LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2023--

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Blancpain X Swatch: could this be the “innovative” collaboration they say it is? The Swatch collaborations are back after a viral launch of the Omega MoonSwatch back in March last year. Marking the 70th anniversary of the “Fifty Fathoms” collection, luxury watchmaker Blancpain says collaborating with Swatch will create a “playful” and “unexpected” version of its so-called “iconic” scuba diving watch. The watch was built for French combat divers who required reliable watches that function underwater. Now, the two well-known watch brands are teaming up for a “non-limited collection” which will feature five models full of “joie de vivre,” – which loosely translates to “enjoyment of life”. A press release by Blancpain noted the brands are “diving into the five oceans of the blue planet, combining the best of both brands with innovative, bioceramic, water-resistant timepieces and a mechanical movement with a 90-hour power reserve”. But does this collaboration really meet the hype? With the brands finely crafted advertisements in newspapers across the United States, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and LA Times – teasing consumers for what is to come, could this be what watch lovers hoped for? Here is everything you need to know about the Blancpain X Swatch collection collaboration When will the Blancpain X Swatch collection launch? Watch lovers, have no fear as the Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms drops worldwide on 9 September, according to an Instagram post by Swatch on 4 September. Since its announcement, Swatch and Blancpain have released several teasers – getting fans excited for what is yet to come. “The collection faithfully reproduces all the Fifty Fathoms hallmarks, such as superior water resistance, outstanding legibility, mechanical movement secured rotating bezel, and anti-magnetic protection,” Swatch said in one of its Instagram posts and people loved it. One user commented under the post “Shut up and take my money,” while another said: “Much better than Swatch-Omega collab!!!”. What will the collection look like? Blancpain X Swatch will be launching five models with a “unique and patented blend of two-thirds ceramic and one-third biomaterials derived from castor oil.” Each model is named after the world’s five oceans while featuring different bright colours with the words “Blancpain Fifty Fathoms X Swatch inscribed inside.” The colours are the Atlantic Ocean in blue, the Arctic Ocean in red, the Pacific Ocean in yellow, the Indian Ocean in green, and the Antarctic Ocean in white. For Blancpain President and CEO Marc A. Hayek, this collaboration is highly symbolic: "Without Swatch, the Swiss watch industry would simply not have survived and enjoyed such a wonderful destiny. “This collection is a source of pride for me. We owed it to ourselves to work with this brand that is as much a pioneer as we are – a reality vividly proven with this collection. Swatch has brilliantly reinterpreted our iconic model, in its own way, with its own vision,” Hayek adds. “As a keen diver myself, I really appreciate the attention to detail in this collection and the many references to the Fifty Fathoms. The fact that it is water-resistant to a depth of 91 metres – corresponding to exactly 50 fathoms, a nautical unit of depth – is a fantastic nod." I want to know more about the models and price points Watch fanatics, we’ve got you covered with all you need to know about each model, style and price point, according to the Swatch website. First up we have the Arctic Ocean: Price: £340 Case Material: Beige Bioceramic case including crown Case diameter: 42.4mm Case thickness: 14.4m Lug to lug distance: 48.0 mm Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91/300ft/9 bar) Glass: Biosourced material with anti-scratch coating Hand, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova Bezel: One-direction rotating bezel in beige Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in orange Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea Pacific Ocean Price: £340 Case Material: Yellow-orange Bioceramic case including crown Case diameter: 42.3 mm Case thickness: 14.4 mm Lug-to-lug distance: 48.0 mm Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91 m / 300 ft / 9 bar) Glass: Biosourced material treated with an anti-scratch coating Hands, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova Bezel: one-direction rotating bezel in warm yellow Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in black Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea Atlantic Ocean Price: £340 Case Material: blue Bioceramic case including crown Case diameter: 42.3 mm Case thickness: 14.4 mm Lug-to-lug distance: 48.0 mm Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91 m / 300 ft / 9 bar) Glass: Biosourced material treated with an anti-scratch coating Hands, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova Bezel: one-direction rotating bezel in ocean blue Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in black Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea Indian Ocean Price: £340 Case Material: green Bioceramic case including crown Case diameter: 42.3 mm Case thickness: 14.4 mm Lug-to-lug distance: 48.0 mm Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91 m / 300 ft / 9 bar) Glass: Biosourced material treated with an anti-scratch coating Hands, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova Bezel: one-direction rotating bezel in green Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in black Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea Antarctic Ocean Price: £340 Case Material: ice white Bioceramic case including crown Case diameter: 42.3 mm Case thickness: 14.4 mm Lug-to-lug distance: 48.0 mm Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91 m / 300 ft /9 bar) Glass: Biosourced material treated with an anti-scratch coating Hands, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova Bezel: one-direction rotating bezel in ice-white Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in dark grey Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea Where can I buy the Blancpain X Swatch collection? The non-limited collections mean the collaboration is set for continuous rollout, so the good news is – you won’t have to rush to the nearest Swatch store to grab yours as soon as possible. With the worldwide launch taking off on 9 September, you can purchase your selected watch in the nearest Swatch store. What is bioceramic made of? Swatch first began converting its collections to use a new bio-sourced plastic derived from castor oil in 2020. This new plastic is also combined with ceramic to create “bioceramic”. Noted by Swatch as a “recipe for innovation,” now, similar to the MoonSwatch, this year’s collab is housed in Swatch’s hybrid plastic-ceramic material. But what makes this watch slightly more pricy is the inside, built-in with an automatic movement in place of quartz. Despite the fancy upgrade, the Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms gives buyers the chance to wear the branded name on their wrists for hundreds of pounds. Read More Period and fertility tracking apps scrutinised over data security concerns World’s largest wind turbine breaks record for power generated in a single day AI can help generate synthetic viruses and spark pandemics, warns ex-Google executive Inside the world of luxury watch robberies as owners warned ‘Rolex Rippers’ could be watching them Best smartwatches for kids 2023 – GPS, cameras, games and more

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Google’s Bard, its powerful AI chatbot, can now get into people’s emails and other Google services. The tool has been linked with Google platforms such as Gmail, Maps and YouTube so that it can provide richer and more useful responses to queries, the company said. Users can ask the chatbot to automate the work of scheduling meetings through Gmail, for instance. Google launched Bard earlier this year, seemingly as a response to the huge success of other generative artificial intelligence platforms, such as ChatGPT. It offers many of the same features as that competitor, allowing users to chat in natural language and receive words and information in reply. The company has now announced a major update to the program, called Bard Extensions, which will allow users to link other Google services to collaborate with Bard to provide a response to a prompt - for example, when asking Bard to help plan a holiday, users can ask Bard to get the dates that work for family members from Gmail, use Google Maps to get directions to the airport and find YouTube videos to watch about the best things to do at the destination. It said the update made Bard “the most capable” version of the program so far and would help more people use the app to collaborate. The tech giant said the update would have a strong focus on user privacy, with users required to actively give permission to Bard to access their Googleservices, and any content lifted would not be reviewable by a human unless the user specifically asked Bard to flag it for review. In a further expansion of the chatbot, Google said it would now also enable users to double-check the responses they receive from Bard using a new “Google it” button, which will check the response against linked Google search results and highlight passages it is confident about the validity of, as well as those where it found differing results. Some experts have raised concerns about the possible spread of misinformation within generative AI platforms, warning some information is being presented to users in an authoritative way when it may be based on inaccurate or outdated information used to train such chatbots. A report by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published on Monday which looked into the potential impact of the AI market noted that without proper guiding principles, people and businesses could be harmed through exposure to significant levels of misinformation and AI-enabled fraud. In a blog post on the updates to Bard, Google‘s director for product management of Bard, Yury Pinsky, said: “One of the biggest benefits of Bard, an experiment to collaborate with generative AI, is that it can tailor its responses to exactly what you need. “For instance, you could ask Bard to start a trip planning doc for you and your friends, draft up your online marketplace listing, or help explain a science topic to your kids. And now Bard is getting even better at customising its responses so you can easily bring your ideas to life. “Today we’re launching Bard Extensions in English, a completely new way to interact and collaborate with Bard. With Extensions, Bard can find and show you relevant information from the Google tools you use every day - like Gmail, Docs, Drive, Maps, YouTube, and Google Flights and hotels - even when the information you need is across multiple apps and services.” Elsewhere in the update, Google also confirmed that when a link to a Bard conversation is shared online, others will be able to click on that link and continue the same conversation themselves. Read More BBC reviews Russell Brand’s time at corporation as YouTube demonetises content Google announces huge breakthrough step in finding genes that cause disease BBC removes some Russell Brand content as monetisation suspended on YouTube Google Bard can now link to Gmail and other apps to help with responses Long-form video content is here to stay, says YouTube UK boss The most important tech trial in a generation is about to begin

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 29, 2023--

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