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 Blue Sapphire
Reference 79946OR.61
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Blancpain
- Collection
- Bathyscaphe
- Model
- Blancpain Bathyscaphe 40 mm Blue Sapphire
- Reference number
- 79946OR.61
- Year / era
- 2015 · 2010s — modern production
- Complication
- Time and date
- Movement
- In-house manual-winding
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Dial type
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Strap / bracelet
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Water resistance
- 50 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 40 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Hands
- Rhodium-plated baton hands with luminous fill
- Indexes
- Applied Roman numerals
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 50 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 70E — In-house manual-winding
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 5 days
- Number of jewels
- 33 jewels
- Complications
- Time and date
- Functions
- Flying tourbillon, power reserve
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 2015 – 2020
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Gérald Genta
Gérald Genta (1931–2011) trained as a goldsmith in Geneva and became the most influential watch designer of the 20th century. Working freelance, he sketched the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak overnight in 1970, followed by the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur SL and the Bulgari Bulgari — defining the integrated-bracelet luxury sports watch as a category.
Historical significance
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 40 mm Blue Sapphire sits within Blancpain's Bathyscaphe line, introduced in 2015. It carries the house codes established since 1735 — sapphire crystal case case, blue "grande tapisserie" dial and in-house manual-winding — 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 movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
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 Meteorite Platinum
Ref. 69943OR.21
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 40 mm Mother-of-pearl Stainless
Ref. 82329ST.75
Blancpain Bathyscaphe 36 mm Green Stainless
Ref. 37245ST.92