Let me introduce you my last purchase, which was a nice and surprising arrival, as I hunted this piece for some 5 long years,now....

The Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, 50th Anniversary!



This watch was launched in 2003, in a LE of 3 series of 50 watches, the Series 1 for the Asian Market, the II for the European Market, and the III for the USA, within the reference 2200A-1130-71.

1/ The Roots:

The main purpose was to put the light on the 1st Diving Watch created by Blancpain for a Military use, a watch requested by a certain ..Robert Maloubier, Captain of the French Marine.

Here, a pic of the 1st model, created in 1953:



( Credit Puc: Our Good Dr Strong ).

Then, till the 60es, we had several models, sometimes created for LIP....

In the beginning of the 60ies, Blancpain made one of my very favourite FF, the Mil Spec, as for Military Specifications, for the US Army.

Like this one:



Or these 2 beauties:



( Credit pics:....The Usual Supect...LOL).

One day, I will end my Blancpain collection with a Mil spec, as it's a dream watch for me...

It has all, the strenght, the beauty, the balance, all that is required in a good military watch!

Then, from around 65 till 75, Blancpain created a diffrent dial for a lightly diffrent FF, the " No Rad " Dial...

This symbol was put on the dial to make a distinction between Military FF, which used tritium, so a radio active luminescent material, and the no radiocative ones, reseeved to the Civil Market...

Well, Civil, not always, as this one was made and used by the German Army...

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