THE ARCHIVE

he Blancpain Fifty Fathoms BUND 3H is a model prepared for the German Bundeswehr around 1975 and produced until the early 1980s, issued to German frogmen and never sold to the public. It is an automatic version with an approximately 42 mm case, rather thick, a screw-down crown positioned between 4 and 5 o’clock, a monobloc caseback, and fixed bars. The military BUND assignment was engraved directly at the factory on the caseback, bearing the number 6645-12-171-4162. Water-resistant to 200 meters, it was conceived as a pure, extremely robust tool watch. The condition of this example is very good. The bakelite bezel, despite the typical crack at the triangle at 12 o’clock — found on almost all examples of this model — and a small impact at 6 o’clock, is beautiful and overall in excellent condition, which is rare for these watches. The dial shows no defects and retains the 3H marking indicating the presence of tritium, consistent on both the original hour markers and hands. The automatic movement has just been serviced and is running perfectly. The case was polished in the past but can easily be restored; I chose to offer the watch exactly as I found it, without further intervention, in order not to alter its military history. Every mark and every intervention are part of the life of these watches, and it is precisely this authenticity that defines their appeal.