Baselworld/SIHH

Baselworld 2011: The big PuristSPro report -- Blancpain

 

So different can impressions be: At the sight of this year’s Basel novelties, my valued friend Magnus Bosse, long-time Blancpain intimate with many insights into the company’s traditions and decisions, lamented about a “swan song” of the well-known brand. Uninspired, techno-affine approach, no consistency - these are but a few of the conclusions drawn by Magnus and his co-author Oliver from the most recent launches by Blancpain.

home.watchprosite.com  (click on this link to access Magnus' and Oliver's article)

For me, who had only superficial contact with Blancpain in the past, the issue appeared completely different: in the last few years, I had considered many of the novelties to be after quick and cheap effects, but this year, the brand surprised me very positively with the beauty and complexity of so many new pieces; maybe, because the PR department had not done much to prepare the public in advance.

I do not feel competent enough to clear that contradiction, for Magnus’ knowledge and experience with Blancpain is too large to challenge. Consequently, I underline that the subsequent statements on Blancpain’s novelties do purely reflect my personal opinion, leaving it to the reader to draw her or his own conclusions. I also want to point out that there are many overlaps between my article and those by Magnus and Oliver, regarding the pictures of various watches. However, there are a few here that are missing in their article, and many of those shown by them are missing here. Below the line, Blancpain fans thus have more stuff to read and to look at ...

The technical highlight of this year’s collection is part of the Villeret series. The “Demi-Fuseau Horaire” is one of the very rare two-timezones-watches, permitting to adjust the second time zone to half hour increments. The original plan of the global time zone system envisaged 24 time zones with a full hour difference between them. This is how most mechanical time zone watches work, permitting adjustments only in steps of full hours. However, there are some states which do not respect the wonderfully planned system, choosing a national time that differs a half an hour only from the neighbouring time zones. The reasons for this decision are various, sometimes based on national or political emotions, sometimes on practical considerations.


The most important case of such states is India, but there are others, such as the republic of Venezuela, which changed its time by half an hour only a few years ago.

Visiting these areas is always a problem for wearers of mechanical timezone watches, but now Blancpain presents a beautiful watch from the Villeret series, offering help.

Two versions of the Demi-Fuseau Horaire are offered, equipped with different automatic movements: The first variant has a movement with 72 hours of power reserve, available in a 40 mm red gold case only. The dial of this variant appears at first sight to be a guilloche on silver, but in fact is made from embossed opaline.


The local time can be adjusted by means of the crown in half hour increments, the home or reference time remains unchanged and is displayed in a small separate dial at 12. The crown features an integrated pusher, serving to choose the setting mode: local time or date. A small pointer at 4 informs about the preset crown mode. At 9, we find a beautifully executed day-night-indicator for the reference time.


Typically for the Villeret series, the hour markers are applied as golden Roman numerals. A small gripe I have with all Villeret watches, but especially with this, otherwise so practical timepiece, is the lack of luminous mass, offering a certain legibility at night. The design of the skeletonised feuille hands would not even need a change, nor would the luminous mass compromise the watch’s overall appearance. The caseback consists of a solid gold lid that can be opened, to reveal the beautifully finished movement behind a sapphire crystal.


The second version of this practical watch has a very exclusive automatic movement with a power reserve of no less than eight days. Since the timezone mechanics is identical with that of the previously presented watch, the dial layout is identical as well. Nevertheless, the difference between the two models is quickly noticed: the eight days variant has a larger case (42 mm vs. 40 mm), and - above all - a stunning white enamel dial with printed Roman numerals. Additionally, this variant is offered not only in red, but also in 18k white gold.


The next Villeret model I want to show is also a new development and a very practical novelty: an annual calendar with second time zone. The indication windows of the calendar, which has to be manually adjusted only from 28/29th of February to March 1, are placed on the right side of the dial, and are changed by means of the crown and two correctors under the lugs at 1 and 5.


For the display of a second timezone, the changed local time can be set on the main hands via the crown in hourly increments. the small 24 hours subdial at 8 remains to show the reference or home time. This watch, too, would gain some practical value with a bit of luminous mass on the hands.

The “Villeret Quantième Annuel GMT” is available in a red or white gold case with a diameter of 40 mm, powered by a self-winding movement with a power reserve of 72 hours.




A very special watch is the strictly limited Villeret “Grande Décoration”, which at first sight offers a very plain dial in white or black enamel and two hands only. First indication of its uniqueness is the large diameter of 45mm. Upon turning the watch, we can see that the handwound movement’s bridges are decorated all over by hand engraved motifs from different places.


Every one of the only five pieces, that are produced annually, shows its own motif: three are reserved for Asia, with depictions from Hong Kong, China and Japan. Two other watches show landmarks from Paris and Switzerland.


My personal highlight from the Villeret-collection is the “Equation marchante”, which is known already since a while. This timepiece features an astronomical complication: a perpetual calendar, combined with the display of the real solar time, as opposed to the common mean civil time, based on the time zone system, and shown by all “normal” watches. Additionally, the watch indicates the deviation of the real solar time from that shown by sundials, the cause of this being the elliptical shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. As a result, the distance of Earth from Sun is varying over the year, as is the Earth’s orbital speed. I know that equation displays do not have any practical value today, but they are still popular complications, mostly combined with a perpetual calendar.


The 2011 vintage of this great watch has a slightly enlarged case, and a beautifully finished white enamel dial.


While its main mechanism isn’t absolutely fresh, the following watch can nonetheless considered as new: the gorgeous minute repeater, combined with the flying carousel that is unique to Blancpain, issued in the Le Brassus line. The “Carrousel Répétition Minute”, limited to ten pieces only, was originally launched with a handwinding movement, but is now presented powered by a skeletonised and hand engraved automatic movement. The dial is reduced to a mere ring, bearing the applied hour markers, thus permitting the view into the complex mechanism.


The true technical innovation, however, is the safety mechanism, that separates the repeater mechanism from the time setting train, as soon as it is activated. This avoids one of the most serious risks for the mechanism: too often, people try to change the time, while the repeater’s gear is still interacting, causing immediate and very expensive damage. With the decoupling mechanism, Blancpain has made a big step towards making repeaters suitable for everyday use.


My next chapter will cover another Blancpain line, the L-evolution. When I had been confronted with this series for the first time, two or three years ago, I think, I was at first shocked by the rather brute design. Especially the overdimensioned luminous Roman numerals at 3 and 9 appeared to have originated in a pretzel bakery rather than a watch manufactory. All in all, I could not help but have an impression of coarseness.

This is not the case with the following watch, that is offered since a few months already, but that is absolutely breathtaking every time I see it: the L-evolution “Carrousel Saphir” embedded its complete handwinding movement with the carousel-tourbillon into bridges made from sapphire, letting it appear floating weightlessly within its case, that is also transparent and permits to look at the movement from the sides.

The last big novelty is also part of the L-evolution series, the tourbillon with big date. The massive watch with a diameter of 43.5 mm is offered in white or red gold. It leaves a very modern impression, and is flawlessly executed. Optical counterweight of the tourbillon at 12 is the partially skeletonised big date mechanism with two disks at 6. The watch’s really uniqueness, though, is seen on the back: since there was no space for the power reserve display at the front, and an integration into a movement bridge would have left it often obstructed by the winding rotor, Blancpain’s developers simply placed it in the middle of the oscillating mass itself.


The whole system is supported in a way that keeps the orientation of the small power reserve dial always the same, regardless of the spinning rotor’s position. The arbor for the power reserve display has been led through the rotor’s central axle, with the power then being led through a set of intermediary wheels. When the watch is being wound, the small hand is moving until it hits the stop and marks full tension of the mainspring. Further winding will then turn the complete power reserve dial, and power release makes the hand move down on the scale. It is an absolutely fascinating and elaborate complication.


Another new watch in the L-evolution series is the model with the big date at 6:


Overall, my personal impression of this year’s Blancpain novelties was that the brand puts much effort into innovation. For me, not only the new mechanisms, but also the facelifts of various lines, like that of the Villeret series, for example, look very coherent. However, only future will show if the watches presented here really are part of the brand’s “swan song”, or of a thorough renovation.

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