Wearing a Fifty Fathoms diver's watch, marine scientist and underwater photographer Laurent Ballesta came face to face with the legendary cœlacanth, locally known as gombessa, at a depth of 120m under the South African sea.
The Gombessa Expedition I in 2013 succeeded in finding the rare creature, which is a living proof of the transition from a backboned fish to the earliest four-legged vertebrate land animals.
Blancpain is the founding partner of the Gombessa project, whose 10th anniversary coincides with 70 years of the Fifty Fathoms.
The milestone is marked by the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 2 - Tech Gombessa boasting an innovative mechanical diving instrument developed by Ballesta and Blancpain's president and CEO Marc A. Hayek.
As a result, it is the first timepiece capable of measuring immersions of up to three hours.
An avid scuba diver, Hayek personally tested different prototypes, as did Ballesta and his team members. Their research work involves long-duration deep dives, such as during the Gombessa V and Gombessa VI missions conducted in the Mediterranean in 2019 and 2021.
Earlier this year, Blancpain unveiled the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 2: Tech Gombessa, whose bezel differs with a three-hour scale linked to a special hand that completes one full turn in 180 minutes.
The design of the new diving instrument further includes markers featuring a white luminescent coating with the green emission matching the colour of the dive-time hand.
Formed by luminescent block-shaped appliques, the hour markers differ in orange with a blue glow to differentiate time-related information from diving time.
The dial has a new finish in absolute black, whose structure captures almost 97% of the light for readability in the dark. Legibility is enhanced by a spherical crystal that eliminates visual distortion.
Aesthetically, this new model has to look like a Fifty Fathoms. Modifications include replacing the sapphire crystal with black ceramic for the bezel inlay, whose stronger curve tilts towards the dial.
On the back of the watch, the lower part of the case middle is bevelled rather than the rounded bassine shape characterising the other Fifty Fathoms models.
Despite its 47mm diameter, the Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa is light thanks to the case made from Grade 23 titanium -- the purest type available. The oversized case is equipped with a helium valve and is water resistant to 300m.
The central lugs are attached from the inside of the case middle and integrate the black rubber strap, which has an extension allowing wearing of the watch over a tech-diving suit.
The case back reveals the automatic Calibre 13P8 offering a power reserve of five days and its anthracite-coloured oscillating weight, stamped with the Gombessa Expeditions logo.
The Fifty Fathoms Tech Gombessa is presented in a water- and shock-resistant Peli box with a set of dividers and cutting tools offering the possibility of compartmentalising it for any future use.
Over seven decades, Blancpain has shown its prowess in developing divers' watches. The launch of this timepiece opens a new chapter, with the Fifty Fathoms Tech as a product line dedicated to technical diving.
