It was an extremely important release and formed the building blocks for Omega to become a leader in dive watches. But you cannot take away Omega’s achievement in developing a watch you could actually dive with. Sure, the Marine did not have a bezel and did not have lume, so you could argue that it might not have been as functional even if it continued sweeping during dives. In 1939, Omega released the Marine Standard to the public making it the first widely available watch that divers could take with them as a wrist companion. It was later discovered that the watch was actually water resistance to a whopping 135m, which was remarkable for the time. It was a success, and in 1936 officially tested to a depth of 73 metres i.e. The concept behind the Omega Marine, developed by one Louis Allix, was to take the watch with its crown at 12 o’clock and insert it into another outer case and seal that with cork, so that together, it would survive the pressures of the sea. The Omega Marine, with its latching, water-resistant slipcase, was released for industrial use in 1932. to survive the harsher conditions of the depts of the sea, then perhaps the FF’s designation of being the first dive watch is not as straightforward as we might like to believe. If we look past widely accepted norms though, and consider the first and most important function of a dive watch, i.e. The fact that the look of this piece is still used to this day just shows what Blancpain managed to achieve with the FF. The watch also possessed a radium lume to provide timekeeping under less-than-ideal lighting conditions both above and below sea level. The Blancpain FF was the first diver to have a bakelite rotating bezel and a special crown for going under water and an O-ring gasket in the case back to assist in water resistance. When looking at the Blancpain it has what we have come to accept as the look and feature set of a modern dive watch. Then again, is the Fifty-Fathoms really the first proper dive watch? What makes it so? Bob Maloubier and his personal FF. The depth the watch could achieve was 91.45 meters this being the depth a diver could get to with the equipment available at the time. Working with Maloubier and Blancpain’s CEO Jean-Jacques Fiechter (who was a keen diver himself), they came up with the Fifty Fathoms – a watch named after the maximum depth to which it was then safely possible to dive. Bob Maloubier, one of the leaders of the frogman sketched the sort of thing they were looking for and approached several watchmakers of which Blancpain agreed to take on the challenge and work on a dive watch fit for military use. How did it get that title? In the early 1950s, an elite team of French frogmen wanted a wristwatch they could take with them underwater. The Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms is widely recognised as the first dive watch. Come forward Blancpain with your Fifty-Fathoms (FF). Part of the debate stems from the fact that the Submariner was developed in 1953, but only released to the public in 1954, which sets it behind another dive watch that was released in 1953. However, it was not the first dive watch. This makes it the ultimate dive watch in my opinion. The watch was tested at different depths and temperatures to push its limits, and thus became a highly trusted companion among divers and the general watch wearer of the time. Introduced in 1954, what made it stand out was the inclusion of its patented screw-down crown. In the beginning, it was just a tool watch built with a specific purpose. Its design is timeless and recognizable by not just us watch geeks but the masses which also unfortunately makes it more of a status symbol. It is arguably the most iconic dive watch today. It is hard to write any dive watch article without mentioning the Rolex Submariner. Underwater exploration and using it tactically for missions for the military became a thing in the early 20th century and diving meant a watch was required to be able to tell the time underwater with the confidence the timepiece would be kept watertight. As far back as humans have been around they have wanted to explore and one of the biggest areas on earth to explore is the sea, which covers 71% of the World’s surface.
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