Savoir Faire

The Fifty Fathoms was born from an encounter between Blancpain and two exceptional personalities. In 1952,
Captain "Bob" Maloubier and his lieutenant Claude Riffaud were entrusted by the French Ministry of Defence with creating an elite unit of "Combat Divers". Upon finding no existing watch capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of underwater missions, the two officers came to Blancpain.

Building on their expertise and their visionary spirit, the watchmakers and engineers of the Manufacture developed a mechanical masterpiece that was to assert itself as the archetypal diver’s watch. The original model was launched in 1953; its water resistance was guaranteed to a depth of 50 fathoms (91.45 m), hence its names.