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Blancpain Diver Bathyscape Technisub, early 1970s — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Blancpain Diver Bathyscape Technisub, early 1970s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Blancpain (maker)
Date
early 1970s
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Dimensions
Case 37 mm
Stock no.
W-2028
Credit line
Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-2028)
Catalogue title (original)
Blancpain Diver Bathyscape Technisub (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-2028), this is a wristwatch by Blancpain, made in Switzerland, dated early 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 37 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Bulang & Sons

An early Blancpain diver… This is a rare opportunity to acquire a outstanding condition Blancpain divers watch from the early 1970s! The 37mm steel case is very strong all-round and houses al soleil finish grey dial with silver text and Technisub in the lower half of the dial. The dial has large size applied hour markers that are a great match with the thick minute and hour hands. The original bezel is in really amazing condition with a lume-filled triangle at 12. The AS 1700/01 automatic movement has been fully serviced by our watchmaker Specifications: - Blancpain Bathyscape - 37mm steel case - Serial 203xxx dating to early 1970s - Grey soleil finish dial - Thick hands and arrow seconds - Original cool bezel with lume triangle at 12 - Calibre AS 1700/01 automatic movement - Comes on the pictured Bulang and Sons strap - Fully serviced by our watchmaker - Includes a handmade leather watch pouch

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

Atlas type guide

Dive and water-resistant watches

Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.

Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.

What to look for

  • Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
  • Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
  • Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
  • Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.

Dating clues

  • Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
  • Professional dive watches: from 1953.
  • Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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