Deep Commitment: A Dive Into The Blancpain Ocean Commitment Program
The Blancpain Ocean Committment Program is making a real difference in ocean conservation.
“A diver doesn’t really need a watch anymore.” I’ve heard those words for as long as I’ve been, well… diving with a watch. And in some respects it’s true. Since the 1980s, increasingly sophisticated dive computers have replaced analog watches and depth gauges to track depth, dive time, no-decompression limits, and other pertinent subaquatic parameters. Some watch enthusiasts will attempt to counter the argument with the justification that a watch provides a vital backup in the unlikely event that the computer malfunctions or its battery dies. But the truth is, at least for me, the value of diving with a watch has little to do with tracking elapsed time underwater.
A dive watch serves less tangible, but arguably more important, functions—to inspire, to remind, and to connect. Blancpain has long understood this, and through its Ocean Commitment program, continues to evolve its support for the world’s oceans, something it began in 1953 with the introduction of the world’s first purpose-built diving watch.
That patron saint of modern diving, Jacques-Yves Cousteau once said, “We protect what we love.” For me, a love of the ocean, and a desire to protect it, started with a diving watch, now close to two decades ago. I simply couldn’t stand the idea of wearing such a functional, robust instrument and not use it for its intended purpose. I never could have imagined what an impact that would have on my life. What began as a fun, adventuresome new hobby turned into a new career, writing about dive watches, but more importantly, a passion for the ocean, and a profound desire to inspire others to care about it. Blancpain’s CEO, Marc A. Hayek, had a similar story.
Hayek became CEO of Blancpain in 2003, coincidentally the year of the 50th anniversary of the company’s most iconic and recognizable watch—the Fifty Fathoms. Hayek himself was, and still is, a passionate diver, and in the Fifty Fathoms, and the Blancpain brand, he saw a perfect opportunity to merge his interest in undersea exploration, diving watches, and conservation into an ambitious program: Blancpain Ocean Commitment.
“It all started with a dive watch— a passion for the beauty of it, but then it went way beyond that,” Hayek said in a 2023 panel discussion held in Cannes, France. Hayek’s own interest in sharing what he was seeing while diving gave him the idea of leveraging Blancpain’s formidable influence and resources to do some good for the ocean. It was a natural fit—the company that invented the dive watch committing to protecting the world’s seas.
It seems like almost every watch brand has some sort of environmental cause, at various scales and effectiveness. But the BOC, as Blancpain Ocean Commitment is called, is by far the most ambitious, wide ranging, and potent. By funding partners such as National Geographic Pristine Seas, PADI (the Professional Association of Diving Instructors), the Mokarran Protection Society, Gombessa Expeditions, and The Economist’s World Oceans Initiative, the BOC is making real changes in ocean conservation and awareness, through policy changes, scientific discovery, and the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the latter of which Blancpain can count over 20 resulting from its direct support.
In February of this year, I was able to witness firsthand one of these MPAs, on a trip to a remote reef off of Palawan, in the Philippines. The BOC has been supporting the Sulubaaï Foundation there, in the restoration of reefs, local education, research, and the establishment of new connected MPAs in Shark Fin Bay. While there, I not only was present at the ribbon cutting of a new Marine Research Center, but also got to dive in a brand new MPA, on Little Tubbataha Reef. An MPA is a key part of any ocean conservation effort, since it effectively restricts damaging overfishing practices and reef destruction, allowing an ecosystem to recover and flourish. The Sulubaaï Foundation’s efforts in Shark Fin Bay are visible, in the resurgent growth of lush fans, sponges, and corals, and all of the marine life that calls these interconnected structures home. To dive in these pristine waters, while wearing a new Blancpain diving watch, drove home the connection between the BOC and the work it does.
The watch in question was the new limited edition Fifty Fathoms Tech BOC IV. As its name suggests, it is the fourth dedicated BOC edition Fifty Fathoms watch, sold specifically to help fund initiatives like the Sulubaaï Foundation’s Marine Research Center. Back in 2018, on an expedition in the remote Revillagigedos archipelago, I dove with the BOC III watch, a watch based on a legendary watch Blancpain made for the US Navy in the 1950s.
On that trip, I got to see Blancpain ambassador, Laurent Ballesta, an award winning underwater photographer, and marine scientist, at work with his Gombessa Expedition team. Ballesta is perhaps the best representation of the BOC’s three-part mission of awareness, exploration, and preservation. Through his photography, he brings to people a view of the world they would never otherwise know about, while also making scientific discoveries that help drive conservation efforts.
Far from a single “cause,” the BOC’s efforts to bring the wonders of the oceans to the public through its support of underwater photography awards, its funding of scientific experiments, and work with conservation organizations, is making real change in the world. The oceans need advocates, and if a diving watch inspires one more person like me to take up diving and learn to love the ocean, and if a company that builds and sells diving watches can make such big changes through something like the Blancpain Ocean Commitment program, then I would say, without hesitation, that yes, a “diver does need a dive watch,” and so do the world’s oceans, now more than ever.
Find out more about the Blancpain Ocean Committment’s initiatives here; and check out more of Jason’s writing, and adventures, at his Substack, Swimpruf. View our collection of preowned Blancpain Fifty Fathoms watches here.