Blancpain Fifty Fathoms

A steel Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Automatique, ref. 5015, on a canvas strap. Blancpain presented the Fifty Fathoms in 1953, the same year the Rolex Submariner arrived, and calls it the first modern diver's watch; between them, the two set the template for the genre. The Fifty Fathoms is the bolder, more graphic of the pair: a wide, sloping bezel with large numerals, big luminous markers, and a dial that reads as pure instrument. It looks like a tool for working underwater because that is what it was built to be.