Documentary’s First Public Screening in New York City Will Conclude Two-Day WatchTime New York Line-up of Talks, Tours, and Displays by 37 Participating Brands“Fifty Fathoms,” an original documentary directed by watch expert Jeff Kingston and produced by Blancpain, will screen during WatchTime New York on Saturday, October 26, at Gotham Hall in Midtown Manhattan. Narrated by Emmy-award-winner Peter Coyote, the two-part “Fifty Fathoms” explores how Swiss watchmaker Blancpain developed the world’s first dive watch in the 1950s. The film debunks myths along the way and ultimately demonstrates how the Fifty Fathoms dive watch forever changed watchmaking, scuba diving, and undersea exploration. The documentary will fascinate not just WatchTime New York collectors but also history, gear, sports, and film enthusiasts. Shown previously only to private audiences at Blancpain brand events, the “Fifty Fathoms” screening at WatchTime New York marks the film’s first public debut in New York City.
Long known as an important collector, industry consultant, and WatchTime speaker, Jeff Kingston is also widely considered one of the world’s foremost experts on the Fifty Fathoms. His first feature-length documentary film introduces viewers to the fascinating personalities who were instrumental in the creation and widespread adoption of the Fifty Fathoms dive watch, starting in the 1950s, when scuba diving was an amateur sport still very much in its infancy. There was no reliable way to monitor oxygen levels, and timing for divers was a literal matter of life and death.
“This underwater world demands a dive watch,” explained 94-year-old former Blancpain Co-CEO Jean-Jacques Fiechter, a revelation that came after Fiechter’s air tank ran empty underwater, forcing him to make a dangerous emergency ascent without time for decompression. He envisioned a waterproof watch with highly luminous details and a bezel that rotated to indicate how much oxygen remained, ideas which ran contrary to the slim watches of the 1940s and '50s. “The design, indeed, the very DNA of this 1953 example was so spot on, so penetrating in its insights that not only has it endured for over half a century, but it has defined the diving watch genre for the watch world ever since.” Part one also details the watch’s adoption by French, German, Pakistani, and U.S. special forces following rigorous, de-classified tests.
The second half of the documentary features an interview with Blancpain CEO Marc Hayek, who reported on the Fifty Fathoms' new chapter at Blancpain under the Swatch Group umbrella after a 20-year hiatus, reporting on the enduring relevance of the Fifty Fathoms as a cornerstone of the brand’s collections and inspiring Blancpain’s ongoing commitment to undersea exploration and oceanic conservation.
The film will close out the two-day WatchTime New York event, and following Kingston’s introduction of the film, attendees can enjoy samples of Swiss cheeses and Swiss wines. “I am excited to introduce 'Fifty Fathoms' at WatchTime New York," said Jeff Kingston, “The show has never done anything like this before, and moreover, no one has made a real documentary about watches at this level. The documentary stands for all the things that WatchTime New York celebrates about watches: the fascinating history, stories, and personalities behind the products. We expect it to be a wonderful new experience for the collectors attending the show.”
WatchTime New York attendees can mingle with Kingston and other WatchTime editors, brand executives, and watch designers throughout the two-day luxury watch event, while getting the chance to see and try on the latest wristwatches from 37 participating watch brands. Blancpain will display the 2019 Fifty Fathoms edition, created for the first time in ceramic and rose gold and two new-limited edition Bathyscaphe models, the Barakuda and the Nageurs de Combat. Other new and notable dive watches from Carl F. Bucherer, Omega, Seiko, Glashütte Original, and others will be on-site for collectors to discover hands-on, amidst an array of new and rare wristwatches that range from million-dollar diamond wonders and mechanical marvels to American-made wristwatches and approachably priced quartz models.
WatchTime New York 2019
WHEN: October 25-26, 2019
WHERE: Gotham Hall, New York City - 1356 Broadway, New York
VIP COCKTAIL PARTY
Friday, October 25, 2019, 5:30 p.m - 9 p.m.
First chance to meet watch industry VIPs, brand executives, and WatchTime editors.
Friday ticket admission includes full, top-shelf open bar, hors d'oeuvres, and food stations, and allows full-day Saturday re-entry.
FULL-DAY EVENT
Saturday, October 26, 2019, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Ticket-holders can browse, mingle, and shop.
VIP presentations and expert panels on all things watch collecting will be scheduled throughout the day - panel schedule includes:
The Chronograph 101: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The Golden Age of Watchmaking: Past or Present? Hosted by Noted Collector and Consultant Jeff Kingston: 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
What Makes Young Collectors Tick: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
FIFTY FATHOMS : THE HISTORY AS TOLD BY THE PIONEER WHO CREATED IT, 3:00 p.m.
Produced by Blancpain and directed and written by Jeffrey Kingston, “Fifty Fathoms: The History as Told by the Pioneers Who Created It,” goes behind-the-scenes and details the origin of the emblematic Fifty Fathoms, the world’s first timepiece that scuba divers could depend on with their lives.
Four Roses returns on Saturday with complimentary tastings from 1 – 4 p.m.
About WatchTime
WatchTime is an award-winning luxury watch media platform based in New York City, and a founding member of the Watch Experts Excellence Network. WatchTime’s watch magazine products reach a monthly audience of almost 800,000 watch collectors. WatchTime is the most successful watch magazine in North America and one of the leading watch magazines globally. WatchTime Events, produced by WatchTime Magazine, now encompasses both WatchTime Los Angeles and its sister event, the annual WatchTime New York show (WTNY), which will celebrate its fifth consecutive year this October 25-26 at Gotham Hall. Each WTNY event has been produced in partnership with media platform Watch Anish. The Manhattan-based show has evolved into a world-class destination event marked by record attendance, and WatchTime Magazine has launched the Los Angeles event to meet demand from its international network of collectors. For more information, please visit www.watchtime.com.
