Blancpain celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms BASEL, Switzerland, April 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Since its creation in 1953, the Fifty Fathoms has been the archetypal modern diver's watch. Sixty years later, two new models join a fabulous lineage that has earned iconic status and Blancpain has chosen to celebrate the anniversary with a dedicated exhibition and press conference. Marc A. Hayek, President and CEO of Blancpain, welcomed emblematic figures and partners from the diving world who have played, or still play an important role in the discovery of the ocean. The father of the Fifty Fathoms, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, Blancpain President from 1950-1980; David Bennett, National Geographic Vice President; Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer in Residence; Krov Menuhin, Hans Hass Award Committee President, and also the free-diver Gianluca Genoni gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the first diving watch. The audience even experienced a live transmission with Laurent Ballesta, currently in expedition with Blancpain in South Africa to encounter the coelacanth, a living fossil. Today, the 2013 Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe model appears in the wake of a fabulous lineage extending over more than half a century and still meeting the requirements of modern divers.