1960s Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Aqua-Lung "No Radiations"

Few modern watchmakers can claim a heritage as profound as Blancpain SA, widely recognized as the world’s oldest watch brand, with origins tracing back to 1735. Over nearly three centuries, Blancpain has been at the forefront of horological innovation, with its dive watches standing among the most defining achievements in the brand’s storied history.

The idea for the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was conceived in 1952, when members of the French Navy sought a wristwatch robust enough to withstand the pressures of underwater combat missions. Tasked with this challenge were Captain Robert “Bob” Maloubier and Lieutenant Claude Riffaud—leaders of the elite combat diver unit known as the “Frogmen.” After testing numerous so-called waterproof watches, they found none suitable for the extreme conditions of their operations. At the time, the specifications they required—exceptional water resistance, legibility underwater, and reliability in darkness—were unprecedented.

With no existing watch meeting these standards, Capt. Maloubier drafted detailed blueprints for the ideal diver’s watch and approached various Swiss manufacturers. Most brands, however, were focused on aviation or dress timepieces and declined to take on the project. Their search ultimately led to Jean-Jacques Fiechter, Blancpain’s visionary CEO from 1950 to 1980. Himself an avid diver, Fiechter immediately understood the importance of the concept and not only accepted the challenge but refined and enhanced the design. The result was the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms—a groundbreaking timepiece that set the benchmark for all future dive watches.

The model was quickly adopted by naval forces worldwide, including the French and U.S. Navies, as well as early underwater explorers such as Jacques Cousteau, who famously wore the Fifty Fathoms during his expeditions.

Early examples of the Fifty Fathoms utilized radium-based luminous material, standard practice in the 1950s. However, as awareness of radiation hazards grew during the Cold War, Blancpain—like many Swiss brands—transitioned to safer tritium-based luminescence. To emphasize this shift, Blancpain boldly introduced a new dial design featuring a bright red and yellow radiation symbol crossed out in black, along with the words “No Radiations”.

This now-iconic dial configuration first appeared on the Fifty Fathoms and was later carried over to the Aqua-Lung models of the 1960s. A third, exceptionally rare variation, known among collectors as the “triple-signed” dial, combined all three inscriptions—Fifty Fathoms, Aqua-Lung, and No Radiations—making it one of the most coveted configurations in Blancpain’s storied dive watch lineage.