Blancpain’s connection to the marine world has never been stronger, with its ongoing pledge to help safeguard our oceans and the release of the Ocean Commitment II watch.
By: Logan R. Baker
Blancpain’s constantly evolving role in the field of marine studies makes perfect sense given its history. The brand first introduced its iconic Fifty Fathoms diving watch in 1953. It was developed to withstand intense water pressure, beyond what any previous timepiece could, making it the perfect diving companion. The watch was designed with help from the French combat diving corps, tailored to their needs and expectations.
More than 60 years later, in 2014, current Blancpain President and CEO Marc A. Hayek established the Ocean Commitment Circle and the first of the Ocean Commitment limited-edition series. This timepiece was actually developed from a Bathyscaphe model rather than a Fifty Fathoms one. The Bathyscaphe was introduced three years after the Fifty Fathoms as a smaller-diameter diving watch alternative, and proceeded to evolve concurrently with the Fifty Fathoms over the next 60 years. This edition paid tribute to decades of design innovation while keeping a modern in-house movement inside. More importantly, the watch makes a promise for the preservation of the ocean for future generations. With each purchase of the Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback, Blancpain has donated 1,000 Euros to various charities set up for the preservation of marine ecology.
Since the release of the first Ocean Commitment timepiece, in 2014, Blancpain has sponsored numerous scientific projects, underwater photography missions, environmental forums, and 10 separate oceanographic expeditions, and continues to maintain a dedicated website for its work. Visitors to the site can view high-definition images of expeditions backed by Blancpain as well as National Geographic’s Pristine Seas, also supported by the watchmaker. Blancpain’s efforts have successfully preserved three million square kilometers of the oceans in the past two and a half years, doubling the total surface area of protected marine land around the world. In celebration of all these grand feats, the brand released the new Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Flyback Chronograph Ocean Commitment II (BOC II) in October of 2016.
The biggest innovation to the BOC II is the previously impossible all-blue ceramic case. The coloring is made with a pigment and binding agent blend that is added during the ceramic production process. To achieve the uniform, lasting color throughout the case, two separate procedures are used to create the shapes of different parts of the watch. A compaction process is used in which ceramic in powder form is pressed into a mold to take the shape of the case middle, case back, bezel, and chapter ring. The second process is an injection procedure in which ceramic, in the form of granules, is inserted into the mold, allowing the creation of the final blueprint for the crown and push-pieces. The crown and push-pieces are baked in an oven to remove the bonding agent, and then go through sintering to give the ceramic its hardness. Later on, both pieces go through machining and finishing operations to achieve their final shape, and are injected with an intense shade of blue meant to evoke the ocean depths.
With each purchase of the BOC II, Blancpain pledges $1,056 of its proceeds to the brand’s various global initiatives funding the exploration and preservation of the ocean and the marine life that calls it home. Along with an invitation to join the Ocean Commitment Circle, all purchasers of the BOC II will receive a copy of the new book Hans Hass: Awakening to a New World, which highlights the life of the Austrian biologist, ethnologist, filmmaker, and photographer—considered one of the modern fathers of marine biology. The text contains a manuscript he wrote in the 1960s that was never previously published, and focuses on his work between the 1940s and ’60s, highlighting the historical period where Blancpain released the very first Fifty Fathoms timepiece.
blancpain-ocean-commitment.com