Blancpain

Blancpain traces its beginnings to Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, recorded as a watchmaker in Villeret in 1735. A later change of ownership is just as important to understanding the company. In 1933, after the death of Frédéric-Émile Blancpain, two employees bought the business: Betty Fiechter and André Léal.

Fiechter had joined as an apprentice in 1915 and gone on to oversee manufacturing and commercial work. She knew the factory from inside. The purchase kept production going under the name Rayville-Blancpain, with Rayville drawn from the village's name.

Her nephew Jean-Jacques Fiechter joined the leadership in 1950. They developed very different kinds of watches. Small movements made jewelry watches possible, while his interest in diving brought a need for a larger, readily legible instrument. The Ladybird and the Fifty Fathoms came from the same company, despite looking and being used very differently.

In Blancpain's account, Jean-Jacques once ran out of air while diving and had to make an emergency ascent. The experience led him to work on a watch that made elapsed time easier to follow underwater. French combat-swimmer officers Robert Maloubier and Claude Riffaud were also seeking a suitable watch. Their requirements helped shape the Fifty Fathoms.

The diving watch became a famous part of the house's history. Betty Fiechter's role places it in a larger one: the company making it had survived a change of family ownership and was also learning how to put working movements into much smaller cases.