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What Would the First Watchmakers Have Done with Today’s Technology?

More than half a century after creating the first modern diver’s wristwatch – the famous Fifty Fathoms – the Blancpain Manufacture in Le Brassus is unveiling its brand-new 500 Fathoms. And it is based on this new watch that Blancpain have created a unique piece for Only Watch.

“I think this watch represents Blancpain quite well,” says Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO of Blancpain. “We have a lot of tradition, roots that we respect and that we demonstrate in this piece. As you can see we never stop developing. Traditional watchmakers are people who are future-orientated, forever developing and searching for answers. Watchmakers are inquisitive and something I think many traditional brands have almost forgotten.”

Hayek believes that often the most beautiful is to repeat from history, but then you don’t have the precision of the power-reserve, the sapphire glass, and modern materials. “I think you can respect all your roots and tradition but you have to move to the future,” says Hayek. “You have to use new materials in order to continue the spirit of our ancestors. What would they have thought at this time? What would they have thought of all the new technology that we have at our disposal today? This is what we try to incorporate into our new pieces.”

The spirit of the Blancpain Only Watch is nautical, with the oscillating weight – viewable through the sapphire crystal back – shaped like a boat propeller. “It is all in the details,” continues Hayek. “This is why we chose the 500 Fathoms for Only Watch – on one side it expresses our expertise in diving watches and on the other the lifestyle aspect. Based on one of our historic watches – the Fifty Fathoms – this watch is very much in the spirit of the brand. A watch linked with everything that is connected with the ocean: with boats, yachts, the spirit of adventure, sport, and developed from extreme new materials. It is very much a lifestyle watch.”

The watch nicely reflects the tradition of the brand. Many of the elements come from the original Fifty Fathoms of 1953. It has a slight retro look but is definitely of the future, incorporating as it does new materials – the titanium case, carbon fiber and blued smoked sapphire glass on the dial – mixing new influences, new technologies while at the same time staying quite close to the original with its easily recognizable slightly cambered glass which created a space between the dial and the glass. In the 50s the space was essential in a diving watch because you had to have a very thick watch glass so that it could hold up to the pressure at decompression.

“We used sapphire crystal for the glass in order to keep the same spirit of the original, and yet incorporate the latest technology,” says Hayek. “You have, for instance, a massive sapphire covering the dial in which the dome of the glass has been scooped out. With the new materials you can now go to 1,000 meters in this watch instead of the original 100 meters (91.45 m = 50 fathoms)….”

“We named this piece the ‘500 Fathoms’,” says Lionel a Marca, Vice-president Technique at Blancpain, “because it can go to a depth of 1,000 meters – approximately 500 fathoms (914.5 m). The ratcheted bezel facilitates handling, while its unidirectional rotation system avoids any inadvertent extension of diving time. Made from titanium and scratch-resistant sapphire, the bezel is slightly cambered to protect it from impacts.”

The cambered-shaped sapphire is important due to the pressures inflicted on a watch when diving. The 500 Fathoms’ crystal is produced in a very special manner and there are not many in the world that can do this in sapphire crystal.

The sapphire has a heel that fits neatly into the bezel. It takes a special diamond to cut this. At its center the sapphire glass is 3.5 mm thick. Added to this, the watch has an extremely complex sapphire crystal bezel, laser cutting to shape with the luminescent index sandwiched between the upper sapphire glass and the metal of the bezel – which means that the watch doesn’t get scratched.

“You see this on the epoxy bezel of the original,” says Hayek, himself a keen diver. “This is the part you scratch the most, so in the original you lost luminosity and visibility. Today we have covered the bezel with sapphire – so you have the beauty of the look of the original Fifty Fathoms but none of the headaches and it holds its luminosity, doesn’t scratch and is waterproof and will last longer. It’s a watch you can really wear every day and also use it for what it is intended for – diving.”

The case back is also in sapphire crystal (3.2 mm thick), which is very unusual for a watch that can be worn to depths of 1,000 meters. Even though the case is in lightweight titanium, with a 13’’’ movement, the watch is comfortably heavy to wear as a diver because of the weight of the sapphire crystals. The watch is equipped with a 1315 movement. It is an entirely sporty watch and has a 5-day power reserve.

The dial is constructed in three phases. The central part is in carbon fiber, on the outer ring of the dial, which is circular brushed, is the calendar disc below a blued sapphire crystal insert with single aperture at 6 o’clock that displays the date in white numerals on a black disc. The sword hands are luminous at the center and the extra long seconds hand is also luminous and has a red finial point. The hours are indicated by luminous squares and at 12 o’clock by an inverted luminous triangle shape.

The bracelet is made from rubber-lined black sail canvas which resists salt water more effectively than traditional diving bracelets. The triple-blade folding clasp is in brushed steel and the outer clip in titanium and comes complete with an ultra-rugged water-resistant presentation box designed to withstand extreme conditions.

“We sell emotions,” says Hayek, “and here you have everything – a functional watch designed to be a diving watch with a bezel mechanism that clicks when you turn it, a retro look, and a very successful diving watch. Even with all the emotion and beauty it is also functional.”

 

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For more information contact:
Ita McCobb
Patrizzi & Co Auctioneers SA
Tel +41 22 318 28 38
e-mail i.mccobb@patrizziauction.com

Audrey Baylac
Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies / Monaco Yacht Show
Tel +377 93 10 41 70
e-mail audrey@monacoyachtshow.mc