Blancpain celebrates the 70th anniversary of its iconic Fifty Fathoms diver’s watch with the launch of the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3. This limited edition of 555 pieces is inspired by the MIL-SPEC model used by the major armed forces of the time. The watch features a moisture indicator, a hallmark of the original timepiece, and is made of 9-carat bronze gold.
The Fifty Fathoms was born out of a near-miss diving incident involving Blancpain’s co-CEO, Jean-Jacques Fiechter. Recognising the need for a timekeeping instrument tailored to scuba diving, Fiechter created the world’s first true diver’s watch. The watch’s features, including a self-winding mechanism, resistance to magnetism and water resistance, led to it being adopted by the armed forces of France, Germany, the USA and Norway.
The Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3 also pays tribute to the moisture indicator developed by Fiechter in the 1950s, a safety feature that confirmed the watch’s integrity after a dive. This feature was part of the US Navy’s specifications for “underwater missions.
Source: Blancpain.com
