
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Rotomatic Incabloc 1950s
- Maker / attribution
- Blancpain (maker)
- Date
- late 1950s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 41 mm
- Stock no.
- W-2565
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-2565)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Rotomatic Incabloc 1950s (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-2565), this is a wristwatch by Blancpain, made in Switzerland, dated late 1950s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 41 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Bulang & Sons
This is a very rare and early Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms. The Fifty-Fathoms was designed in conjunction with the French Navy’s combat diver division and has been recently celebrated through the collaboration between Swatch and Blancpain with the bioceramic Scuba watches. This is a desirable 41mm example in beautiful original condition…you really need to get the original to go with your Swatch! The name Fifty Fathoms may sound a strange , but it refers to a British measurement of depth. Fifty Fathoms is about 91 meters/close to 300 feet deep, and at the time this was the deepest divers could dive with the technology of the time available. These guys are used by many Armed forces (French, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, and most famously, American). The matte-finish steel case is very strong all-round and houses an original glossy dial with white text and bold radium arabic luminous hours.Finding such great condition dials is not easy ! The original white hands contain radium lume that is a very good match with the hour plots (although we believe the seconds hand is relumed). The original bakelite bezel is in good condition. The watch will come with an electronic report from Blancpain heritage confirming the watch as being all correct. The movement is an automatic calibre 1361N movement, based on A Schild ebauche, that has been fully checked and regulated by our watchmaker. We really believe that these are highly important watches, being one of the first produced divers – a real icon. We would love to discuss this cool watch some more with you! Specifications: - Blancpain Fifty Fathoms - Matte steel 41mm case - Serial 48xx dating to late 1950s - Black glossy dial with legible 12/3/6/9 quarters - Original oversize bezel - Original white hands - Comes on the pictured vintage Tropic strap - Comes with electronic Blancpain Heriatge report - Automatic 1361N movement, based on A Schild ebauche - Fully checked by our watchmaker - Includes a handmade leather watch pouch
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Dive and water-resistant watches
Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.
Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.
What to look for
- Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
- Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
- Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
- Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.
Dating clues
- Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
- Professional dive watches: from 1953.
- Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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