Swiss and German houses · Founded 1735
Blancpain History
Blancpain was founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret, in the Swiss Jura, and is generally recognized as the oldest registered watch brand. In 1953 its Fifty Fathoms became one of the first modern dive watches.
Key facts
| Founded | 1735 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jehan-Jacques Blancpain |
| Where | Villeret, Switzerland |
| Famous watch | Fifty Fathoms (1953) |
| Owner today | Swatch Group |
A village workshop
Jehan-Jacques Blancpain was a schoolteacher who began making watches in the upper floor of his farmhouse in Villeret. His family ran the business for generations, part of the cottage industry that turned the Jura mountains into the heart of Swiss watchmaking, with farmers making watch parts during the long winters.
Down to fifty fathoms
In the early 1950s the French Navy's new combat diving unit needed a reliable underwater watch. Blancpain's CEO, Jean-Jacques Fiechter, himself a diver, developed the Fifty Fathoms (about 91 meters), released in 1953, with a locking rotating bezel to track dive time. It was worn by navy divers and by Jacques Cousteau's team, and it set the pattern for dive watches. Blancpain nearly vanished during the quartz crisis of the 1970s before being revived in the 1980s.
Read more: Who invented the watch? 50 inventions · the full story of the watchmakers
Questions people ask
Is Blancpain the oldest watch brand?
It's generally recognized as the oldest registered watch brand, founded in 1735. Vacheron Constantin (1755) is the oldest with uninterrupted production.
What is the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms?
A dive watch introduced in 1953 for French Navy combat divers, one of the first modern dive watches.
Sources
Last updated October 18, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.