Chapter Two: A New Ocean Commitment BATHYSCAPHE

Dedication to a cause requires renewal. The Blancpain Ocean Commitment is a priority within the company, but words matter and none more than “commitment”. Blancpain has committed itself to supporting a broad range of environmental initiatives aimed at ocean protection and preservation while at the same time building public awareness of both the beauty of the wild seas and the need for conservation. A good example are Laurent Ballesta’s Gombessa projects such as the one to the Antarctic, magnificently reported in this issue, which have been receiving very substantial support from Blancpain for many years. In addition, however, to the main channel of backing, Blancpain believes that linking additional contributions to limited edition Ocean Commitment timepieces has an important role to play in the overall Ocean Commitment program. When a contribution is tied to a watch, not only does that, of course, bring a degree of funding, but the watch itself raises the public’s awareness of the overall cause.

The first Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback was launched in 2014. Limited to 250 examples, each watch carried with it a donation in the amount of 1,000 euros to ocean protection initiatives. That timepiece with its gray ceramic case, blue ceramic bezel, blue dial, and in-house caliber F385 5 Hz column wheel chronograph movement sold out rapidly.

Blancpain has now announced a second new limited series, equally of 250 pieces, and each, equally as well, bringing a 1,000 euro charitable donation. This second series has all the virtues of the first, with a new color palette: dark blue ceramic case, blue ceramic bezel, and gray dial. The movement is identical, the caliber F385.

Each owner of the new series can be proud that his watch produced a donation to an Ocean Commitment supported charitable organization.