After the Second World War, the French Navy created a new combat unit composed of professional divers. Needing to properly equip their personnel, they were unable to find a suitable dive watch that could survive the harsh conditions of their underwater missions. Captain Robert Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud of the Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage, in charge of the new unit, decided to design a watch that met their requirements. After approaching many brands, it was Blancpain’s CEO Jean-Jacques Fiechter - a passionate diver himself – who agreed to produce the watch under the name Fifty Fathoms. Extremely robust as it was truly designed by military professionals, the Fifty Fathoms was soon selected by others militaries around the world for their diving units.
The present example was made for the German military, and as expected from a watch that was worn during military service, the case back is worn but the Bundeswehr inscription along with the 13 digit NATO stock number : 6645-12-149-5012 is still highly legible. Fitted with its original ‘No Radiations’ dial, it was used during the 1960s when there was growing concern over the use of radioactive luminous material. Interestingly, the Fifty Fathoms made for the Bundeswehr are believed to be the only military-issued versions to feature such No Radiations dials. A very rare and attractive variant of the famous Fifty Fathoms that offers tremendous value for the collector.