Blancpain’s ocean photography awards and

The Seamaster’s Ultra Deep meet the ISO 6425 standard for saturation divers’ watches, which is certified by METAS, Switzerland’s independent testing body METAS. What does that mean to the OMEGA brand? When you create a timepiece like this, you want to give the wearer absolute trust in its quality. That’s why independent testing is so important. Rather than only taking OMEGA’s word, you also have official documentation to prove its ability. We are proud to go the extra step for testing and certification. Not only for the Ultra Deep, but also for the precision of all our Master Chronometer watches, which are also independently tested by METAS.

Speedmasters have always enjoyed coveted demand. Has there ever been any consideration given to increasing production? The Speedmaster has been a beloved timepiece since 1957. By now, we understand very well the balance needed between supply and demand. Right now, I think we have it just right. You also must remember that any OMEGA, such as a Speedmaster, is an aspirational timepiece. People hold it in their heart and can often save for years so that they can buy one. For that reason, we like to keep each edition special in its own way. We want every customer to feel like they have a watch that is unique to them.

OMEGA is an aspirational brand, with the average price of a timepiece tripling over the past 20+ years. What significance does this have for the brand, and how do you reach a new generation of customers? Rather than price, I prefer to talk about value. When it comes to OMEGA, if you talk about prices going up, you also must see that the quality and value is rising significantly all the time. I firmly believe that an OMEGA watch offers the highest standards of beauty, innovation, and precision within the Swiss watch industry. Not forgetting the history that comes with our brand too. I think any customer, young or old, will appreciate that when doing their research.

How would you describe the enduring appeal of the brand? Why does one choose OMEGA over one of your competitors? As mentioned, it’s largely about superior quality. Look at some of the exclusive materials and alloys that OMEGA has produced in recent years, such as 18K Moonshine™ Gold, O-MEGASTEEL or 18K Sedna™ Gold. They all go beyond the standard metals, in terms of colour, corrosion-resistance and longevity. Add to that, we offer seriously advanced levels of precision and magnetic-resistance – thanks to our modern Co-Axial Master Chronometer movements. With OMEGA, you get a brand that wants excellence in every single detail. Finally, I want to say that OMEGA watches offer true emotion – backed by compelling heritage and stories, such as space exploration, the Olympic Games and James Bond. Our watches really connect with some special DNA.

This year marks OMEGA’s 30th Olympics as the Games’ official timekeeper, a partnership that began in 1932. What can you tell us about the commemorative Seamaster Diver 300M Beijing 2022 Special Edition? It’s a great honour and responsibility to be the Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games, and we always like to celebrate each edition with a unique commemorative timepiece. We have two this year for Beijing 2022, including the Seamaster Diver 300M. What makes it different to standard models, is the grade 5 titanium bezel, and the colours of the Olympic Rings, which have been subtly used for the indexes of the dial. I also love having the Beijing 2022 emblem on the caseback, because it gives the customer something that is a tribute to one special moment in time.

To mark the 2022 Winter Olympics, a dozen significant timepieces are on show at the OMEGA Museum in Switzerland. What can a watch enthusiast expect to find? The OMEGA Museum is such a wonderful place to visit. It’s quite an immersive experience, and really takes you on the journey through some of our most important heritage and watches. As it’s an Olympic year, it’s a good time to visit and see some of the items that have represented our role since 1932. As well as some of the original stopwatches, there’s even a sprinting track, where you can test your skills and see how our timekeeping equipment works.

With the exponential rise of e-commerce, how does selling online impact the buying and selling process versus selling in person at a boutique? Online sales have become a major part of OMEGA’s strategy in recent years. Before the pandemic, we opened e-commerce in the USA and UK, and those online stores were hugely beneficial to us during the time that Boutiques were closed. Since then, we’ve introduced e-commerce across Europe and Asia, with more on the way. It’s a great way to connect with customers throughout a specific country - especially when they are geographically large like China or the USA. It means we can support those customers who don’t live near a Boutique. While it’s a comfortable and comprehensive way to shop, we still consider our Boutiques a very important part of the sales process. They offer the personal and expert touch that you don’t get online. And overall, it’s still nice to see a watch on your wrist before you buy.

What do the next five years look like for OMEGA and for you personally? Considering the last few years of the pandemic, we are now looking forward to a sense of normality and hopefully the return of international tourism. That’s quite an important factor for the luxury industry. However, we are enjoying quite a strong period now, and we look forward to it continuing in this way. I would say the next five years are about building on our passions, such as sport and space exploration, while also trying to build on our excellence and watchmaking progress. We still have many ideas and dreams that we want to fulfil.

OCEAN COMMITMENT

The long-awaited Ocean Photography Awards and Female Fifty Fathoms winners revealed

In June 2021, Blancpain announced its partnership with Oceanographic Magazine and its Ocean Photography Awards (OPA). To mark the occasion, the Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie created the special Female Fifty Fathoms (FFF) Award to encourage more women to share their vision of the oceans.

The partnership between Blancpain and the OPA competition is part of the Blancpain Ocean Commitment, which brings together all the Brand’s actions in favour of the oceans. Blancpain conducts numerous initiatives in favour of ocean exploration and preservation through this program, which have already led to concrete results, notably by contributing to extending the surface of marine protected areas throughout the world by more than four million additional square kilometers. Blancpain is convinced that such results could not be achieved without collective engagement. It is thus indispensable to raise awareness of the ocean’s beauty and vulnerability.

Underwater photography is one of the best ways to achieve this goal. The Ocean Photography Awards, whose mission is to reveal the beauty of the oceans – as well as the many dangers they face –, is an ideal partner in this respect and represents a continuation of the photographic and artistic projects previously initiated by Blancpain.

One of the most telling examples is the annual Edition Fifty Fathoms publication (2008-2020), which aimed to explore the multiple facets of the underwater world through a camera lens while offering underwater photographers a platform for expression and communication.

The 2021 edition of the OPA met with strong interest from the ocean community, resulting in over 3,000 entries to the competition. The deliberation process for the competition’s six traditional categories, as well as the overall Ocean Photographer of the Year™ 2021 award, was conducted by a Jury composed of, among others, members of the SeaLegacy collective – the ocean conservation association in support of which the OPA are organised –, as well as specialist photographers and videographers.

The competition’s overall prize was awarded to talented Renee Capozzola, Winner, Female Fifty Fathoms Award, wearing the new Fifty Fathoms Australia-based photographer, Aimee Jan, who took a shot that is as beautiful as it is touching a green turtle in a school of glassfish. “I was out snorkeling when one of my colleagues told me there was a turtle under a ledge in a school of glassfish, about 10 meters down,” said the photographer.

When I dived down to look, the fish separated around the turtle perfectly. I said to her: ‘I think I just took the best photo I have ever taken’.”

Andrea Caputo, Vice President, Blancpain, and Renee Capozzola, Winner, Female Fifty Fathoms Award

In addition to the usual awards, this year’s edition of the OPA chose a photographer in a new category, entitled the “Female Fifty Fathoms Award” (FFF), in which competing photographers were all pre-nominated by someone for whom they are an inspiration, and were carefully evaluated by the Jury, as well as by Blancpain – whose President & CEO, Marc A. Hayek, has himself become an underwater photographer through his longstanding passion for the oceans.

Out of more than 100 nominations, 12 finalists were shortlisted and invited to submit a portfolio of ten ocean shots to showcase their work as a whole.

The portfolio was the main judging element for the artists, but close attention was also paid to their achievements along with their commitment and ability to inspire others to act on behalf of the oceans. The FFF award was won by Renee Capozzola, an American photographer and biology teacher who takes a special interest in marine conservation.

She believes that underwater photography is a powerful way to bring to light the magical world that lies beneath the water, and her work often focuses on turtles and sharks. “Sharky Sunset”, one of the photos in her portfolio that particularly appealed to the Jury and Blancpain, depicts both sky and ocean dominated by a blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) – representing a species whose abundance is a sign of a healthy marine ecosystem.

As a reward, Renee Capozzola was presented with the first example of a new model from Blancpain’s Fifty Fathoms collection. The blue watch bears the serial number 1 and its case is engraved with the words “FFF Award 2021”.

Introduced by Blancpain in 1953, the Fifty Fathoms is the world’s first modern diver’s watch. It was created by Jean-Jacques Fiechter, then co-CEO of the company and an avid diver.

With a particular admiration for women divers because of their ability to outperform men in terms of immersion time, Fiechter was aware of the need for a reliable timekeeping instrument for exploring the underwater world.