Blancpain Celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms

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BASEL, Switzerland, April 28, /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

Since its creation in 1953, the Fifty Fathoms has been the archetypal modern

diver's watch. Sixty years later, two new models join a fabulous lineage that

has earned iconic status and Blancpain has chosen to celebrate the anniversary

with a dedicated exhibition and press conference.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

http://www.multivu.com/mnr/60646-blancpain

Marc A. Hayek, President & CEO of Blancpain welcomed emblematic figures and

partners from the diving world who have played, or still play an important role

in the discovery of the ocean. The father of the Fifty Fathoms, Jean-Jacques

Fiechter, Blancpain President from 1950-1980; David Bennett, National

Geographic Vice President; Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer in

Residence; Krov Menuhin, Hans Hass Award Committee President, and also the

free-diver Gianluca Genoni gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the first

diving watch.  The audience even experienced a live transmission with Laurent

Ballesta, currently in expedition with Blancpain in South Africa to encounter

the coelacanth, a living fossil.

Today, the 2013 Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe model appears in the wake of a

fabulous lineage extending over more than half a century and still meeting the

requirements of modern divers.

Source: Blancpain