Because of the rich heritage, seven decades of the Fifty Fathoms could not be celebrated in only one go.
So throughout 2023, Blancpain marked the milestone with a trilogy of commemorative timepieces.
In late September, its president and CEO Marc A. Hayek unveiled the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3 at the historic Fort Royal on Sainte-Marguerite Island, off the coast of Cannes.
Blancpain is undeniably an authority in diving watches because Hayek is an avid diver, who revived the Fifty Fathoms in 2003.
The original was actually designed by Jean-Jacques Fiechter — the former CEO who headed the Swiss company from 1950 to 1980.
Fiechter was an amateur diver, whose pivotal experience in the Mediterranean led to the development of the Fifty Fathoms in the early 1950s, when scuba diving was in its infancy.
A member of the Club Alpin Sous-Marin in Cannes, he lost track…
