Quality time: Blancpain Tribute Fifty Fathoms MIL-SPEC
I love flying. Reaching new heights and destinations, the G-force at take off is enough to get me excited. You won’t, however, find me plummeting from a plane but I will dive to the extreme depths of the ocean. That is, as deep as my PADI license will allow me. It’s been a while since my last dive and I miss the quiet, the inquisitive stares from fish and the wild blue yonder-ness of it all.
Having grown up in East London, there wasn’t a term that went by without a primary school visit to the local museum with its dusty dioramas of the natural and cultural sort. I was continuously reminded of the mysteries of the deep by its most famous resident, the type specimen of the coelacanth. Discovered in a fisherman’s catch and brought to the attention of the world by local museum official Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer in 1938, this fish was previously believed to have been extinct for 65-million years.
Image: Supplied
The Blancpain Tribute Fifty Fathoms MIL-SPEC is a reinterpretation of the first ‘real’ diver’s watch from 1953 with its uni-directional rotating bezel. Its double-sealed crown system, paired with the ‘O’ ring channel for the screw-down case back at the time ensured water resistance to an incredible fifty fathoms (91.44m below the surface to be precise). Its large diameter and bold contrast of white luminescent indexes and hands set against a black background guaranteed legibility at extreme depths where visibility isn’t always perfect. The automatic movement also reduces wear of the crown against its seals.
The 2017 version of this vintage piece has a 40mm stainless steel case and is fitted with an in-house automatic winding caliber 1151, featuring two series-coupled mainspring barrels and offers a four-day power reserve. The black dial has indexes in Super-LuminNova® and a water-tightness indicator reminiscent of the original. This watch is water resistant to 30 bar (300m) and limited to 500 pieces on a choice of NATO strap, sail cloth strap, or steel bracelet.
Swatch Group +27119111200