103rd Auction

2020/11/7

Lot 381

Blancpain, Swiss, "Fifty Fathoms Rotomatic Incabloc", Case No. 17524, Cal. R 108 / AS 1361 N, 35 mm, circa 1959
A diver's antimagnetic, automatic vintage wristwatch with LIP signature on the rotor and bidirectional rotating bezel with 60 minutes division
Case: steel, screw back with engraving. Dial: black.
In 1953 Blancpain was commissioned by the French military to develop a mechanical, automatic wind diver’s watch with a unidirectional bezel that featured a graded Bakelite insert to display the diving time. The watch was named "Fifty Fathoms", because it was water-resistant to a depth of 50 fathoms (1 fm = 1,829 m), i.e., 91.45 m. In 1968 the "Fifty Fathoms No Radiations" was launched with non-radioactive luminous material on the dial and the hands.
With an increase of their sales figures in mind, Blancpain permitted a number of companies to sell their divers’ watches and also put their names on the dials. One of them was French maker LIP, which had a close relationship with Blancpain until the late 1950s. The two companies soon decided to produce a smaller, 35 mm civil market model that suited the contemporary taste of the 1950s and was less radioactive; the move rapidly increased the sales figures. Since then the "Blancpain LIP Fifty Fathoms" have become highly coveted collector’s models.
This timepiece bears the LIP signature together with the calibre designation R 108 on the rotor instead of the dial, which makes it a much rarer version of the model.

estimated
15.00020.000 €
Price realized
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