Blancpain

Someone here was talking about low serial numbers... here's one of my Fifty Fathoms with a rather low one for your consideration:



So early that it still has the old style, no-brand engraving in the back (only the inside of the caseback is signed).

Cheers,

Daniel

Any pic of the dial?

Best,

Nicolas

103 ...

Like this one:



And another 103:



Best,

Nicolas

... those are much later watches. Some seven or even ten years later. By then, the Fifty Fathoms was far from being the best diving watch available...

D.

Was kidding, of course.

I don't have in my possession any other early watch than my Milspec 1492, which is from '58.

According to a certain theory, the 3 digit FFs were all military.

Best,

Nicolas

 

This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-11-03 07:28:34

to round up the early FF's and look at the serial numbers. I wonder if this is not a consecutive number, as in number 206 off the production line,
but rather the number can be split, 2-06, e.g. model 2, number 6.

What's interesting is to look at the Air Commands that have surfaced.

forum.chronomania.net
 
gator1088.hostgator.com

The ones in these posts have the numbers, 15078, 15013 and 15042, the one posted in the earlier thread has the number 15071.
I am sure we can all agree that this watch did not have a production run of over one hundred and fifty thousand.

Is it not logical then to assume that the model number is 150 and that this type of numbering might also apply to the FF?
This message has been edited by Ubik on 2010-11-03 09:10:09 This message has been edited by Ubik on 2010-11-03 09:17:18

... but I very much doubt it in the case of the first Fifty Fathoms. When Blancpain released that watch, they weren't producing anything else remotely similar (or anybody else, for that matter), so a model number wasn't really necessary. Most probably, they didn't expect the commercial success the watch had.

I think the numbers of the first model are consecutive according to the production line (of the cases at least):



Of course, later watches such as the Lip, Aqualung, etc. are a different story. Not to speak of the Air Command, in which case it may very well be as you suggest.

D.

Here's another cool number



Ciao,

D.

I think it's hard to make definitive answers only on the backs (very nice selection you have BTW)
It really needs an analysis of the whole watch. Is it Radium or not, the bezel style, dial style, etc.

How do you make sense of these two then?

Number -- 183

Number -- 1422

Would it not be logical to assume model 1, numbers 183 and 422. Did they use this bezel on one thousand and four hundred and twenty-two watches?
Or across production runs?

Of course we could always just ask Mr Fiechter.

I was just asking myself this same question last week. Here is one more Air Command. This one is different from most Air Commands. It was made for Tornek and he tried to submit to Air Force for another big contract. But the deal never happened. Brian

Amazing watch, do you know anything more about it's history? (Like your website BTW)

This post started me thinking.

blancpain.watchprosite.com

Perhaps the serial numbers correspond not directly to order in the production line, or even to model numbers,
but in some way to who ordered it.

Say a batch of one hundred watches arrived, the first ten would be allocated to a specific customer with the internal Blancpain code of 7,
 this might then produce a run of twenty with the numbers 701 to 720, the next twenty might go to designate 14 and produce a run from 1401 to 1420.
You get the idea, then it would be perfectly possible for two watches that are consecutively produced to have the numbers
720 and 1401!

Obviously I'm totally reaching here and maybe completely off base and of course the first ones probably did have the straight three digit numbers seen (have any two digit numbers been seen?). Do we know what was produced inhouse and what was contracted out, e.g. dials or bezels?

Maybe there is another way of dating the watches that might be through the movements and their serial numbers?

Another thought, from the articles I've read LIP became a distributor very early, the dates I've seen have them retailing it in 1954.
If that is the case, and please correct me if I've got it wrong, why are there any FF's from this period not marked LIP
on the dial? Were they for export in Europe, or were they all designated for professional use of some sort? Did for example
the ones sold through Spirtoechnique have LIP on the dials, or did they order direct?

Do we know when Blancpain started exporting to the US? Do these movements show the import marks?




This message has been edited by Ubik on 2010-11-04 10:18:51 This message has been edited by Ubik on 2010-11-04 10:21:27 This message has been edited by Ubik on 2010-11-04 10:33:55

I noticed that you had some very close, not to say following serial numbers.

Are you the one who owns a ( or several )  FF(s) which was ( were ) attributed to the Spanish Army?

Would love to see the dial.

Best,

Nicolas

This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-11-03 16:53:33

Only yesterday I was offered this very one.

When I asked the price the man said, rolling an egg (don't ask me why), that it would cost my immortal soul.
Sadly I traded that years ago for another watch, but perhaps you Vlad might have a few immortal souls lying around you could trade?

Any pic of the dial?

Wow, now that is a number I love!

Best,

Nicolas

But I should think acquiring souls would require better photoshopping skills!

D.

You must have a conversation with the owner, (at your own risk)

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