2020-07-06

BLANCPAIN Presents Two New Models Join The Villeret Collection

This year, Blancpain is reinterpreting its 38 mm Quantième Complet with moon phases. Emblematic of the Villeret collection, this combination of complications has been a brand signature for nearly four decades. The complete calendar is one of Blancpain's flagship complications. Its success is due to its usefulness, as well as to its design and construction. Slim apertures serve to display the day of the week and the month, while Blancpain often uses a blued steel serpentine hand to indicate the date. The reason for this choice lies in the 18th watchmaking tradition calling for the secondary information of a watch to be provided by a characteristically shaped hand. Blancpain's complete calendar is usually combined with a moon phase. This complication, which reproduces the cycles of the star, was brought back to the forefront of the watchmaking scene by the Manufacture in 1983. The new 38 mm Villeret Quantième Complet model celebrates the heritage of mechanical watchmaking while adopting the contemporary attributes of the collection. In this spirit, the dial features subtly reworked slender hour-markers and cut-out sage leaf-shaped hands. The moon phase has also been redesigned. These aesthetic codes guarantee the clarity of reading and stylistic purity of this timepiece embodying the utmost respect for the Villeret identity. The case of this new model is characterized by a delicately rounded double-stepped bezel along with a sleek profile. It is equipped with discreet lateral correctors, harmoniously integrated into the case middle band. The watch's wide sapphire crystal case-back reveals the high-end finishing of the self-winding 6763 caliber. Entirely designed and produced by the Manufacture, this movement has a four-day power reserve and houses a silicon balance-spring. The new Villeret Quantième Complet model is available in steel with a white dial and in red gold with an opaline dial. The hour-markers in gold and the hands match the case color. Each timepiece is also available in a gem-set version. Additionally, Blancpain offers a choice for each model between an alligator strap and a Mille Mailles bracelet made from over 500 patiently hand-assembled individual components.


The appeal of the Villeret collection lies in its pure aesthetics, faithfully reflecting the values of traditional watchmaking. Over the decades, Blancpain has made a point of subtly reinterpreting this line while safeguarding its emblematic characteristics. This year, in this same spirit, the Manufacture is revisiting a great classic: the Villeret Ultraplate 38 mm watch with date display. Born in the early 1980s, the design of the Villeret collection took shape around a set of attributes rooted in the grand watchmaking tradition. Easily recognizable at first glance, these features include a slender double-stepped case, an understated dial, applied gold hour-markers and sage leaf-shaped hands. This year, Blancpain is introducing a new addition to the family of Villeret models: an ultra-slim 38 mm-diameter timepiece displaying the date and offering a contemporary take on the collection’s signature codes. Respectively framed by a steel or red gold case, the luminous white or opaline dial is enhanced by 28 gold appliques patiently positioned and affixed by hand to form the Roman numerals. These are swept over by hours and minutes hands shaped like hollowed sage leaves, while the seconds are marked by a slender hand bearing the initials of the founder, Jehan-Jacques Blancpain. This information is enriched by a date display at 3 o'clock, through an aperture sized to ensure optimal visual balance and legibility. While simplicity reigns supreme on the dial, the sapphire back reveals a finely structured movement brimming with contrasts, Blancpain Calibre 1150. Circular-grained and adorned with the traditional côtes de Genève motif, it also features a gold oscillating weight with a honeycomb pattern. The 1150 movement is a watch industry benchmark that paved the way for generous power reserves. Thanks to the use of two series-coupled barrels and high-performance springs, it has doubled the standard capacities – of around 40 to 48 hours – in order to achieve a comfortable four days of autonomy while ensuring constant energy throughout this period. These technical features are complemented by the use of a silicon balance-spring guaranteeing remarkable non-magnetic and chronometric properties. The new Villeret Ultraplate from Blancpain reproduces the onward march of time through a refined blend of slimness and purity, distilled within a case whose dimensions are suited to each and every wearer. For those looking for additional sparkle, a gem-set model is available. Paired with an alligator strap that is black for the steel version and brown for the red gold iteration, this timepiece is also available with a refined mille mailles bracelet in steel or gold respectively.

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