Founding partner of the Gombessa expeditions, Blancpain is supporting a new mission by underwater biologist and photographer Laurent Ballesta and Andromède Océanologie. This project, conducted in the Mediterranean, aims to study the impact of the cessation of human activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic on marine vertebrate and invertebrate populations. Financed by part of the proceeds from the sale of BOC III limited edition watches, it continues from the Gombessa V expedition in July 2019 off the French Mediterranean coast. Spring 2020 provided exceptional conditions for studying marine biodiversity due to the lockdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. On a purely empirical basis, it already appears that Nature reasserts itself when humans withdraw.
