Blancpain’s Ladybird through the decades
Sixty years ago, Blancpain was being daringly avant-garde when it debuted the Ladybird – the world’s smallest round watch; now, the watch, still holding sway, has another avatar
It was the year 1956. To a world recovering from the devastation of World War II, the unveiling of the world’s smallest round mechanical movement, housed in the petite Ladybird, was sensational. At that time, the Ladybird caliber, the R550, was 11.85 mm in diameter.
The Ladybird was born at a time when the fashion was for jewelled watches in which the emphasis was on ornamental features and dainty dial sizes. Within this context, Blancpain’s unveiling the world’s smallest round movement, the R550 caliber, was a true masterstroke.
Notwithstanding its 11.85 mm diameter, this movement had a more than 40-hour power reserve that was quite extraordinary for the period. For aesthetic reasons, its crown was re-located to the back of the watch. As for the pivot placed above the escape wheel, it was slightly thinner than an average strand of hair, at just 0.07 mm.
Success was instantaneous and it became the timepiece of choice to adorn the wrists of elegant women. As time went by, it adopted a variety of styles intended to meet the most demanding feminine tastes, ranging from entirely gem-set models to more avant-garde versions with interchangeable straps. Year after year, the Ladybird successively appeared in new guises while retaining its ever-youthful charm.
Sixty years on, its style remains in vogue and Blancpain pays homage to the Ladybird that has played such an important role in the history of women’s timepieces. The new automatic 6150 caliber is just 15.7 mm in diameter and still remains one of the smallest in the world.
For Valentine’s Day, Blancpain introduced a 99-piece limited-edition watch with a removable charm featuring a ruby heart and a diamond arrow, while a second 60-piece limited edition was introduced at Baselworld to mark the model’s 60th birthday. This edition has a mother-of-pearl dial graced with luminous contrasts and displays an elaborate foliage motif, a white gold case, a diamond-set bezel, and a diameter of 21.50 MM.
The strap is of Louisiana alligator leather with especially fine scales that create a supremely refined effect. Its bezel is set with 32 diamonds surrounding eight of the same gems sparkling on the dial, swept over by droplet-shaped hands and framed by a white gold case. The transparent case back allows a view of the winding rotor, delicately decorated with a diamond.
In addition to these new timepieces, the Ladybird collection has been expanded with two other new models presented exclusively at Baselworld. The first features a mother-of-pearl dial bearing four small ruby hearts. A removable charm in the form of a reversed heart brings a flirty touch to the model.
The second new piece is crafted in red gold. Its opaline dial is surrounded in brilliance, thanks to its diamond-set bezel. This model is enhanced with a ladybird charm set with 7 rubies and 11 diamonds.
