Blancpain sets high standards
Setting standards of excellence with its mechanical timepieces since 1735, Blancpain perseveres as both a custodian of Swiss watchmaking tradition, and as a horological pioneer. The brand and business was initiated by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret, the present-day Bernese Jura
After being passed along generations of the family, the business was bought by two members of staff during the 1930’s; Blancpain went on to enjoy great success, particularly during the 1950’s. However, when the Quartz crisis hit in the 80’s, the business was sold once again and its new owners committed the brand to creating purely traditional "grande complication" timepieces. That commitment is sustained by the brand’s current owner Swatch Group, who has also injected a more innovative approach to watch manufacturing into Blancpain, crafting timepieces with a complementary balance of established practice infused with contemporary ingenuity.
In 2015, Blancpain adds ground-breaking novelties to its renowned collections:
Villeret
The grand date complication is offered for the first time in this classic collection, the resplendent novelty embodies key Villeret signature elements, and maximizes the readability of the date by employing two side-by-side display windows. To meet the legibility requirements, Blancpain’s watchmakers designed an automatic movement for the Grande Date with two mainspring barrels and a date mechanism designed to resist shocks. ShakudÅ is a “Métiers d’Art” piece from Blancpain; it makes use of the eponymous Japanese alloy principally composed of copper and gold, which acquires a dark patina between blue and black, based on composition and texture. Its colouration is dependent on a process called passivation, calling for the application of a Japanese solution known as rokushÅ. A series of four unique pieces, which combine shakudÅ, engraving and Damascening, and reflect the expertise of the Manufacture in the practices of “Métiers d’Art”, are being presented. Each timepiece will represent the individual handcrafts of the artisan and his or her style of engraving, rokushÅ patina.
L-evolution
Blancpain once again unites two time-keeping regulators in one movement in the avant-garde L-evolution Tourbillon Carrousel. The platinum case of this innovative timepiece frames an exhibition anthracite dial with a distinctive bezel in the form of applied numerals, and an asymmetric structure of the bridges and base plate. The intricate mechanism includes the tourbillon comprised of a rotating cage which carries with it the escapement and the balance wheel. The cage rotates once every minute, transmitting energy to the escapement and balance, thus cancelling out rate variations in the vertical position. The carrousel features two gear trains, one rotates the cage and another delivers power to the balance wheel and the escapement. Both complications are individually powered, each by its own barrel, allowing for harmonious vertical placement of the two within the movement.
Fifty Fathoms
The first in a series of limited edition diving watches which will be part of the Blancpain Ocean Commitment project was released in the form of the limited edition Ocean Commitment Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback. Every owner of a timepiece from this line becomes a member of the Blancpain Ocean Commitment Circle, and for each piece sold in this series, 1,000 Euros will be donated to support scientific expeditions. This latest Bathyscaphe Chronographe Flyback features an entirely new column wheel-controlled flyback chronograph movement, which runs at the high frequency of 5 HZ – 36’000vph, perfect for a chronograph, as each second is perfectly divided into 1/10th of a second intervals. The timepiece boasts numerous other exceptional mechanical features which make it an ideal diving watch.
Women
Intricate decoration on the exquisite Jour Nuit (Day Night) extends from the movement to the dial, which is composed entirely of white mother-of-pearl, and divided into three parts on four levels, creating an impression of great depth. The Day/Night disk turns twice daily within approximately four minutes, as the decoration presents itself, revealing details of the day and the night. Numerous artistic techniques were used in its creation: la décalque (depositing material), le champlevé (contour forms in relief), and le marquetage (integration of superimposed motifs in mother-of-pearl). Gradations in the colour blue, achieved by deposit upon the mother-of-pearl, signifies the change from day to night. The moon is composed of 50 diamonds; the sun is fashioned with 50 yellow sapphires. Several yellow coloured mother-of-pearl dots are on the surface in addition to 14 diamonds representing the stars. One of the unique features of this piece is the way that the two retrograde indications (seconds and hours) are combined with the minute hand.
