Alongside the launch of the reworked Villeret collection Blancpain have opened their vault and sent a dozen early watches bearing the key insignia of their line of classic timepieces on tour to be closely inspected in a number of exhibitions. From this group of neo vintage examples I now had the opportunity to pick five and share them with you, with two prototypes and one possibly unique piece being part of the group.
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Traveling back to the first decade of modern Blancpain
Blancpain’s re-entry to the world of fine timepieces under the leadership of Jacques Piguet and Jean-Claude Biver in 1983 with the iconic Quantieme Complet Phases de Lune was an essential part of the renaissance of sophisticated mechanical watches. In the span of only a few years a collection of all relevant high horology complications was created, culminating in the Six Masterpieces and the famous 1735.
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From the start the timepieces were focused on classic and timeless aesthetics: a round case, a white dial and beautifully decorated movements. Whether we talk about ultra flat movements, groundbreaking chronograph calibers, perpetual calendars, tourbillons or minute repeaters, the virtues behind were always evident and the same.
Of course some self-set limitations, like the white dial dogma or the restrained classic design, fell victim to more playful creations over time. The underlying virtues however stayed untouched until today.
From the twelve timepieces that belong to Blancpain and have been on exhibition I want to show a few watches that give us a good idea of what Blancpain envisioned in the early 1980s and how it evolved.
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A blueprint of what we today call an Independent
That evolution process was driven by the enormous knowledge and capability of the movement manufacturer Frédéric Piguet, who were merged and fully integrated into Blancpain in 2010. The collaboration with industry geniuses like Vincent Calabrese for the emblematic Flying Tourbillon or Jean-Pierre Hagmann for demanding watch cases like for minute repeaters was another important aspect of that process. And last but not least the exceptional aesthetic creativity paired with the willingness to accommodate individual customer requests makes this period not only exciting but also almost impossible to capture in all its variety.
Keep in mind that this was the time when the Swiss watch industry slowly managed to get out of the Quartz crisis, can you imagine a more holistic approach to fine watchmaking than what Blancpain did during the 1980s and 90s? At the time Blancpain made a significant contribution to the resurrection of fine mechanical watches, an achievement that got less attention during the first two decades of the 21st century. Now, with a stronger interest in what we call neo vintage, the outstanding Blancpain timepieces of that era come into focus again, and with them comes a well deserved appreciation of what the manufacture has been all about… and still is.
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The timepieces
Let us start with a few regular collection models, albeit with a twist. For once we have reference 1185 1318, a two tone version of the first Blancpain featuring the groundbreaking chronograph caliber 1185. At the time almost all Blancpain timepieces had a solid case back, so I can’t show you the movement, but let’s explore this beautiful stainless steel/yellow gold timepiece in some detail:
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Again in a two tone execution (with notable patina to the yellow gold bezel) there’s reference 5495 1318, a perpetual calendar powered by the ultra flat Frédéric Piguet 953 automatic movement. The perpetual calendar is an all time favorite complication in the Blancpain catalogue, of course featuring the signature moon phase indication.
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The next timepiece has also been part of Blancpain‘s catalogue at the time, but it actually it is the opposite of „standard“ and a first hint at what was to come later in form of Blancpain’s Metiers d‘Art workshop. Meet reference 0021 1431 with its spectacular dial, a subtle guilloche pattern on the outer perimeter and a colorful cloisonné enamel center.
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The heart of this timepiece, ultra flat hand wound Frédéric Piguet caliber 21, is so iconic that Blancpain did not dare to hide it under a solid case back. So here it is in all its glory:
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A key reference of the collection has always been the „basic“ Ultra-plat 1151, the entry model to the world of Blancpain. Here we have one specimen with a unique salmon dial, a prototype that never got sold.
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In my review of the new Villeret 6224N I referred to it as featuring a salmon for the first time in Blancpain‘s history. I guess I have to take that back now, and to make up for it here are the new 6224N and its inspiration from almost four decades ago in perfect unity:
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The fifth and final timepiece is a real stunner: a prototype for the Perpetual Calendar Split Second Chronograph with the reference 5581 3318. The combination of complications in a wearable and aesthetically appealing design was an important part of Blancpain‘s quest to push horological boundaries, culminating in the famous 1735.
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There’s a special aura with this piece, we know there are more than 400 beautifully crafted and finished movement parts, but they are kept from our eyes by a heavily battered gold case, indicating that this prototype was really put to the test.
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Conclusions
Over the past years I often contemplated to create a comprehensive overview on the Villeret line, but the immense variety over the past 40 years seemed insurmountable to me. I think these examples give a good idea of that thought, and we are talking about the first generation of the watches bearing the Villeret insignia only.
What is also evident from this small sample is the excellence that stood behind those timepieces and which still drives Blancpain’s approach to watchmaking today. The philosophy behind the first decade of modern Blancpain never changed: the dedication to master and refine all horological aspects, combined with unrivaled timelessness in design. If you haven’t done already, I strongly recommend to read the articles on the Grande Double Sonnerie here or the Metiers d’Art workshop here in the blog, it tells you everything you need to know about the manufacture.
Another observation I made is that nothing comes even close to experiencing a watch hands-on, a picture or a written description simply cannot do them justice and capture the charisma they have. The five watches shown are all 34mm in diameter, a rather small size in today’s world, and these dimensions actually contribute significantly to their strong appeal. These timepieces are for the person holding or wearing them, they need to be experienced up close in all details to be fully appreciated, they offer real substance.
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You find the new generation of the Villeret here on the Blancpain website. Another most beautiful timepiece from the early modern era, the Chronographe Quantieme Perpetuel 5585, is featured here in the blog.
I hope you enjoyed this journey into Blancpain‘s first modern decade and the photos.
Cheers
Henrik