Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon

To understand Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon, then a history of the Fifty Fathoms collection is important. We revisit the brand's rich heritage in conscientiously creating advanced timepieces appreciated by watch connoisseurs. In 1952, two French Ministry of Defence officers approached Blancpain with the virtually impossible task (then) of a watch that could withstand conditions faced by the “Combat divers” unit.

The first model launched in 1953 was water-resistant to a depth of 50 fathoms, or 91.45m, and also featured the revolutionary unidirectional bezel associated with many modern dive watches. Fifty Fathoms was soon widely received by the militaries of different countries for its reliability under extreme conditions. Today, the Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon is no exception. As its name suggests, the movement features a one-minute tourbillon on this sturdy timepiece.

The movement utilizes the automatic Blancpain Caliber 25A with 29 jewels that vibrate at 21,600 times per hour. The power reserve is an impressive 168 hours. The movement is also partially skeletonized. The luxurious red gold case is 45mm in diameter and 14.75mm in height.

Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Tourbillon features a unidirectionally rotating bezel with sapphire crystal inlay. The face is also made of sapphire crystal. The crown is screwed in. Water-resistance is to 30 atm. The main functions are hours, minutes; subsidiary seconds on tourbillon cage; and power reserve display at 6.

The black dial has red-gold luminous Arabic numerals and indexes. This brilliant timepiece is completed by a black synthetic textile strap with a buckle. Another option is a white gold casing, which is equally pleasing.

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