FINAL FATHOMS

Blancpain revealed the last tribute to its own achievement of creating the first true dive watch in 1953 with the Fifty Fathoms Act 3

- ASHOK SOMAN

Cannes, in the south of France, is probably most famed for its annual film festival, and known besides as a bit of a summer playground. It is not particularly well regarded for its horological chops; it is just a little too pleasant, if anything. Surprisingly, it served as the inspiration for the world’s first dive watch, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. Well, not what you see on shore or even the beautiful waterfront setting, but what lies beneath the waves. In 1950, Jean-Jacques Fiechter assumed the role of Blancpain's CEO, and he harboured a deep passion for diving. In those days, recreational diving was in its infancy, with SCUBA apparatus having only been introduced in 1943 by famed diver and marine biologist Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

Diving was perilous and unpredictable, and Jean-Jacques learned this the hard way. During a dive near Cannees, he found himself 50 metres below the surface, dangerously low on air and without a watch to time his emergency ascent. He later remarked that "passion makes one forget the time." Thankfully, Jean-Jacques had another passion – watchmaking. Recognising the need for a precise, reliable, and robust dive watch, he embarked on a mission to create the ideal timepiece.

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Act 3 was revealed in Cannes, France, as the final watch in a year-long celebration for the world’s first true dive watch. There was plenty of speculation prior to this, especially after Blancpain dropped some teasers that proved very slightly misleading (a reference to German silver that gave away nothing). The watch is indeed a time-only 41.3mm dive instrument that does not make space for a date; the 6 o’clock position is instead occupied by the mil-spec water-resistance mark (denoting if moisture has compromised the case) of the military watches of the 1960s.