Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms is widely recognized for its historical significance as the first ‘modern’ diver’s wristwatch with a rotating bezel, released in 1953. While it has been in production since then, scholarship regarding this fascinating model continues to be written. The story of its origins is well-known, rooted in solving the needs of an elite branch of the French Navy – the Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage – tasked with underwater espionage and other covert operations.

In the 1960s, the U. S. Navy reached out to Blancpain for a military wristwatch, however due to the 1933 "Buy American Act" the U.S. Navy could not directly purchase Swiss Blancpain watches, specifically the Fifty Fathoms Mil-Spec. The model was already tested and approved for use by the Navy Experimental Diving Unit in 1958, but to conform to the Buy American Act, the American “Tornek-Rayville” brand was created by Allen V. Tornek - the U.S. importer of Blancpain based in midtown New York City. By doing so, the firm would win the bid to be the American supplier of Blancpain watches for the U.S. Navy.
Presented here is one of the rarest military diver's watches in the world – a “Blancpain U.S. Navy" that is most likely a prototype produced just before the “Tornek-Rayville” series. Only four such examples are known, with Phillips having sold one of these four in November 2015 in Geneva. Another example was exhibited at the Fifty Fathoms exhibition in 2010. All four watches have serial numbers falling in the 3,2xx sequence. These watches are part of the milspec 1 series with which they share the same bezel featuring a triangle but also the small winding crown. All also feature the A. Schild caliber 1361 modified with a hacking seconds, with glossy dials fitted with a humidity indicator at 6 o’clock.

It is understood that Blancpain was pitching for a larger order with the U.S. Navy, for which purpose these watches were made. As Blancpain did not win this important contract, the "U.S. Navy" model never went beyond the prototype phase. The case is made of an anti-magnetic alloy with a greenish hue, often called bronze by collectors. The Blancpain "U.S. Navy" is not only one of the rarest diver's wristwatches in the world, but also one of the best looking. The present example here, in extraordinarily good condition must be considered one of the most worthy collectors’ watches for aficionados of diver's watches.