Introducing a brand new, restricted version dive watch manufactured by Blancpain for HODINKEE. Items are numbered, and accessible solely within the HODINKEE Store and choose Blancpain boutiques.
The watch comes with three straps: a black NATO, a sail-canvas strap, and a gray NATO.
We’ve labored with Blancpain to create a contemporary execution of what’s broadly thought-about one of the crucial essential army and dive watches ever made. That is the Fifty Fathoms you’ve been asking for, one which honors its legacy as one in every of the archetypal dive watches. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Restricted Version for HODINKEE incorporates a 38mm chrome steel case housing Blancpain’s in-house caliber 1153. No date is current on the unique Fifty Fathoms, and there’s no date on ours both. This iteration is pure, targeted, and executed within the spirit of the unique – simply the best way we prefer it at HODINKEE. Along with Blancpain, we’re solely making 100 of those, they usually’re accessible within the HODINKEE Store and the New York Metropolis and Las Vegas Blancpain boutiques for $9,900.
There are dive watches, after which there are purpose-built instruments for particular forces groups working in essentially the most excessive environments on Earth. The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms falls squarely into the latter class. Whereas different dive watches have been additionally utilized by fight divers, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was engineered particularly for fight divers to execute a number of the most difficult underwater missions on the earth. Which is why for our latest restricted version we wished to create one thing particular based mostly on one of the crucial traditionally vital dive watches at present in manufacturing. Right this moment we deliver you an up to date, fashionable model of the traditional – the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Restricted Version for HODINKEE.
Designed for the Deep
Again within the early 1950s, Blancpain CEO Jean-Jacques Fiechter began to develop the last word device for diving – a watch – as he himself was an novice diver. So when Captain Robert Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud of France’s premier maritime particular operations unit, the Nageurs de fight, approached Fiechter in 1952 a few related want (however for army requirements), they labored collectively to create a dive watch that might stand as much as the calls for of fight swimmers and in 1953 the Fifty Fathoms was born.
Maloubier, Riffaud, and Fiechter all knew precisely what they wanted: A watch that might give the Frogmen an edge and hold them secure by precisely timing dives and monitoring elapsed time. The Nageurs de fight carried out quite a lot of underwater missions, typically in very low-visibility situations. The watch needed to be legible even in essentially the most excessive environments. Together with a compass and depth gauge, this watch would play an important function in executing mission-critical goals, together with covert underwater infiltrations, mine disposal, and underwater intelligence.
The watch proliferated among the many particular operations group and the diving world alike. Dozens of iterations have been produced by Blancpain, every an try to refine the design and meet the various wants of army models world wide. Jacques-Yves Cousteau, a former French naval officer, and his crew famously wore a Fifty Fathoms in his movie The Silent World, which later gained a Palme d’Or.
Later, in 1956, the Bathyscaphe was launched because the everyman’s dive watch. The Bathyscaphe mannequin happened to enrich the Fifty Fathoms’ success in service as a method to fulfill the rising civilian sport diving section. With out sacrificing efficiency, it targeted on wearability and flexibility for individuals who have been drawn to the underwater world on their very own accord, moderately than strictly for naval functions. It was a shopper product born from expertise serving elite fight swimmers. The case was barely downsized from the mil-spec Fifty Fathoms, however the spirit of the watch remained. It allowed Blancpain to proceed to experiment with design innovation and technical developments that appealed to all kinds of divers – each army or not. This resulted within the many iterations of the Fifty Fathoms underneath the Bathyscaphe moniker from the ’50s till the ’70s. The Bathyscaphe was reintroduced in 2013 and continues to be a part of the Fifty Fathoms assortment. It stays one of the crucial revered fashionable dive watches available in the market immediately. The HODINKEE Fifty Fathoms falls underneath the trendy Bathyscaphe line, packaging the Fifty Fathoms’ army heritage in a wearable fashionable 38mm case.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Restricted Version For HODINKEE
$9,900
Go to the Store
The HODINKEE Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe
The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Restricted Version for HODINKEE sticks to the tried and true formulation of the unique. One of many first executions of the Fifty Fathoms was a Rotomatic Incabloc from 1953. This instance is characterised by balanced-yet-bold numerals and markers utilized on to the dial, its antimagnetic interior case, and rotating bezel, and computerized motion. Through the years, this execution advanced and has develop into iconic among the many cult-like following the Fifty Fathoms has developed. “We wished in impact that every of the markers be as clear as a guiding star for a shepherd,” Captain Robert Maloubier mentioned in regards to the dial structure of the Fifty Fathoms throughout its improvement within the ’50s. The HODINKEE Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe definitely fulfills Captain Maloubier’s needs.
Whereas the unique Fifty Fathoms was a no-nonsense device watch, we’ve gone a step additional and capitalized on the half a century of haute horlogerie innovation that Blancpain has achieved. This isn’t only a diver – that is true high-end watchmaking. Powering the watch is Blancpain’s caliber 1153, a high-grade motion that’s constructed completely in-house. The Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe is a device watch at coronary heart, however the ending on the HODINKEE Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe rivals many watches twice the worth. It’s primarily a luxurious watch that’s constructed to specs that put it squarely within the device watch class. The ending and motion grade aren’t sometimes current on watches like this, however then once more, most watches aren’t the Fifty Fathoms.
The 1153’s four-day energy reserve will not be solely a testomony to Blancpain’s horological prowess, however it’s additionally sensible. The intricate particulars and pristine hand-finishing of the 1153 might be noticed by means of a show again; the HODINKEE brand is engraved on the rotor, as nicely. Sometimes rotors are manufactured from metal or brass with a gold mass on the periphery, however Blancpain makes all of its winding rotors from strong gold, together with on the caliber 1153, for higher winding efficiency and as a nod to the caliber’s high-end pedigree. As an alternative of leaving the gold uncovered although, it’s been coated in a stealthy gray end to slot in with the tool-inspired aesthetic. As well as, the caliber 1153 boasts a silicon hairspring (like all Blancpain calibers), which eliminates the necessity for a mushy iron case to guard the motion from magnetism. It’s the small print like this that make the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Restricted Version for HODINKEE the last word instance.
The motion is three.25mm thick and 26.2mm in diameter, permitting an affordable case measurement of 38mm in stark chrome steel. A satin-brushed chrome steel bezel with ceramic insert and Liquidmetal® hour-markers surrounds the dial, mixing the brand new with the outdated.
On the Wrist
Whether or not you’re a desk diver, an aspiring one, or you’ve got a divemaster ranking underneath your belt, one factor is for positive: This can be a watch that makes you wish to execute your individual underwater missions. Topside, it performs simply as nicely, with denims and a t-shirt or board shorts on the seashore. Hardly ever are you able to put on a watch with roots in haute horlogerie on the seashore, however the utilitarian nature of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Restricted Version for HODINKEE allows you to go wherever and do something with it strapped to your wrist. Not solely is it a improbable summer time watch, however it’s additionally the sort of watch that conjures up you to get out and honor the legacy the Fifty Fathoms has created.
That’s why we created this watch – as an train in high-end watchmaking, however in the end to stay as much as what’s thought-about one of the crucial essential dive watches ever created. Head on over to the HODINKEE Store for yours.
The Blancpain Ocean Dedication
For the reason that starting, Blancpain has been devoted to preserving the world’s oceans and the communities devoted to their existence. Working carefully with passionate divers, main scientists, underwater explorers, environmentalists, and photographers, their mission has grown far past simply watches. The Blancpain Ocean Dedication is devoted to the examine and help of our planet’s oceans and to maintain them as pristine and secure for wildlife that inhabits them. You may be taught extra about it on the Blancpain web site.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Restricted Version For HODINKEE
$9,900
Go to the Store
