Thanks to Blancpain having some vintage Fifty Fathoms traveling the world I recently had the chance to capture three exceptional timepieces individually and side by side with their modern interpretations. Let’s meet the Fifty Fathoms MILSPEC 1, the Fifty Fathoms RPGA 1 (No Radiations) and the Fifty Fathoms BUND 3H together with some of their descendants for a memorable photo session.
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This is a rare opportunity: some recent 40mm Fifty Fathoms editions meeting their vintage ancestors for a joint photo session, I think you can imagine how exited I was to get up close with some historic marvels but also to take a photo series with the limited editions from 2017 to 2021 with the ancestors from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
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The 1970s Fifty Fathoms BUND
Let’s start with the youngest vintage Fifty Fathoms and one that has no modern descendant, the BUND 3H. This timepiece for the German Bundeswehr features some very unique details.
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The massive case has an unusual shape with the crown sitting engrossed at the 4 o‘clock position. The black Bakelite bezel shows no indications other than a triangle filled with tritium.
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The large red lacquered minute hand has changed to a pink color over time, the 3H symbol is located over the index at 6 o‘clock and stands for the luminescent material tritium.
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The conical screw down case back shows the engraving of the supply number of the German Bundeswehr.
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The 1960s Fifty Fathoms No Rad
Moving on to a vintage timepiece from the late 1960s, the Fifty Fathoms RPGA 1 aka No Radiations Date.
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Before we pair it with its latest descendant, the Tribute to Fifty Fathoms No Rad, let‘s enjoy the rich details and beautiful patina it offers.
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The famous No Radiations symbol has aged to a lime green color, the tritium hour markers show a beautiful texture and color with this exceptional specimen of the RPGA 1.
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The family resemblance between the vintage No Rad and the 2021 Tribute is evident when we unite the two watches. Of course there are many obvious differences between them, starting with the case shape. They still appear together in total harmony.
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Besides the watch this get together offers a comparison between the vintage and the modern Tropic strap.
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The 1950s Fifty Fathoms MILSPEC
Now we go back to the very early days of the world‘s first professional dive watch, the Fifty Fathoms MILSPEC 1. Here we see the original concept of Blancpain Co-CEO Jean-Jacques Fiechter materialized with the additional requirement of the French combat divers, the moisture indicator.
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The Fifty Fathoms MILSPEC is possibly the most revered vintage icon among many famous timepieces created by Blancpain between 1953 and the early 1970s.
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It is the military dive watch of choice for many countries, it was the only timepiece meeting all criteria of the US Navy for their official diving instrument (Tornek Rayville MILSPEC).
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So it’s no surprise that we can reunite this marvel with two modern descendants, the 2017 Tribute to Fifty Fathoms MilSpec and the 2020 Fifty Fathoms MIL-SPEC for Hodinkee.
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Let‘s first pair the vintage MILSPEC with the Tribute timepiece from 2017:
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And now the one modern 40mm Fifty Fathoms edition that tries to closest to its ancestor, the 2020 FF MIL-SPEC joining the icon from the early 1950s.
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Four generations in one shot
Of course I want to conclude this essay about a to me unforgettable photo session with a group shot. Since the BUND 3H has no descendant, I invited the 2019 Fifty Fathoms Barakuda to join the group, even when it’s direct ancestor was not present.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post. As you can imagine I am still carrying the big smile generated by this unique opportunity. I would like to thank Blancpain and particularly their Germany team for having made this possible.
If you want to read on, here are some links to related articles in the blog:
Fifty Fathoms documentary films
Fifty Fathoms Tribute to No Rad
You find additional information on the Blancpain Vintage Atelier here and the details on the modern Fifty Fifty Fathoms No Rad, MILSPECS and Barakuda here on the Blancpain website.
The recent 40mm Fifty Fathoms editions in this essay are shown on the Blancpain Tropic strap and two Jean Rousseau Paris Nato straps.
Cheers
Henrik