As official partner of the Cannes International Boat Show, Blancpain organised a world-exclusive presentation of the 30 first “new-wave” Fifty Fathoms watches, timed to coincide with the 30^th anniversary of this prestigious event. A group of handpicked guests were invited to take part in a cruise so that they could witness at sea the launch of the Fifty Fathoms by Blancpain CEO Marc A. Hayek. Mr. Hayek’s special guest for the occasion and his diving companion for the launch was world freediving champion Gianluca Genoni. The holder of 12 world championship titles, the Italian diver born in Galliate in 1968 has been dedicating his life to freediving for the past decade.

From their perch on the Blancpain chartered yacht and with the help of underwater cameras filming the event, guests were able to witness the “launch dive” by Marc Hayek and Gianluca Genoni. During their time together underwater, Mr. Hayek, himself a passionate scuba diver and the inspiration for the creation of this new edition Fifty Fathoms, presented the diving champion with the first production Fifty Fathoms, personally inscribed with his name, specially marked “Pièce Hors-Série” and bearing serial number “0”. After the unusual presentation ceremony, Gianluca Genoni surfaced sporting this historic timepiece on his wrist and then took part in a press conference held by Blancpain aboard the yacht, followed by an elegant luncheon at sea.

In the wake of the maritime festivities, the remaining first series Fifty Fathoms were offered for sale in Blancpain’s booth at the Festival, where they were eagerly received and snapped up by the attendees at the show.