com | February 2016

BOAT LIFE

B

uying a luxury watch is

undeniably indulgent but

there are occasions when at

least some of your personal

expenditure ends up benefiting

a good cause. That’s certainly the

case with Blancpain’s latest version

of its celebrated Fifty Fathoms watch,

which first surfaced in 1953

(several months before the better

known Rolex Submariner) as

a model solely for members of

the French navy.

The original Fifty Fathoms

measured 41mm in diameter –

huge at the time – but a smaller,

slimmer version called the

Bathyscaphe (named after the

submersible) became available

in 1956 for daily use.

It’s a Bathyscaphe model

that Blancpain has chosen as

the basis for this special Ocean

Commitment edition, which

will be limited to 250 examples,

with €1,000 from the sale of each

being donated to Blancpain Ocean Commitment,

an organisation that supports major environmental

eforts such as the National Geographic Pristine

Seas expedition and Laurent Ballesta’s Gombessa

Project. In addition, buyers of the watch gain access

to the Ocean Commitment Circle, which afords

special invitations to scientific presentations and

documentary film premieres.

Since 2012 Blancpain has also served as lead

sponsor of the World Ocean Summit and, in June

2015, formalised a partnership with the Prince

Albert II of Monaco Foundation. This backs projects

around the world that focus on climate change,

renewable energy and marine

resources. The brand claims

to have helped ensure that

2.3 million km² of ocean are

now under protection, and for

the creation of the world ’s largest

single marine reserve around

the Pitcairn Islands.

The driving force behind the

Ocean Commitment project is

Blancpain’s president and CEO,

43-year-old Marc A Hayek, who

has been a keen and active diver

since childhood. Hayek specified that the Ocean

Commitment Bathyscaphe Flyback should feature

a unique, grey ceramic case, a deep blue dial and an

engraved case back. Unlike most chronographs, it

was also fitted with push-pieces that can be operated

under water thanks to a special sealing system.

For anyone who loves the sea, it’s diicult to

think of a more appropriate, practical and beneficial

watch to buy. Not only that, it’s the first of a range of

Ocean Commitment special editions that are set to

be rolled out in the coming years. So now you can

indulge without guilt.

blancpain-ocean-commitment.com

Blancpain

is on ocean

watch

Simon de Burton loves

this limited-edition,

sea-saving timepiece

Famous Fife’s

latest adventure

Classic car devotees from

around the world will

descend on Paris in early

February for the annual

Rétromobile show.

As usual, Rétromobile will

host a major collector

sale run by the French

auction house Artcurial.

This year’s includes the

1903 yacht Moonbeam

of Fife III, which was built

for Charles Plumtree

Johnson, a well-heeled

London lawyer and

member of the Royal

Yacht Squadron and the

Royal Thames Yacht Club.

In common, I suspect,

with many BI readers,

I have long coveted

this majestic 32 metre,

which began life as

a yawl but now carries

a gaff cutter rig. Made

from teak planking on

an elm frame, she was the

first of a series of

fast yawls designed

by Fife to conform to

the Royal Ocean Racing

Club measurements

revised in 1900.

She has become a familiar

sight at classic yacht

events around the UK and

the Mediterranean,

and is now looking for

a new owner. If you

fancy being Moonbeam

of Fife III’s next guardian,

the Artcurial sale on

5 February could be

your chance. She has a

guide price of €500,000

to €1.5 million and,

apparently, is up for

sale “at no reserve”.

So she could be the

bargain of the decade.

artcurial.com

One to

collect

S i m o n

de Burton

ILLUSTRATION: PING ZHU. PHOTOGRAPH: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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