2018 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe

Widely regarded as the first modern dive watch, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms holds a significant place in the history of horology. Its origins can be traced back to the early 1950s when Blancpain’s then CEO, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, collaborated with French naval officers Bob Maloubier and Claude Riffaud to create a watch that could withstand the rigors of deep-sea diving while ensuring precise timekeeping and excellent legibility. In 1953, Fiechter delivered a watch that fully met their testing criteria—the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms.

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Named after the depth at which it could be submerged, the Fifty Fathoms featured several groundbreaking innovations including a robust watertight case made of stainless steel, a unidirectional rotating bezel with clear markers for timing underwater dives, and a highly legible dial with luminescent hands and hour markers. These features ensured that divers could easily read and measure elapsed time accurately, even in low-light or murky conditions. Furthermore, the Fifty Fathoms boasted an automatic movement, which eliminated the need for manual winding and provided additional convenience and reliability for divers.

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After the initial release, Blancpain continued to refine and innovate the Fifty Fathoms collection to meet the needs of its wearers, which included the French Navy, the U.S. Navy, and Jaques Cousteau's famed Calypso divers. Notably, in the late 1950s, a slightly smaller and more civilian-oriented version of the original Fifty Fathoms was introduced—the Bathyscaphe. It offered a sleeker 35mm to 38mm profile for everyday wear while maintaining the core characteristics of its predecessor.

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Many years later, in 2013, Blancpain released a re-interpretation of the Bathyscaphe in a 43mm case. While the watch was well-received, the chief complaint was about its size and the brand eventually released a 38mm version in 2017 that was more in line with the ethos of the original. Available in either white, black, or a stunning “abyss blue”, the 38mm Bathyscaphe featured several luxurious adornments including a Liquidmetal ceramic bezel, a sunburst dial with jewel-like hour markers, and an automatic movement with a whopping 100-hour power reserve and an 18K gold rotor. The smaller size has served the brand well and is now more tasteful than ever as dive watches such as the Tudor Black Bay 54 return to vintage proportions with much fanfare.