Longines Timepieces in Bathyscaphe Trieste And On The Wrist of Piccard

We, human beings, have a fascination for exploration. We’re pioneers, adventurers and largely, we’re curious to know all the things about our planet and what’s round it. Man has travelled by way of area, has been on the Moon, flew in ultra-fast planes, and in addition explored the deepest level on planet Earth, Challenger Deep close to the Mariana Trench. On 23 January 1960, swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh have been the primary crew to achieve the underside of the Challenger Deep, a narrative well-known by watch fanatics, due to the involvement of Rolex within the undertaking. However what is way much less identified is the presence of Longines timepieces, each onboard the Trieste, and on the wrist of Piccard himself (not less than within the first file dive of 1953). And at this time, with a little bit of assist from the Longines Museum, we offer you extra particulars about this Longines x Piccard connection. 

Piccard, father and son

Behind the story of the Trieste and all the next file dives to lastly attain the deepest level on Earth are two males, a father and his son, Auguste and Jacques Piccard.

Auguste Piccard (1884-1962) was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer, identified for exploring each the Earth’s higher environment and its best depths. A graduate from the Swiss Federal Institute of Expertise in Zürich and later a professor of physics in Brussels, he’s largely identified for his curiosity in ballooning and a curiosity concerning the higher environment. This may lead him to construct a spherical, pressurized aluminium gondola that might permit him ascent to an excellent altitude – on 27 Might 1931, Piccard and Kipfer will attain a file altitude of 15,781 metres or 51,775ft, changing into the primary males to enter the stratosphere. On this occasion, they’re extensively thought-about the primary males to visually observe the curvature of the Earth. In a while, Auguste Piccard will present curiosity within the exploration of the depths, when he realized {that a} modification of his high-altitude balloon cockpit would permit descent into the deep ocean.

By the mid-Thirties, Auguste Piccard began to design his first bathyscaphe, a free-diving self-propelled deep-sea submersible. As a result of WWII, the development solely resumed in 1946, and in 1948, he finalized the first-ever bathyscaphe, FNRS-2, named after the Fonds Nationwide de la Recherche Scientifique, and in-built Belgium (FNRS-1 was the balloon used for Piccard’s ascent into the stratosphere in 1938). The idea was a bubble-shaped cockpit to keep up regular air stress, connected beneath floats that may be stuffed with water so as to descend. Later given to the French Navy (in 1950), FNRS-2 will break a brand new manned dive file in 1954, reaching 4,176m after some modifications. After this primary bathyscaphe, Piccard will develop a second one, one that may grow to be a legend, the Trieste.

His son, Jacques Piccard (1922-2008) adopted go well with. A swiss oceanographer and engineer, he began his profession by instructing economics on the College of Geneva… However within the meantime, he was additionally serving to his father enhance his bathyscaphes. In 1953, father and son will obtain their first file dive – on 30 September 1953 within the Mediterranean Sea – reaching a depth of three,150m. After which, Piccard will search monetary assist from the U.S. Navy, so as to enhance the household’s bathyscaphe Trieste, which can outcome within the completion of Venture Nekton – U.S. Navy codename for the collection of deep dives that may finish when reaching Challenger Deep.

The Bathyscaphe Trieste

Designed by Swiss Auguste and Jacques Piccard, and constructed in Italy from the early Fifties, Trieste is definitely one of the crucial well-known submarines ever created. The conception of Trieste is an enchancment of what father and son Piccard discovered with FNRS-2 and the ship was launched formally on 26 August 1953 into the Mediterranean Sea, close to the Isle of Capri. Trieste consisted of a float chamber stuffed with gasoline and a separate stress sphere to carry the crew – a conception that was named bathyscaphe by the Piccards (in opposition to the bathysphere idea, a sphere that was lowered to depth and raised once more to the floor by a cable connected to a ship.)

The primary vital step within the historical past of Trieste occurred on 30 August 1953, when father and son Piccard reached a depth of three,150m, a file at the moment for a manned dive. The file shall be damaged, as defined above, by the French Navy with one other Piccard-designed bathyscaphe – FNRS-2, in 1954.

The second step within the lifetime of Trieste has to do with the USA Navy, which bought the ship after a number of years of operation within the Mediterranean Sea in 1958, for USD 250,000. The thought was that Trieste would be the essential instrument to finish Venture Nekton, with the only thought to achieve the Challenger Deep, the deepest surveyed level on the earth’s oceans.

In October 1959, bathyscaphe Trieste was despatched to Guam to take part in Venture Nekton, starting a collection of U.S. Navy-sponsored dives within the western Pacific Ocean. Oceanographer Jacques Piccard and U.S. Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh would be the crew for these analysis dives and the undertaking culminated on 23 January 1960, when Trieste, with each males on board, reached the ground within the Challenger Deep, the deepest southern a part of the Mariana Trench – a primary for a vessel, crewed or uncrewed. Whereas the onboard methods indicated a depth of 11,521 metres, the true depth reached was later revised to a extra exact 10,916 metres.

After a descent that took 4 hours 47 minutes, Piccard and Walsh will spend twenty minutes on the ocean ground, within the small (2.16m in diameter) stress sphere, connected to the underside of the float. After an ascent of three hours and quarter-hour, they lastly made it to the floor and entered historical past.

Rolex and Trieste

When speaking concerning the Piccards and the Trieste, it’s not possible to not point out Rolex and the very-special-indeed Rolex Deep Sea Particular watches that the Crown developed so as to take a look at the water-resistance of its watches to unbelievable pressures and depths. As well as, since two of those RDSS shall be auctioned quickly, one by Phillips (a show mannequin) and one by Christie’s (in actual fact, #1, which was connected to the outside of Trieste in 1953 in the course of the first file dive), a small reminder appears applicable.

In accordance with public sale home Christie’s, “seven prototypes of the Rolex Deep Sea Particular have been constructed between 1953 and 1960. This a lot is totally sure, solely three have up to now been recognized: the Deep Sea Special N°1 with a ‘low glass’ (made from Plexiglas) that accompanied Trieste on its first deep-sea trial down to 3,150 meters (10,245 ft) off the island of Ponza in 1953; the Deep Sea Particular N°3 with a ‘excessive glass’ (a taller and thicker crystal, additionally of Plexiglas, one of many invaluable learnings from N°1) that made the journey all the way down to the underside of the Mariana Trench (10,916 meters, 35,814 ft) in 1960 and is at this time out of attain however on show, along with the Trieste, on the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC; and Deep Sea Particular N°5, additionally a ‘excessive glass’ model, which presumably served as a proving floor for additional excessive testing within the interval main as much as 1960.”

Additionally, Christie’s provides that “within the early to mid-Sixties, to have a good time the dive all the way down to the world’s deepest place Rolex produced about three dozen show fashions to share their exploit and know-how with the general public,” which is the case for the model offered by Phillips.

What’s vital about these Deep Sea Specials, and with out doing your entire historical past once more (there are extraordinarily full articles on this matter), is that these watches have been experimental fashions connected to the EXTERIOR of the Trieste. They weren’t worn on the wrist of the crew members however, on this occasion, made historical past for being a number of the most waterproof watches ever created… and that, with Fifties know-how and manufacturing methods. Nothing in need of an unbelievable achievement.

However… If the story of the Rolex Deep Sea Particular watches and the reference to the Trieste is definitely extensively identified, what’s coming subsequent is way much less well-liked – and within the case of the Longines wrist chronograph, one thing which may have by no means been informed earlier than.

The Longines chronograph worn by Jacques Piccard in 1953, in the course of the first file dive

As mentioned, the Rolex Deep Sea Particular watches weren’t meant to be worn on the wrist and have been connected to the outside of the Trieste. Nevertheless, due to photographs and letters shared by the Longines Museum, we have been capable of see Jacques Piccard in the course of the file dive of 30 August 1953 with a chronograph watch on the wrist – Ps. the watch is well seen in a collection of photographs printed within the ebook Auguste. Jacques. Bertrand Piccard : A la Conquête du ciel et des Abysses (Gallimard, 2009) by Jean-François Rubin & Arnaud Schwartz, and within the ebook Au fond des mers en bathyscaphe (Arthaud, 1954) by Auguste Piccard, nevertheless, attributable to copyright, we aren’t allowed to submit these pictures right here.

So, to make issues very exact, Jacques Piccard, in the course of the first file dive achieved by father and son in September 1953, at a depth of three,150 metres, was carrying a Longines 13ZN Chronograph reference 5415, serial quantity 7136197. This watch is a wrist chronograph in stainless-steel, with a hand-wound chronograph motion calibre 13ZN, invoiced on 20 September 1947 by Maison Bessire, agent of Longines in Belgium. It includes a white dial ref. 11-90 with Arabic numerals in radium and probably luminous palms with radium too.

The Museum defined to us that two watches have been ordered by Piccard for experimental use, with serial quantity 7136196 and serial quantity 7136197. The latter was the one worn by Jacques Piccard in 1953. To additional attest the presence of this watch on the wrist of Jacques Piccard in the course of the historic dive with Triest in 1953, Longines introduced to us two letters, a communication between Longines and Piccard, regarding the necessity to service this watch:

Above: a letter from Jacques Piccard to Longines on 19 December 1953 – within the letter, Piccard explains that he needs to ship his Longines 13ZN Chronograph for service, with the necessity to change the Plexiglas. Extra importantly, he says within the second paragraph, “I additionally need to inform you that I used to be carrying on my wrist this watch in the course of the dive with Bathyscaphe Trieste at 3,150m, on 30 September (1953)”

Above: a letter from Longines answering to Piccard, on 30 December 1953, the place the corporate exhibits its pleasure to know that the watch (later clearly talked about as quantity 7136197) was onboard the Trieste for the 1953 file dive. It additionally mentions some Longines stopwatches, however extra afterward this matter.

The Longines Stopwatches onboard Trieste

Considerably higher identified is the story of the timing units that have been on board the bathyscaphe Trieste, to be exact a Movado chronometer (a clock) and two stopwatches from Longines – as already talked about by Roger Ruegger in Watchtime and Rescapement.

The bathyscaphe Trieste was a fancy machine, which was created to dive into uncertainty. As such, the Piccards featured a number of security methods. Considered one of them, operated by the 2 Longines stopwatches, was already launched within the bathyscaphe FNRS-2. It consisted of a time system that might reduce robotically the facility of the ballast after a given period of time if the bathyscaphe hadn’t reached the specified depth.

This technique shall be used once more within the Trieste, in the course of the record-breaking dive of 1960, as attested by the photograph above. Additionally, the letters between Longines and Jacques Piccard point out the presence of those stopwatches within the 1953 dive.

Above, a letter from Maurice Savoye, director of Longines, on 10 November 1953. Mr Savoye explains his enthusiasm concerning the achievement of the Piccards in September 1953, after reaching 3,150m with Trieste. He additionally explains having learn the “Corriere d’Informazione” (letter of data) from 16/17 October 1953, reporting the presence of the Longines stopwatches and the security system put in onboard Trieste. On the identical time, and although Longines’ director feels extraordinarily grateful to be related to this achievement, the model abandon the thought of speaking publically on this particular matter with an promoting marketing campaign, however he mentions the likelihood to elucidate this achievement to the model’s companions and pals.

Above, one other letter (the identical as proven earlier than, concerning the service of the 13ZN chronograph) making point out once more of the stopwatches and the security system put in onboard Trieste.

Lastly, this system could be seen contained in the replica of the Trieste’s gondola uncovered on the Deutsche Museum in Munich, as seen above in a barely totally different configuration for the outer protecting field, which is colored in blue. As for the precise bathyscaphe Trieste, it’s now retired and on show on the Nationwide Museum of the U.S. Navy in Washington.

We’d prefer to thank Longines and particularly Daniel Hug, Head of Branding and Heritage of the model, for serving to us with the historic background.