As part of Blancpain’s Ocean Commitment, the brand has launched a new website that provides information about Blancpain Ocean conservation activities.
The new website blancpain-ocean-commitment.com shows all activities related to Blancpains efforts to restore our oceans. Blancpain has been actively participating in ocean preservation for the last 20 years and has been on more than 40 scientific expeditions, with almost 4,700,000 km2 of ocean protected with Blancpain’s support!
What is Blancpain Ocean Commitment?
Blancpain is considered as one of the oldest brands in the world of horology. Being founded in 1735 in the Swiss Jura, Blancpain has since been loyal to its tradition of innovation, which today is confirmed by the vast number of horological complications in the watches they manufacture. The brand is continually looking to push the boundaries, which is now being traversed into other areas the brand is working on, such as the Blancpain Ocean Commitment.
So what exactly is this commitment? The brand states it as “The Blancpain Ocean Commitment is a tribute to our Brand’s historic ties with the oceans, as Blancpain launched in 1953 the first true diver’s watch, the Fifty Fathoms. This key moment in our nearly 300-year history represents the beginning of our support for ocean exploration and numerous collaborative initiatives for biodiversity preservation with local communities, which has been lasting for the past seven decades.”
Alongside the Fifty Fathoms, Blancpain has been committed to exploring, preserving, and achieving a better understanding of the world’s oceans. Over the years, Blancpain has become close to the explorers, photographers, scientists, and environmentalists who treasure precious underwater resources.
Between 2008 and 2020, Blancpain released a yearly edition of “Edition Fifty Fathoms”, which is a publication dedicated to the underwater world and is distinguished by the beautiful quality of the photographs, which has been used to increase people’s knowledge and awareness of the concern about the oceans. The brand also states that “Since 2012, Blancpain has also been the founding supporter of the World Ocean Summit, an outcome-driven dialogue between global leaders to bring fresh perspectives to the ocean agenda. The Brand works closely with leading organizations, foundations, associations, scientists, and policymakers to communicate about the urgent need for action to save our marine ecosystems.”
Ocean Commitment Activities
On September 2023, as part of the brand’s 70th-anniversary celebrations for its iconic Fifty Fathoms timepiece, the President and CEO of Blancpain held a Blancpain Ocean Commitment panel discussion. During this discussion, they discussed the importance of ocean preservation and Blancpain’s long-standing initiatives. The panel discussion featured several different partners who work with Blancpain, and they discussed the urgent need for action in ocean preservation. The full version of the panel discussion can be found on Blancpain’s website, or you can click here!
Oceana & Blancpain In Mexico
On 8th of January 2024, the Mexican government finalised the creation of the Bajos Del Norte National Park. The brand states that “Two scientific expeditions conducted in 2021 and 2022, with Blancpain’s support, were instrumental in establishing the need for a Marine Protected Area (MPA) and convincing the government to take action. Covering an impressive 1.3 million hectares, this newly designated MPA is now the largest in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2024, Blancpain renewed its commitment to Oceana and successfully completed the first of three scientific expeditions in California’s Channel Islands, furthering efforts to protect ocean biodiversity.”
PADI & Blancpain Extend Their Partnership
Created in conjunction with PADI, the “Adopt The Blue” program aims to significantly increase Marine Protected Areas Worldwide. The different marine protected areas shown on the global scale are on the PADI website (click here). The programme has already mapped 2,200 dive sites, with the initiative now creating the largest network of underwater sites that can be used for marine conservation efforts. Blancpain is now going a step further to once again collaborate with PADI and launch the Global Shark & Ray Census, which is the largest underwater citizen science programme designed to protect sharks and rays from extinction.
Beyond the Surface – The Economist’s World Ocean Initiative
On March 2024, the 11th edition of the World Ocean Summit was held in Lisbon. During the summit, Blancpain and Economist Impact jointly introduced a new programme called Beyond the Surface. This new programme focuses on assessing the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) worldwide, considering both their protective impact and their economic and social outcomes.
This is only a very small amount of activities that Blancpain is involved in when it comes to ocean preservation efforts. To view in more detail and to see the other ventures and joint partnerships the Blancpain is a part of, please head to the brand’s official website at blancpain-ocean-commitment.com
