“Passion makes us lose track of time”, concedes Jean-Jacques Fiechter, CEO of Blancpain from 1950 to 1980. With this in mind, he was dreaming of a watch sufficiently rugged, reliable, water-resistant and readable to be his trusted underwater companion. 

What emerged from his creative quest is the world’s first modern diving watch and one which has defined the characteristics of diving watches ever since. Jean-Jacques Fiechter’s other passion was literature and it was Ariel’s Song from Shakespeare’s The Tempest that inspired him when the time came to name the new watch coming out of Blancpain’s workshops.

Early in the 1950’s, two French naval officers, Captain Robert “Bob” Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud, were charged with creating the French Combat diving corps. One of the essential pieces of gear for their divers was a timepiece. Tests on watches which they found on the market in Paris were disastrous; the watches were too small, difficult to read under water, and, most catastrophically, leaked. Badly.

After having met with Jean-Jacques Fiechter in Switzerland, the French officers left with sample Fifty Fathoms watches for testing. The watch passed with flying colours and the French Navy adopted the Fifty Fathoms as its diving watch. One year after the first official delivery, Claude Riffaud wrote a letter to Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms distributor, the Spirotechnique, to communicate the combat divers’ satisfaction.

Jean-Jacques Fiechter’s passion for diving motivated him to create a watch suited to this sport, his own personal experiences as a diver guiding him in defining what was required. As he explains, at the time, patent applications were filed once the product was commercialised, so his first patent application was filed early in 1954. Three distinct innovations were patented in numerous countries: the locking rotating bezel, the double case back, and the double “O” ring crown system.

With its water resistance, robust doubled-sealed crown, self-winding movement, contrasting dark dial with luminescent indications, secured rotating bezel and anti-magnetic protection, the Fifty Fathoms became an indispensable instrument for divers on their underwater missions.

It was Allen Tornek, a jeweller on 45th street in New York, who saw the opportunity to supply the American Navy with Fifty Fathoms watches. However, Blancpain could not supply directly as it was not a US company. But Tornek could. In order to qualify he had to create a small testing laboratory in the US so that the watches could be tested and certified on US soil. Tornek and Blancpain successfully landed the contract and the famous “Milspec 1” Fifty Fathoms was born as the US Navy’s dive watch.

The genius of the Fifty Fathoms quickly became widely recognised and was adopted by the United States Navy Seals, America’s most elite diving corps, and also by the German and Israeli navies. 

Peaceful uses were also found for the watch through its selection by the French GERS (Undersea Study and Research Group), a world leader in undersea research. It was thus that Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s legendary team of divers wore Blancpain Fifty Fathoms watches when they filmed the award-winning movie The Silent World.

From the 1980s to the 2000s, the evolution of the Fifty Fathoms was put on hold, until the arrival of Marc A. Hayek at the helm of Blancpain. Like Fiechter decades before, Hayek was a passionate diver. Discovering the vintage Fifty Fathoms timepieces in Blancpain’s vault and immediately being seduced by the charm of Fiechter’s creations, Hayek vowed to bring back alive this history and tradition.

Representing both progress and continuity, the 2003 50th Anniversary Fifty Fathoms displayed the same dial and the same oversized luminous numerals and markers as the original 1953 design, reflecting the same adventurous spirit. Stainless steel was still used for the watch case, but the stainless steel case used for the 2003 version was now water resistant up to 300 meters, or about 165 fathoms, thanks to its screw-case, screw-locked crown and thick sapphire crystal.

Launched in 1953, the Fifty Fathoms is the first modern diver’s watch. Created by a diver to meet the needs of underwater exploration, it was chosen by diving pioneers and elite marine corps around the world as a professional timekeeping instrument. With its water resistance, robust doubled-sealed crown, self-winding movement, contrasting dark dial with luminescent indications, unidirectional rotating bezel and anti-magnetic protection, the Fifty Fathoms has become an indispensable instrument for divers on their underwater missions. These key signature elements that established the Fifty Fathoms as the archetypal diver’s watch continue to define the identity of such timepieces for the entire watch industry.

Bearing witness to the past while simultaneously looking firmly to the future, contemporary Fifty Fathoms models incorporate modern movements renowned for their robustness and reliability. They feature numerous technical innovations derived from Blancpain’s longstanding experience in the field of diving, its risks and its imperious necessities.

The Fifty Fathoms has played an essential role in the development of scuba diving and the discovery of the ocean world. It has enabled Blancpain to forge close links with the ocean community that have been consistently strengthened over the past 70 years. The Fifty Fathoms is the catalyst for Blancpain’s commitment to the preservation of the ocean.