Considered by many as the original diver’s tool watch, the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms was the first wristwatch featuring a turning bezel and automatic movement. Launched in 1953 in collaboration with the elite French combat divers, the “Nageurs de Combat”, the military unit needed a reliable, durable, legible, and water-resistant wristwatch. Coincidentally, the CEO of Blancpain Jean-Jacques Fiechter had a tremendous passion for diving and quickly accepted the challenge. These early Fifty Fathoms watches featured radium luminescence, allowing for a constant glow in dark environments to help with legibility.

The present lot, a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Aqua Lung nicknamed “No Rad,” reigns from the early 1960s and is perhaps one of the most collectible and desirable vintage dive watches. This is in part to the large “No Radiations” symbol found at the bottom half of the dial. Radium utilized in the luminescence of early wristwatches was discovered to have destructive properties towards the human body, and many brands quickly converted to tritium, a much safer material with equally effective glow. In response, Blancpain utilized this symbol to clearly state that their timepieces were safe to wear.

In recent years, the desirability for the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms “No Rad” has been so high that in 2021, the brand recreated the original wristwatch in a limited run of 500 examples. However, the present lot is a wonderful opportunity to own the rare, original timepiece and would be an incredible highlight in any serious watch collection.