GOING DEEP

Blancpain celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms this year. We dig into the archives for the exceptional story on the genesis of the original dive watch

- ASHOK SOMAN

While this issue typically focuses on renewal and a postmortem on the year that was in watchmaking, we are exceptionally lucky that it is 2023. Of course, the year and the watch on our cover will tell you all you need to know on this subject, but we owe it to newcomers to watch collecting to spell things out clearly. Just as there is no point to a busy and baroque dive watch, the same can be said of stories about the same. A one-sentence summary will get us started here. In 1953, Swiss watchmaker Blancpain launched the world’s first dive watch; the world of watches would never be the same again.

Arguably the most popular type of traditional mechanical wristwatch, the dive watch is a firm favourite amongst collectors and casual buyers alike. Virtually all the major players have one, with the notable exception of haute horlogerie stalwarts Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. Even Audemars Piguet bowed to collector pressure and introduced the Offshore Diver some years back, though that watch is hardly a deeply important part of the assortment. Bucking this trend decisively is Blancpain, which was much more famous for its haute horlogerie pieces for most of its history, as you can see by looking at its collections, but we will get to that in a bit.