BLANCPAIN

Blancpain was founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, making it one of the oldest watch brands in existence — one of the few, in fact, that can say it’s been making watches longer than the United States has been a country. The maison offers a plethora of small and high complications  in its extensive and elegant Villeret collection, named for the Swiss village where it originated before moving to the Vallee de Joux in 1983, including a so-called “complete” calendar, a signature complication but these days Blancpain is perhaps best known for the milestone if contributed to watch history in 1953 — one of the very first purpose-built diver’s watches. Designed in collaboration with the French Navy’s Nageurs de Combat (combat swimmers, and later worn by U.S. Navy SEALs and other American military diving units, the Fifty Fathoms has become a pillar of its product range today. A subfamily based on a particular model from the late 1950s, called Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe, has a more modest, retro look and has become a popular collection on its own. 

Founded: 1735

Headquarters: Le Brassus, Switzerland

Ownership: Swatch Group

Notable models: Villeret, Fifty Fathoms, Air Command

Did you know: Jacques Cousteau wore a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms in his Oscar-winning undersea diving documentary film, The Silent World, in 1956.