BLANCPAIN’S FIFTY FATHOMS EXHIBIT 781 Madison Avenue. NYC Opening Reception ---J. Ecochard--- Even the Big Apple’s slushy streets couldn’t deter a rather well-dressed crowd from turning out for the opening reception celebrating Blancpain’s collection of acclaimed Fifty Fathoms Watches. This luxury brand--- that painstakingly crafts some of the most highly esteemed timepieces in the world---honored one of the original French military divers, Captain “Bob” Maloubier ---who helped create the Les Nageurs de Combat diving unit for the French military---in 1952. And so he required a battle tough watch that could withstand underwater challenges endured under the most trying circumstances. Blancpain engineers and watchmakers accordingly complied- coming up with the original Fifty Fathoms (at a water resistant depth of 91.45 meters, FYI---the depth that divers could safely descend to-at that time- breathing compressed air)... Encased in stainless steel, the original mode