This year marks the 70th Anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms, one of the first modern dive watches to appear in the mid-20th century following the invention of the Aqualung in 1946 that popularized recreational diving. In Act 1 of the year-long anniversary celebrations starting in January, Blancpain launched a new 42mm stainless steel model that closely resembles the original from 1953. Now for Act 2, the Fifty Fathoms changes its form to suit long-duration deep diving activities with a 47mm Grade 23 titanium case that has a helium escape valve. Furthermore, a new feature for dive watches has been incorporated into this model in the form of a hand that tracks up to three hours of underwater immersion.

Jointly developed and tested by Blancpain President and CEO, Marc A. Hayek and Laurent Ballesta, founder of the Gombessa Project, a conservation initiative funded by Blancpain, Jeremiah takes a first look at the Fifty Fathoms 70th Anniversary Act 2 Tech Gombessa which is probably the most technically competent Fifty Fathoms since the X Fathoms from 2011 that had a mechanical depth gauge.