Blancpain's Excellence Rewarded

The house of Blancpain pays tribute to French Combat Swimmers with a 300-piece Fifty Fathoms limited edition bearing the symbols of French commando frogmen. Inspired by its Heritage, the Manufacture goes as far back as to 1950, when Jean-Jacques Fiechter, who was also an excellent diver, took the position of full control over Blancpain. Fiechter’s major challenge was to invent a reliable and robust diving instrument that would be capable to accompany him on his underwater adventures. Guided by experience, he wanted a watch with luminescent hand...

It’s always interesting to see the treasures hidden in brands’ historical archives, and Blancpain is no exception. The famous Swiss brand is revisiting one of its legendary diving watches from 1960’s – the Fifty Fathoms Barakuda. In its modern day rendition, the watch is produced in a limited run of 500 pieces that retain the main features of the original model, while making the most of technical innovations. The Fifty Fathoms watch, introduced in 1953, was the only diver’s watch at the time to meet the many requirements of professional dive...

The house of Blancpain has just unveiled a special new version of its Bathyscaphe model, available exclusively in the boutiques and on the website of the famous upscale retail chain. The exclusive new model is joining Bucherer’s blue-themed capsule collection, comprising a special selection of blue colored timepieces created by some of the world’s most renowned manufacturers. Blue is the signature color of the house of Bucherer, but also the color that symbolizes noblesse and Blancpain’s commitment to the marine world. Back in 1953, Blancpai...

At this year’s BaselWorld show, the house of Blancpain introduced a new complication in the Villeret collection – a retrograde day of the week indication. The new Blancpain Villeret Grande Date Jour Rétrograde is a successful marriage of classicism and refinement. The retrograde complication is here paired with a large date displayed in two windows, while the rest of the design features remain faithful to the recognizable Villeret DNA: the double stepped bezel, slender profile, and understated hands and indices. To ensure perfect balance, the...

Ahead of the BaselWorld watch and jewelry show, the house of Blancpain previews a new version of its practical complete calendar complication, which made a worldwide debut back in 2002. For Baselworld 2018, the famous Swiss watchmaker introduces the new Quantième Complet GMT, now improved with Blancpain’s patented under lug correctors. One of the signature features of the house of Blancpain is its complete calendar moon phase timepiece. The signature Blancpain design reveals the day of the week and month in two separate square windows, the d...

Earlier this year, on the occasion of the BaselWorld watch and jewelry show, the house of Blancpain enriched its Fifty Fathoms collection with a brand new MIL-SPEC model. With this new addition to the celebrated range, Blancpain reinterprets one of its vintage pieces from the 1950s, the Fifty Fathoms with a water-tightness indicator. It was back in 1953 when the famous dive watch „Fifty Fathoms“ was first introduced. The original Fifty Fathoms timepiece, waterproof to a depth of 200 meters, was the product of passion of Jean-Jacques Fiechter...

The house of Blancpain and its Métiers d’Art Workshop have just unveiled a new, unique model designed to pay tribute to the country of Switzerland. The exquisite, hand-decorated model crafted in gold and Blancpain’s beloved shakudō alloy, was unveiled a couple of days ago, at BaselWorld, the world’s largest watch and jewelry trade show. The dial of the new, one-of-a-kind model of the Villeret Collection depicts a “battle of the queen cows” staged in front of the Mountain of Mountains, the mythical Matterhorn. Shaped like a jagged tooth, this m...

The famous Swiss manufacturer has been historically associated with diving for more than 60 years, since the launch of the Fifty Fathoms diving timepiece, in 1953. This was the first modern diving watch in the world, so Blancpain pays it a noble tribute by supporting environmental protection and sponsoring various underwater projects, such as oceanographic explorations, exhibitions, underwater photography, and high-profile publications. Since 2014, Blancpain's long-standing financial support of oceanic environmental causes is concreted under th...

The image of the godlike creature was rendered using the arts of fine engraving, damascening, and shakudō. It is the same illustration of Ganesh featured on the watch of the Villeret series that won the Artistic Crafts prize in 2015, Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. Both of these unique pieces have a glorious shakudō dial, which is a special alloy of gold and copper. Shakudō originates from Japan, where it was historically used to decorate katana fittings and other ornaments. The alloy visually bears a resemblance to bronze, because of its hi...

One of the loveliest watches at this year’s Baselworld is the Blancpain Metiers d’Art The Great Wave. A watch inspired by the restlessness of the sea, and made from Mexican silver obsidian. For the first time ever, Blancpain uses this semi-transparent volcanic rock for one of its dials. Silver obsidian, a smoky gray, almost black stone, speckled with silvery clouds, serves as a base for the magnificent “The Great Wave” applique in white gold. The technique used to create such a delicate adornment isn’t new to the brand. The applique made using...