The Fifty Fathoms is without question one of the world's most iconic dive watches, and arguably the first; however, it might never have been made at all were it not for one man — Jean-Jacques Fiechter of Blancpain.
In 1952, the French Navy tasked two veterans with a formidable mission. These men — Lt. Claude Riffaud Captain Bob Maloubier — were to create a specialized unit of combat divers meant to act under the utmost secrecy. Some of the missions they were to enact included attacking ports, disrupting supply lines, and sabotage of enemy vessels.
Riffaud and Maloubier had a general idea of what gear the divers needed — compasses, depth gauges, and of course, watches. But as far as the watches were concerned, there was no timepiece on the market specifically designed for their purposes.
So Maloubier, armed with a pencil and protractor, sketched a watch. Not just any watch, but a watch ideally suited for diving. It needed to have a robust, watertight case and a dial that would be legible in the darkest of nights, at the deepest of depths.
Pitched to several well-known manufactures, Blancpain was the only maison that agreed to produce Maloubier's new design. Jean-Jacques Fiechter, Blancpain’s CEO at the time and himself an avid diver, helped the pair create a unique watch equipped with a Bakelite timing bezel and rubber gaskets. Nothing like it had been seen before, and one of the world's first purpose-built, modern diver's watches was born. As a reflection of its depth rating, Blancpain called it the Fifty Fathoms.
This piece however, is a very special Fifty Fathoms featuring a double-signed dial from the storied French watchmaker and retailer, LIP. In an agreement between Blancpain and LIP, the latter company became the sole distributor for the Fifty Fathoms diver across its 2,000-plus brick-and-mortar locations.
Ironically enough, Maloubier and Riffaud had been rebuffed by LIP when approached about manufacturing the Fifty Fathoms — though they did construct at least one prototype — who claimed that the "oversized wrist clock" had no future! (This proved a misstep on LIP's part and a fortuitous occurrence for Blancpain, to be sure.)
Housed in a 41mm stainless steel case with a bidirectional, elapsed-time friction bezel and its signature 'diamond' zero marker configuration and likely its original domed acrylic crystal, this piece features a gloss black dial with both brands' wordmarks positioned directly below 12 o’clock. Radium indices, a moisture indicator above the 6 o'clock marker, a matching baton handset, and a center 'spear' seconds hand round out the feature set.
The screw-down caseback is likewise treated to an engraved double-signature — and what’s more, the dust shield covering the self-winding Schild Calibre 1361N movement bears the LIP name and an Aqua Lung signature.
Incredible.
Experience this special piece today!