Description

One of the first modern dive watches ever made, it was designed in the middle of the 1950s. Along with a few other watches, it helped to define the basic aesthetic and technological standards for this kind of watch. The Hayek family, who own the Swatch Group and consequently Blancpain, first reintroduced it in 2003. The iconic Fifty Fathoms Automatique.

The dive watch as we know it today wouldn’t exist were it not for the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. First unveiled in 1953 as the first watch with a secured unidirectional rotating timing bezel, a patented O-ring seal and double-sealed crown system, and a hefty dose of water resistance, the original Fifty Fathoms created a genre that would soon become an industry standard. Fast-forward seven decades and Blancpain is still making the Fifty Fathoms, though it’s gone quite a bit upmarket in the ensuing years to fit with the brand’s current status as a purveyor of haute horological luxury timepieces.