This site, recently created, is a (modest) attempt to provide some information, pictures and data, regarding the Blancpain vintage Fifty Fathoms divers’ watches from the 1953-1980 period, to those who have an interest in these mythical items.

This is not a mail order site. All official Information about current models, re editions, Anniversary models and references to that period can be found on the Blancpain site.

This should complement the article recently published in the French Magazine "La Revue des Montres", February 2004 issue, by S. Ciejka, translated since in 10 languages . It is an attempt to show many models, like Aqualung, Milspec1, Bathyscaphe, Tornek Rayville, US Navy, LIP Blancpain, some of them fairly rare, with a view of movements and characteristics, showing color pictures which will improve over time, in quality and number through a quarterly update of the site.

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In 1952, two French naval officers, Commander Robert "Bob" Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud were instructed by the Ministry of Defense and the French Navy to set up an elite unit called "Les Nageurs de combat", i.e. Combat Swimmers, which became then a highly selective and top notch unit within the French forces.
Their underwater operations required rugged, water-resistant and reliable equipment capable of withstanding the testing conditions and environment of sub-sea missions.
At the time, they found no diver's watch that could meet their demanding specifications.
The two officers determined what they needed by way of a wristwatch and got in touch with Blancpain Rayville SA, in Villeret, Switzerland. The company's visionary engineers and watchmakers put their talents and know-how to work and came up with a compact marvel of precision mechanics, which would later become a myth: the FIFTY FATHOMS. It means 50 pitch-stirrers of 1.8 meters, that is to say 91 meters, the maximum depth an autonomous diver could reach then with normal compressed air at 200 bars. 50 fathoms was regarded as a safety threshold that only later studies by COMEX with mix of air and hélium will break. Actually the watch itself did support 150 meters depth.

At the same time, LIP’s reputation in France was second to none. Their dominant position in the French market led Blancpain, then virtually unknown in France, to sign a marketing and distribution deal with them in 1953 to enable them to get a toehold in France. Lip was at the same time able to distribute high-class watches with their own name on the dial.
In 1954 Lip put Blancpain’s fifty fathoms waterproof watch on the market in France. The watches were signed on the dial by both Blancpain and Lip. Lip also sold movements to Blancpain at this time, and one series had Lip R23 movements (marked Lip brevets Blancpain). Apart from this exception, Lip weren’t involved in the design of either the movements or watches, but just provided marketing, distribution and after sales support in France. This deal is particularly amusing, as the inventors of the watch, Robert Maloubier and Claude Riffaud, first contacted Lip at the start of the 1950s with an idea for a waterproof watch, but were turned down, and so went instead to Blancpain Rayville SA, who designed and produced the watch. The fifty fathoms received a huge world wide boost when it was worn by Jacques Cousteau and his divers during the underwater film "Le monde du silence", which won the Palme d’or at the Cannes film festival in 1956.

La Spirotechnique provided the professional world of diving with FF models in the same period, and was the main supplier of FF for the French Navy.

Over the years, and until the1980s, several models were issued by Blancpain, in small quantities, often for the military, in several countries, with polished, satin, or mat cases, most often fitted with AS (Anton Schild in Grenchen) auto movements, with date like 1712, or no date 1700, or other variants as shown below, many with the "no radiation symbol" on dial, and some with the wetness circle indicator to control water resistance, often seen on the MILSPEC1. Some super rare models issued for the US Navy, marked Tornek-Rayville, or US Navy on the dial, are seldom found in great condition and represent a true collectors dream.

Blancpain produced a limited number of models, approximately 20, over a period of 30 years, with a production of a few hundreds to a few thousands per model. The reputation of reliability of these watches earned them the right to be used by armies such as Czech, Polish, French Navy, German federal, some Nordic countries, and also by the US Navy (SEAL, under water demolition team, Frogman).

A sporty and very robust series, launched for military purposes but also for civil use, these watches were almost forgotten and unknown by the time and their revival, 40 years later with the new Blancpain trilogy (water, earth, air), and just now with the 50^th Anniversary model. This is certainly due to several factors, like small quantities made over the years, very little documentation available, and most important very few having survived the rough treatment of navy underwater missions.

There is a growing justified interest in all vintage Fifty Fathoms today, from world wide collectors. We hope this little contribution to the vintage models information will help them in their search for excellence.

Aknowledgements :

* S. Ciejka articles : La revue des Montres, March 1998, February 2004

* Des heures à conter «  LIP «  de Marie Pia Auschitsky Coustans ( Libris)

* Wristwatches / Konemann

* Military Timepieces by M. Withney

* Military Design / Japanese book by Kobunsha Bunko

* Militar Uhren, 1870 bis 1990, by Konrad KNIRIM

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28.01.2004 by Courtesy of R. Bruyeron and A. Bergsma, updated 23/10/2004
©2004 Watch-Deco all rights reserved. Reproductions or downloads in part or whole require authors agreement, all pictures are Digimarc signed.