Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary – Act 2: Tech Gombessa
Fernando AldeaBlancpain continues its 70th anniversary celebrations of the Fifty Fathoms from the Rangiroa Atoll in French Polynesia, where the Tamataroa mission took place. The brand has opened a new chapter in the history of the first modern diving watch by unveiling a new model designed to meet the modern demands of technical diving.
Powered by an innovation co-developed by Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO of Blancpain, and Laurent Ballesta, founder of the Gombessa project, this instrument, dubbed "Tech Gombessa," allows for the measurement of dive times of up to three hours for the first time. Its unveiling commemorates the 10th anniversary of Gombessa, an initiative that Blancpain helped create by becoming a founding partner of the project from its inception in 2013. It also marks the launch of a new line in the Blancpain diving watch collection.
https://d2csxpduxe849s.cloudfront.net/media/BB2F3123-66AD-491A-A93BD8EDD68A5C1C/83ECE477-E7D9-4ADB-A7A50C1157027B63/702BA159-200E-491F-8E7C0BB17C51835C.mp4Seventy years ago, an icon was born: the Fifty Fathoms. This timepiece, which would revolutionize watchmaking by becoming the first modern diving watch, was conceived by a passionate diver, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, then CEO of Blancpain. As a pioneer of a still-emerging discipline, he understood the imperative need to monitor dive time. The tool he designed to meet his own needs immediately became popular among the oceanic community, becoming an infallible ally of elite divers and underwater explorers. By improving diving safety, the Fifty Fathoms contributed to the development of the sport and promoted the discovery of the oceanic world.
The year 2023, which marks the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms, also heralds a rebirth with the arrival of an innovative anniversary diving watch. Since the 1950s, diving has undergone extraordinary evolution, characterized primarily by a marked extension of dive times. While the 1953 Fifty Fathoms met the expectations of Jean-Jacques Fiechter and the most experienced divers of the time, today's divers, capable of spending several hours underwater, have new demands on timekeeping. This is the case for the President and CEO of Blancpain, who is also a diving enthusiast and has participated in highly technical closed-circuit dives for several years. Drawing on the valuable heritage of the 1953 Fifty Fathoms, but also and above all on his own experiences, the executive launched a project with diver, photographer, and underwater biologist Laurent Ballesta to design a new mechanical instrument to meet the needs of all extreme diving enthusiasts, starting with the members of the Gombessa expeditions, who make long, deep dives for their research. With the support of Blancpain, these deep-sea adventurers have joined forces for the multi-year Tamataroa mission.
Dedicated to studying the behavior of the great hammerhead shark, Sphyrna mokarran , in French Polynesia, this project is led by a committee of passionate divers, lovers of the deep sea, including Marc A. Hayek and Laurent Ballesta. Technical dives off Rangiroa Atoll have continued ever since, pursuing observations and gathering information on this species, with the aim of contributing to the implementation of management measures tailored to its conservation.
In this context, the latest addition to the Fifty Fathoms collection, the Tech Gombessa, was presented for the first time. This watch is designed to measure the duration of long technical dives or saturation group exits of up to 3 hours.
Conceived five years ago by two divers, this watch has undergone numerous tests. In 2019, after a year of conceptualization, Blancpain began developing the project, focusing on two key elements: the movement and the unidirectional rotating bezel. Unlike the bezels of conventional diving watches, the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa bezel features a graduated 3-hour scale. It is linked to a special hand that completes a full revolution in 3 hours and whose material and color—a white luminescent coating with green emission—match those of its flagship brands.
This device, co-created by Marc A. Hayek and Laurent Ballesta, represents a world first and has been patented. It is the heart of the 13P8 automatic movement, based on the same criteria of reliability and robustness that have made the Fifty Fathoms the ultimate diving watch for 70 years.
Once the combination of bezel and movement was defined, it was time to address the exterior of this new watch designed for deep-sea diving. The required specifications were clear, but their implementation was delicate: the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa had to look like a Fifty Fathoms while also exhibiting distinctive technological attributes. Therefore, Blancpain designers opted for a black ceramic bezel insert—rather than the traditional sapphire—which they decided to convex and tilt toward the dial. The latter's legibility has been optimized thanks to a spherical crystal that eliminates all visual distortion. To ensure the best possible readability in the dark, the dial has an original finish: an absolute black whose structure has the unique ability to capture almost 97% of the light. Along the same lines, the indexes are made up of convex luminescent block appliqués, this time in orange with blue emission, codes also found on the hour and minute hands to differentiate time information from dive times.
Grade 23 titanium was chosen for the case material. Recently introduced to the Blancpain collections, grade 23 titanium—also known as grade 5 ELI ( extra low interstitials ) —is the purest type of titanium available. It is distinguished by its strength and exceptional anti-allergenic properties, as well as its surprising lightness. This characteristic ensures that the watch is comfortable to wear and that its 47 mm diameter is completely invisible on the wrist. This is especially true since the watch features, for the first time at Blancpain, central lugs attached from within the case middle and integrated into the strap. Water-resistant to 30 bar (approximately 300 meters), the case is equipped with a helium valve. In hyperbaric saturation chambers, helium can seep into the watch. During the decompression phase, unscrewing the valve facilitates the evacuation of helium (a procedure that has no effect on the watch's water resistance). The notches on the helium valve are identical to those on the winding and time-setting crown, through which the hour, minute, and dive time hands are simultaneously adjusted. As with all Fifty Fathoms watches, the crown is screwed down and associated with a crown guard, whose aesthetics have been redesigned. To ensure visual consistency with the lugs, this is also coupled and adopts its trapezoidal shape.
Nothing has been left to chance on the back of the watch either. The lower part of the middle is beveled and not bassine- shaped, as on the other Fifty Fathoms models. The notches used to screw down the case back have also been revised, in the same spirit of robustness. The anthracite-colored oscillating weight, stamped with the Gombessa expeditions logo, has an innovative shape dominated by three large openings that allow the movement to be viewed. The black rubber strap is screwed to the lugs on the back. It features an internal titanium reinforcement, ensuring perfect geometry over time, and is accompanied by an extension so the watch can be worn over a technical diving suit. The buckle, which includes an extra-wide, ergonomic pin, has been designed to reinforce the watch's fit on the wrist and make it easier to attach the extension.
The Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa comes in a special PeliTM waterproof and shock-resistant case that is reusable and configurable. The case houses a space for the watch, the bracelet extension, a travel pouch, a magnifying glass, as well as a set of dividers and cutting tools that allow for compartmentalization for future use.
While every detail of the Tech Gombessa seems effortless, it has actually been subject to numerous adjustments resulting from extensive testing in real-life conditions. Marc A. Hayek himself personally tested several different prototypes of the watch during his dives. The same was true for Laurent Ballesta and the divers on the Gombessa expeditions, who tested the watch throughout its development. The aquanauts wore four prototypes on their wrists to test them for nearly 50 days at a depth of 120 meters as part of the Gombessa V and Gombessa VI missions. Conducted in the Mediterranean in 2019 and 2021, respectively, these expeditions combined saturation diving and autonomous diving with closed-circuit breathing apparatus for the first time. Both times, residing for a month in a 5 m2 hyperbaric chamber, from which they emerged daily to explore the depths, the divers tested various versions of the helium valve.
The Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa watch more than met the most demanding requirements of Gombessa divers, who adopted it as the official watch for their expeditions. Its launch celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms and seals 10 years of collaboration between Blancpain and Laurent Ballesta, who launched his Gombessa project in 2013 thanks to the Manufacture's involvement as a founding partner. But the addition of this instrument to the Fifty Fathoms collection also inaugurates a new line, the Fifty Fathoms Tech, which will bring together all Blancpain watches dedicated to technical diving.
Specs
| BLANCPAIN FIFTY FATHOMS TECH GOMBESSA |
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REFERENCE : 5019-12B30-64A |
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MOVEMENT : Blancpain Caliber 13P8 | Mechanical, self-winding | 30.60 mm diameter, 5.65 mm thick | 120-hour power reserve | 204 components | 35 jewels |
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CASE : Satin-finished titanium | 47 mm diameter, 14.81 mm thick | Spherical sapphire crystal | Unidirectional bezel with 3-hour scale, black ceramic insert, tilted towards the dial with white luminescent markers with green emission | Helium valve | Central lugs attached to the case | Transparent sapphire case back | Water resistance 30 bar (300 m) |
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DIAL/HANDS : Absolute black | 3-hour diving hand, sweep second hand | Applied block-shaped indexes in luminescent orange with blue light emission |
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BRACELET : Integrated black rubber bracelet, with extension |
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FUNCTIONS : Hours, minutes, seconds, immersion hand |
