While some watch releases exemplify horology for horology’s sake, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa continues to speak to the original target market it was intended for: divers. Quite possibly the most seminal dive watch ever created, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. Released in 1953, the Fifty Fathoms was the world’s first modern diver’s watch. Conceived by Jean Jacques Fiechter, the then-CEO of Blancpain, it was swiftly embraced by the oceanic community and became the tool of choice for divers and underwater explorers.
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Designed to cater to the modern diver, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa meets the requirements of contemporary elite divers, with extended immersion times requiring advanced time measurement. Co-developed by Blancpain CEO and president Marc A. Hayek and diver, photographer, and biologist Laurent Ballesta — founder of the Gombessa project, a diving and marine research nonprofit — the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa is equipped to handle the needs of extreme divers.
Although other watch manufacturers have focused on extreme depth of late, the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa simply stays longer, with the ability to measure three-hour immersion times. The result of five years of research, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa was unveiled during the Tamataroa mission. Undertaken by the members of the Gombessa Expeditions, the mission is dedicated to the study of the hammerhead shark, Sphyrna mokarran, in French Polynesia and led by a committee of passionate deep-sea divers, including Hayek and Ballesta.
The three-hour immersion time allowance required an update to the movement and the unidirectional rotating bezel. The bezel on the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa has a three-hour scale and is linked to a dedicated hand that completes a full turn every three hours and is distinguished by a white luminescent coating with green emission that matches its markers. It’s powered by the 13P8 self-winding movement that is based on the same standards of reliability and robustness that defined the original 70 years ago.
Utilitarianism lies at the heart of the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa, however, the timepiece also aesthetically respects its heritage. Put simply, it still looks like a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, albeit a more technical one. The bezel is crafted from glossy black ceramic and slopes down towards the dial. The sapphire crystal on the dial itself was chosen to eliminate distortion and improve legibility, with the ‘absolute’ black hue chosen for its ability to capture light and promote readability. The hour indices are formed by luminescent block-shaped appliques in orange with blue emission, with varying colours used to differentiate between time-related information and immersion times. Keeping diving functionality in mind, the timepiece eschews a date window — after all, if you’ve lost track of the date you’ve definitely been underwater too long.
The bevelled case takes shape in grade 23 titanium, a material chosen for its strength and ultra-lightweight properties. This ensures that despite its 47mm case size, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa doesn’t weigh down the wrist. Notably, this timepiece is the first of Blancpain’s to feature integrated central lugs that attach to the rubber strap.
Like contemporary iterations of the watch, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa is water-resistant to 300m. Accompanying this is a helium valve designed to expel gasses that build up during time spent in hyperbaric chambers when saturation diving.
With the watch thoroughly put to the test by the Gombessa Expedition divers throughout its evolution, the latest Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa is well and truly equipped to handle the needs of even the most extreme underwater explorers.
The Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa is priced at $38,900AUD and is available in limited quantities via Blancpain boutiques.
Words by T. Angel
