Question about the Blancpain FF Ocean commitment III

[bruinmd]

For those of you who own it (and I know it's covered in part in the thread below).........tell me your thoughts?

I can't see one in person but have the chance to buy one new .......I know it was limited to 250 pieces.
Per the AD that got one, the chance of a discount is slim to none and the watch retails for $20,100 allegedly (I had thought it was less).

I don't mind losing a bit on it, but I fear I will take a beating buying it at retail, if i decide to sell it in a few years.

Having said, that I love the watch from the pics I've seen. I love blue sunburst dials and my wrist is 6.5", so the other FF models aren't an option.

The price is steep on the OCIII, despite the horology and overall quality for this watch, vs a standard FF that would be much cheaper.

Does anyone have a good idea if the watch is holding steady in terms of value? Anyone get significant discounts on it when they purchased it?

And, are you still in love with the watch?

I really want a high end blue diver to go with my Hulk, and I can't think of a another high end blue diver with a sunburst dial and this level of watchmaking that fits my wrist.

Would love to hear thoughts

[_speedmaster_]

Originally Posted by bruinmd

For those of you who own it (and I know it's covered in part in the thread below).........tell me your thoughts?

I can't see one in person but have the chance to buy one new .......I know it was limited to 250 pieces.
Per the AD that got one, the chance of a discount is slim to none and the watch retails for $20,100 allegedly (I had thought it was less).

I don't mind losing a bit on it, but I fear I will take a beating buying it at retail, if i decide to sell it in a few years.

Having said, that I love the watch from the pics I've seen. I love blue sunburst dials and my wrist is 6.5", so the other FF models aren't an option.

The price is steep on the OCIII, despite the horology and overall quality for this watch, vs a standard FF that would be much cheaper.

Does anyone have a good idea if the watch is holding steady in terms of value? Anyone get significant discounts on it when they purchased it?

And, are you still in love with the watch?

I really want a high end blue diver to go with my Hulk, and I can't think of a another high end blue diver with a sunburst dial and this level of watchmaking that fits my wrist.

Would love to hear thoughts

Retail was $17,100. Is this offered with the bracelet? That might explain the difference in price, as the MSRP was only for the sailcloth. If you don’t care for the bracelet, you can get it with the sailcloth and save some money in the process.

As for my opinion, that’s better left to others on here. I’ve only handled the BOCiii for a couple minutes indoors. What I can vouche for (as I have the Milspec) is the top quality finishing, excellent movement and comfortable/compact case.

[bruinmd]

Originally Posted by _speedmaster_

Retail was $17,100. Is this offered with the bracelet? That might explain the difference in price, as the MSRP was only for the sailcloth. If you don’t care for the bracelet, you can get it with the sailcloth and save some money in the process.

As for my opinion, that’s better left to others on here. I’ve only handled the BOCiii for a couple minutes indoors. What I can vouche for (as I have the Milspec) is the top quality finishing, excellent movement and comfortable/compact case.

Got it. That's what I had recalled reading-- something in the $17K range. So that is helpful, and yes, this must be a bracelet version that they're quoting me. The sales guy had no freaking idea.

What about comfort with the strap and how the dial changes color depending on light? Is it a striking dial in the sunlight/light?

What about the movement accuracy relative to some of its high end competitors? I'm also thinking about (albeit a totally different watch) the GO Senator chrono pano (black dial, light blue markers) on strap. Unlike many others, I actually this is a great piece for the price point (with a healthy discount mixed in).

[brandrea]

I can’t speak to this specific reference as I haven’t seen one at our AD.

I have tried on the 5015 several times (never owned though). Coming from a Dblue I wanted to consider a different brand and I really wanted to love the FF ... problem was fit for me (they didn’t have a bracelet option at the AD). As a result, I found that the 5015 felt top heavy, perhaps even more so than my Dblue. This probably wouldn’t be the case for the OC3 as it’s quite a bit smaller in diameter and case height.

That said, the other issue was value retention. They wouldn’t move on the price and I was seeing them on the secondary market for less than retail.

In the end I just couldn’t pull the trigger, but I admit that every time I see them, I want to buy one.

[bruinmd]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I can’t speak to this specific reference as I haven’t seen one at our AD.

I have tried on the 5015 several times (never owned though). Coming from a Dblue I wanted to consider a different brand and I really wanted to love the FF ... problem was fit for me (they didn’t have a bracelet option at the AD). As a result, I found that the 5015 felt top heavy, perhaps even more so than my Dblue. This probably wouldn’t be the case for the OC3 as it’s quite a bit smaller in diameter and case height.

That said, the other issue was value retention. They wouldn’t move on the price and I was seeing them on the secondary market for less than retail.

In the end I just couldn’t pull the trigger, but I admit that every time I see them, I want to buy one.

thanks. Have you looked at the FF titanium case? That would solve your top heavy issue with the watch. That blows me away that it felt more top heavy than the deep blue, which is a beast.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by bruinmd

thanks. Have you looked at the FF titanium case? That would solve your top heavy issue with the watch. That blows me away that it felt more top heavy than the deep blue, which is a beast.

I did but it created another issue in that I didn’t care for in the somewhat dull looking finish

I think the fit had a lot to do with the shape of the FF case. The glidelock certainly addresses the top heaviness of the DSSD.

I hope you can find one to try on. I’m certain with the 40mm /13mm case height, you’ll be fine

[bruinmd]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I did but it created another issue in that I didn’t care for in the somewhat dull looking finish

I think the fit had a lot to do with the shape of the FF case. The glidelock certainly addresses the top heaviness of the DSSD.

I hope you can find one to try on. I’m certain with the 40mm /13mm case height, you’ll be fine

Thanks Brian/T-bone .......lol, T-bone was my nickname during my fellowship training.

If I can source this particular OC-III, I may have to buy it sight unseen. We will see,
But as you said, I'm confident size wise it will be perfect.......I just hope it's comfortable on that strap

[_speedmaster_]

Originally Posted by bruinmd

Got it. That's what I had recalled reading-- something in the $17K range. So that is helpful, and yes, this must be a bracelet version that they're quoting me. The sales guy had no freaking idea.

What about comfort with the strap and how the dial changes color depending on light? Is it a striking dial in the sunlight/light?

What about the movement accuracy relative to some of its high end competitors? I'm also thinking about (albeit a totally different watch) the GO Senator chrono pano (black dial, light blue markers) on strap. Unlike many others, I actually this is a great piece for the price point (with a healthy discount mixed in).

Regarding the comfort/dial:
On the sailcloth, the watch is extremely comfortable. The sailcloth provided is a couple notches above what you'd normally think of when "sailcloth" comes to mind. With regards to the dial, I only saw it indoors. It wasn't explosive, more of a nice, subtle sunburst. But, this could be different in natural sunlight.

Regarding the movement:
BOCiii uses the Frederic Piguet 1151 movement, which I'm unsure holds ISO 3159 chronometre standards of no more than -4/+6 seconds per day. That said, I believe most have timed the movement to fall within COSC chronometre standard. This is admittedly slightly off from Rolex's (as an example) superlative chronometre standards of +2/-2 per day. But, honestly, potentially gaining an extra 2 seconds isn't a big deal. What's is great about this movement is the 100 hours of power reserve, which is extremely useful when you have a watch rotation. Its also proven to be extremely reliable.

[GB-man]

That’s a really steep price. Too steep. I was offered one new for like 13k last fall and regular FF can be had new for under 10k new. For 20k and blue diver I’d think AP boutique blue diver or maybe save some cash and get a PAM. Alternatively the 45mm FF isn’t that big. And they make it in blue.

[Frits1980]

Havent seen it but i do have the mil-spec which uses the same case i believe. 40mm would be perfect for your 6.5. It wears like a rolex 14060m if made in 39.

Movement is top notch. My Bathyscape and mil-spec are both gaining 2 sec a day and the 4/5 day power reserve is great for rotation. No problems what so ever.

Get ii on the bracelet if you can. Its well made and you can Always get the strap seperate. Sailcloth strap + clasp isnt that expensive. My mil-spec came on the bracelet and i bought the strap+clasp seperate which was about 300/400US if i remember correctly.

If its the bracelet version. Make sure you request the special Blancpain tool for the links. They will have to order it with blancpain but they will give it to you.

[bruinmd]

Originally Posted by GB-man

That’s a really steep price. Too steep. I was offered one new for like 13k last fall and regular FF can be had new for under 10k new. For 20k and blue diver I’d think AP boutique blue diver or maybe save some cash and get a PAM. Alternatively the 45mm FF isn’t that big. And they make it in blue.

GB:
The sales guy turned out to be an idiot and quoted me the price on the chrono Bathyscaphe in ceramic case.
The retail on the OCIII is $17,100 as speedmaster pointed out. I'm seeing it on a grey listing for $14K. If I can source it for $13K, I think it would be a solid get given its specs.

I still like the GO Senator chrono black dial/light blue hands as well

[bruinmd]

Originally Posted by Frits1980

Havent seen it but i do have the mil-spec which uses the same case i believe. 40mm would be perfect for your 6.5. It wears like a rolex 14060m if made in 39.

Movement is top notch. My Bathyscape and mil-spec are both gaining 2 sec a day and the 4/5 day power reserve is great for rotation. No problems what so ever.

Get ii on the bracelet if you can. Its well made and you can Always get the strap seperate. Sailcloth strap + clasp isnt that expensive. My mil-spec came on the bracelet and i bought the strap+clasp seperate which was about 300/400US if i remember correctly.

If its the bracelet version. Make sure you request the special Blancpain tool for the links. They will have to order it with blancpain but they will give it to you.

Good stuff -- thanks.

Yes, that FP movement is pretty damn good. It's one reason I like the AP 26480ti just released with the modified FP 1185 (and for which I have a deposit down). The problem is that now that I've seen it on a 7" wrist, I don't think I can pull it off.

Hence, I'm thinking about the OCIII as an alternative