BLANCPAIN Fifty Fathoms. The Art of Diving since the early 1950s. Act I, II and III in ONE video.
WatchAdvisor
Jan 24, 2024
The BLANCPAIN FIFTY FATHOMS is the fortunate outcome of a dive whose consequences could have been quite different. One day when then Blancpain co-CEO and passionate diver JEAN-JACQUES FIECHTER was diving in his favorite resort of Cannes in the south of France, he suddenly ran out of air. This dramatic and pivotal experience made him realise the extent to which divers needed a time-measuring instrument tailored to the needs of scuba diving, and led him to create the Fifty Fathoms. Its self-winding mechanism; its resistance to magnetism; its watertightness to at least 10 bar; along with its XXL luminescent hour-markers contrasting with the dark dial represented a set of key elements presented on the early 1950s model. The crown fitted with a double watertight seal; the case-back sealing system (to prevent any distortion of the O-ring when the case is fitted); as well as the lockable rotating bezel would all be patented.
The functions, features and performance of this model led the main armed forces of the day (France, Germany, the United States and Norway...) to adopt this timepiece for their combat divers. The relevance of Jean-Jacques Fiechter's ideas was such that the Fifty Fathoms became the archetypal diving watch for the entire watch industry at the time – and remains so this day.
But the story doesn't end there. Although this timepiece established the fundamentals for safe diving, in the 1950s Jean-Jacques Fiechter also developed a moisture indicator, an additional safety feature whose purpose was to provide divers with the confirmation that the watch had not been damaged by another diver on a previous mission. Appearing on the dial of the MIL-SPEC watches in 1957 – some of whose variants are among the rarest and most sought-after timepieces by collectors – this moisture indicator was part of the specifications of the US Navy, which regarded this model as the only one to meet all the strict criteria laid down for its underwater missions. The Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3 pays tribute to that watch. It is immediately apparent that this third anniversary timepiece is indeed inspired by its non-magnetic parent used by the US Navy. The matt black dial with vintage Super-LumiNova®-enhanced moisture indicator and hour-markers; the unidirectional rotating bezel with black ceramic insert featuring a vintage Super-LumiNova® diving scale; as well as the two-tone NATO strap featuring the colour code of the original timepiece and made from fishing nets recovered from the oceans are all features that demonstrate their close kinship.
The Tech Gombessa watch designed to measure the duration of up to three-hour-long tech dives or exits from a saturation system. Conceived five years ago by the two divers, this watch has been extensively tested. Unlike the bezels on conventional diver’s watches, the bezel on the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa has a three-hour scale. It is linked to a special hand that completes one full turn in three hours and whose material and colour – a white luminescent coating with green emission – match those of its markers. This device invented jointly by Marc A. Hayek and Laurent Ballesta is a world first for which a patent has been filed. It is the heart of the 13P8 self-winding move- ment, based on the same criteria of reliability and robustness that have made the Fifty Fathoms the ultimate diver’s watch for 70 years. Once the combination of bezel and movement was defined, it was time to tackle the exterior of this new watch designed to plumb the depths. Grade 23 titanium was chosen for the case. Recently introduced to the Blancpain collections, this metal also known as grade 5 ELI (extra low inter- stitials) is the purest type of titanium available. It is distinguished by exceptional strength and anti- allergenic properties, while being remarkably light. This material ensures that the watch is comfortable to wear and guarantees a barely-there feel on the wrist despite the 47 mm diameter. This is especially true since the watch features – in a first for Blancpain – central lugs attached from the inside of the case middle and integrating the strap. Water-resistant to 30 bar, the case is equipped with a helium valve.
To kick off the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms the Manufacture was unveiling three series are once again being produced, this time each comprising 70 watches. Each series is dedicated to a region of the world – EMEA, Asia-Pacific, the Americas – and bears a number from I to III on the dial. The watch case is made of polished steel and measures 42 mm. This is an exclusive diameter, as no contemporary Fifty Fathoms has ever yet been offered in this size.
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Thanks for posting this one up, Mike. 
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