From September 22 to 24 the historic scenery, which is so important to the history of the Fifty Fathoms, hosted 300 guests to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms and the introduction of the final commemorative timepiece. I think it may be interesting for you to get a flavor of this exceptional event.

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One week prior to the event Blancpain started an open air exhibition on the Fifty Fathoms and the Ocean Commitment initiative on the famous Promenade de la Croisette. Walking from east to west the milestones of the iconic dive watch can be seen, on the walk back you can enjoy spectacular photos by Laurent Ballesta. This exhibition is open until October 6.

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The official program started Friday afternoon with a panel discussion on the Blancpain Ocean Commitment initiative, the 10 year anniversary of the Gombessa expeditions and the importance of our oceans for life on our planet in the Majestic Grand Hotel. Next to Marc A. Hayek and Laurent Ballesta the panel had representatives of The Economist, Oceana and PADI. The highlight at the end of an insightful discussion was Mr Hayek receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from PADI.

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Saturday started with the opportunity for guests to take a dive with Messieurs Hayek and Ballesta in the Meditarrean. Not being a diver I had the opportunity to join some guests on an observer boat.

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The main event took place on the island Saint Marguerite, famous for its fortress that held the „man with the iron mask“ between 1669 and 1703. It was the first time ever the city of Cannes allowed an event by a private company.

Let’s walk to the main venue together:

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The central square was spectacular: next to various bars and lounge seating 2 Guide Michelin decorated chefs offered delicious creations. The big stage already had the horological attraction of the evening hidden under a cover.

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This evening was about watches, so of course various presentation stands held some iconic Fifty Fathoms specimen and more recent models.

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Here’s the moment the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary was revealed after a dive into history with Marc Hayek and Jeffrey Kingston. Right after it two specimen of reference 5901 were available for close inspection by the guests.

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Let me say a big THANK YOU to Blancpain for the kind invitation to the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary event in Cannes. It was an exceptional and unforgettable experience. One can only imagine the amount of work, coordination and dedication to make this event possible.

I also want to thank a fellow Blancpain enthusiast for allowing me to use his spectacular underwater photos taken during the event for this post. Here’s another one showing Laurent Ballesta during their joint dive in the Cannes waters:

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You find the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 3 here on the Blancpain website. My hands-on with the watch is available here in the blog.

I hope you enjoyed the impressions!

Cheers

Henrik