless
Ref. 37245ST.92