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The Fifty Fathoms collection embodies Blancpain's passion for the underwater world that was originally expressed in 1953 with the presentation of the first modern diver’s watch.
Jan 13, 2023 · Here's the roadmap: (1) where to start your Fifty Fathoms collection; (2) where to dive deeper, and finally, (3) the Fifty Fathoms grails. Then, we'll take a tour of the modern Fifty Fathoms, focusing on the limited editions Blancpain has been reliably churning out since 2017.
- Anthony Traina
Sep 17, 2019 · Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms was one of the world' first modern dive watches, and there are more versions of it now than ever.
- Diving Into History
- The Bathyscaphe Resurfaces
- The Collection
The quest to make a watch water-resistant enough for diving was already well underway when Jean-Jacques Fiechter, then-CEO of Blancpain, began working on the watch that would become the Fifty Fathoms. Rolex had developed the water-resistant Oyster case in 1926, which paved the way for watches such as Panerai’s Radiomir in 1936, which combined a wat...
With the Fifty Fathoms established as a collection in its own right by 2013, the original model’s 60th anniversary, it was in that year that the next phase of its expansion would begin. The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe — named for the undersea vehicle invented by Auguste Piccard, which was first launched in the same year the Fifty Fathoms debuted — to...
Fifty Fathoms Automatique
Still the model most directly descended from the first Fifty Fathoms of 1953, the core Automatique watches maintain the robust 45mm case dimensions established by the 2008 version and continue to house the Blancpain Caliber 1315, which is fitted with a magnetic-resistant silicon balance spring and holds a power reserve of five days, or 120 hours. In addition to the hours, minutes and central seconds, the movement also powers a date display, which appears discreetly at 4:30 on the dial. The ro...
Fifty Fathoms Grande Date
If the relatively subtlety of the 4:30 date window on the Automatique is a little too quiet for you, you might opt for the Grande Date model, whose 45mm case is made of titanium and offered on three bracelet types: a sailcloth strap, a NATO fabric strap, and a titanium link bracelet. In addition to the hours, minutes and central seconds display, the watch’s dial features a large date display in a dual window at 6 o’clock. The movement offers the same five-day power reserve as the Automatique...
Fifty Fathoms Chronographe Flyback
One of the foundational trilogy of the Fifty Fathoms collection in 2008, the Chronographe Flyback contains the Blancpain manufactureCaliber F185, whose flyback chronograph functionality is driven by a classical column wheel and which stores a 40-hour power reserve. The variants available are two in steel cases, one with a black dial with matching black sapphire bezel, the other with a sunburst blue dial and blue sapphire bezel; and one in rose gold with a black dial and black sapphire bezel....
- Mark Bernardo
Mar 21, 2024 · The new ref. 5010 line of Fifty Fathoms can be broken down essentially two ways: blue dials or black, titanium or rose gold. You can get either combination, with matching color straps in sail-canvas, NATO, or (my pick) a tropic textured rubber inspired by the 1953 model.
Jan 1, 2023 · 2023 marked the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms, the first true diver's watch. Divided into three acts, the celebrations gave rise to the creation of three timepieces. The first (Act 1), focused on the present, honours the contemporary Fifty Fathoms.
Aug 22, 2013 · To celebrate, Blancpain released the new Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, a tribute to one of the best-known Fifty Fathoms from the late 1950s. The watch takes some design inspiration from the original while still being a thoroughly modern watch, and we had to take a closer look for ourselves.
